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Carniphage

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2006
1,880
1
Sheffield, England
That brick can stay in my pocket. I want something convenient that I just have to glance at to give me critical alert information: current time and appointment alerts, caller id, my next (walking) navigation direction, etc...

Imagine some kind of lightweight, wearable device that included a microphone, tiny loudspeakers that you'd wear in your ears and perhaps a button or three? Wouldn't need to look at it at all!

I think you may be onto something there!
 
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meecect

macrumors newbie
Aug 3, 2009
29
0
This is the same ole story with a new topic when Rumors start running of a new apple device:

1. People say how much they hate the idea and will have no use for it
2. Apple confirms the device with an event
3. Some people finally understands the idea, others still hate it and deem it DOA
4. The device goes on sale to the tune of a few million
5. Those who bought it love it, those who didn't, trash it and says sales will begin to decline soon enough.
6. Apples quarter call, reports best quarter ever and the rest of the world, quarter by quarter begins to buy the device and Apple is deemed the most innovative company in history once again.


You forgot a few steps:

7. Samsung, Intel, HTC, Motorola, and Microsoft all release their versions of smart watches.

8. People here who said the idea was lame all start talking about how the Galaxy SmartWatch WS4-xIII is SO much better than last year's iWatch.

9. Apple threatens litigation over trademarks and patents, while Samsung defenders claim there was nothing innovative, risky, or unique about a smart watch, that it was an inevitable and obvious extension of the smartphone trend, and that any company could have come up with the idea (and risked their capital)

10. People here complain that Apple never innovates any more.

11. Rumors of a new apple device surface in a new and untested market. Forum members express that they will never buy such a thing, no one wants such a thing, and Apple has finally run out of ideas and should focus more on making its flagship iWatch product better to keep up with the new Samsung Galaxy 5 Note 3 WatchStar X11
 

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
Top notch journalism from the Observer and Guardian. They take the iOS interface and slap it on a bracelet. I smell a Pulitzer coming there way. :rolleyes:
 

steve333

macrumors 65816
Dec 12, 2008
1,267
907
I have concerns about an EMF source right there against the skin. Personally I think it's a really bad idea. Cool, but not healthy
 

PracticalMac

macrumors 68030
Jan 22, 2009
2,857
5,242
Houston, TX
My take:

The Future iPhone.


It will be in conjunction with a head piece that has all the cellular equipment and voice control, while the watch aspect will be display part.
Still at least 2 years away.

I think the mockups are silly, unusable.
 

VXXTRADER

macrumors newbie
Nov 17, 2012
6
0
Tim Cook's resignation speech starts off with , "I wish I had fired that guy who told me about the iwatch idea"!
 

krishatesworld

macrumors newbie
Sep 2, 2010
15
0
Statesboro, GA
That is just silly looking. A shrunk-down, curved iPhone on your wrist would be impractical. This mockup was designed by someone with very little imagination. Something closer to the UI on the sixth gen Nano would be more appropriate and functional.
 

KdParker

macrumors 601
Oct 1, 2010
4,793
998
Everywhere
Lol man I think the hate for the iWatch is hilarious.....

No one here has ANY imagination. Go back and read the article a week ago about the iWatch and all the applications it has as a supplement to your smartphone. Those are the applications that get me excited about this product.

I'm sure in 2007 people were saying the same thing about the iPhone. An iWatch will likely revolutionize the watch industry (and propel a smartwatch industry) and everyone bashing here will likely be wearing one on their wrists....

Then in about 7 years, those same people will be saying the iWatch is getting stale and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 will be the greatest thing ever....lol :p

So true. In my opinion, let see where this can go, and if I have something that can work with my phone, tv, house, car, etc...I could see a wearing a smart watch.
 

greg78x

macrumors newbie
Jan 11, 2013
15
0
So Cal
If wearing this will stop you from getting laid, you weren't gonna get laid in the first place! :D:D:D:D

I disagree. If you were to wear what is in that mock-up, I think most women would be a little put off. Unlike owning a Mac or an iPhone, this one (in the mock up or a similar device) is a little too "nerdy," in my opinion.

Might get some attention at a Star Trek convention, though.
 

drewyboy

macrumors 65816
Jan 27, 2005
1,385
1,467
Watches are going away. All manufacturers are seeing their sales shrink as younger generations shun unitasker watches for the time on their smartphones. The Swiss watch industry is consolidating. Some big names will end up going away or become just names rather than whole companies. The industry is retreating to the high ground of five figures and above, making fewer numbers but more money on each unit.

That said, the watch as we know it is going away but bare wrists mean there is a huge marker just waiting for the right product to come along. it will have to be smarter, better, more entertaining and offer a lot more information. It will have to be personal, customizable. Cool personal features will replace the cachet of Bob in the next cubicle who is making payments on his Rolex GMT Master.

What younger people are effectively saying is that they won't strap something to themselves unless they see high value in what it does and a watch, no matter how grand, only tells the time.

I am a watchmaker and I no longer wear a watch regularly.

Wrong wrong wrong. Watch industry is growing. I wish I could find that link with a BBC article about it. Bunch of closed minded ppl here that have absolutely 0 imagination. SOOO glad you people don't own companies, at least that offer products (not just services).

EDIT: Oh and remember, THIS ISN'T A WATCH! It's a flip'n computer people... seriously can't you understand that? It's like saying your iPhone is strictly a clock
 

carlgo

macrumors 68000
Dec 29, 2006
1,806
17
Monterey CA
Pretend you are using that iWatch. You will see that the speaker should be on the bottom of the wrist strap unless you cross your left arm over to your right ear.

Hearing the thing, especially while driving, seems like the biggest problem unless it comes with wireless earphones. Of course these would help with music. But would people want to wear ear things all the time?

The iWatch might act as an interface with the iPhone/Pod in your pocket, or with a new device which would be a cheap, small screenless phone that merely is a container for the battery and the bigger parts. It could communicate with your iWatch, your ear things and also the car's speaker system.
 

Mattjeff

macrumors 6502
Jun 2, 2008
261
3
Make them waterproof, shockproof and able to charge through vibration, and I'm sure the US Military would buy like 1.5 million of them.

God, I hope not. The last thing I need is another piece of unnecessary gear that I have to worry about. I think you underestimate the ability of a US Marine to break things. Hence "that's why we don't have nice things".

That subject aside I have no need for these in the civilian world either. It seems like a small market in my opinion.
 

JAT

macrumors 603
Dec 31, 2001
6,473
124
Mpls, MN
I've actually stopped wearing a watch after such an incident... I told myself I would buy a waterproof one, never got to it... Realized that I don't really need a watch.... I've got time on my phone, iPad, dashboard, microwave, oven, etc...
Wait, you set the time on both ovens?

I always KNEW there had to be people that still did that. :D
 

bushman4

macrumors 601
Mar 22, 2011
4,008
3,317
What functions will this perform that my Iphone can't???? Why would I need this ?????

Time will tell
 

Gasu E.

macrumors 603
Mar 20, 2004
5,029
3,145
Not far from Boston, MA.
God, I hope not. The last thing I need is another piece of unnecessary gear that I have to worry about. I think you underestimate the ability of a US Marine to break things. Hence "that's why we don't have nice things".

I imagine a digital readout strapped to a Marine's wrist showing where other Marines are during combat would be quite useful. Even better if information on enemy positions were available as well.
 

t0mbola

macrumors member
May 30, 2011
71
14
Kitt?

Riverwired-C013AnthonyDevito53_Barret_Knight_Rider181.jpg
 

Lepton

macrumors 6502a
Apr 13, 2002
855
299
Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Small! Not these big chunky watches. Even the pebble is a little too big. Retina. 320 by 240 e-paper always on. Color unlikely, grayscale likely. Backlight unlikely. Microphone. No speaker. Vibration. Bluetooth. Accelerometer. No buttons. Magnetic cable connection for charge/data. Waterproof. Charge daily very heavy use, weekly very light use. Use it to talk to Siri in your iPhone or iPad. Siri responds with voice on your phone or pad, or more likely in text on the watch.

iOS additions allow talking to Siri over Bluetooth. Allow sending all notifications over bluetooth to the watch. Read/send EMail, text. All caller ID and ID makes connection to contacts to send portrait, contact name etc to watch face.

Apps. App Store. Open to developers. Limited storage.

Possible touchscreen. Gesture control. Possible fingerprint reader. I think Apple is working on a way to combine a display and camera-like sensor, this could be for fingerprint reading rather than a camera. Needs to be a very retina dense display for that. Possible NFC. Print and NFC for authentication and point of sale transactions.
 
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