Found a great Craigslist deal... $200 Space Black AW with AppleCare+. Looks in great condition, etc. But! Should I just wait and buy Gen 2, assuming it's announced next week? I don't need Stainless Steel, by any means!
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$200 Space Black (w/ Sports) or Wait a Week?
- Thread starter James.K.Polk
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What's your budget. $200 for a SB with sport band is a great price by any measure. But, if you could afford a new next gen AW SB with a Milanese loop, would you prefer that more. I would. (Actually, I wouldn't. I would prefer a SB with a black sport band, but Apple currently does not offer that SKU, and they might not with the next gen.)
Thanks for the reply. Budget is tight - It's a choice between this (guy claims he's going traveling, so I need to buy soon... we'll leave that aside) and the bare-bones Sport Watch 2, however much that'd cost. This is definitely the more "premium" product, I just haven't followed the rumor mill close enough to know if I'm going to be totally hosed in a week. Watch OS 3 is supposed to be great, right?
I'd buy a SBSS now for $200 if that were my budget, but I'd wait if I could spend more. The SS models are much nicer than the aluminums IMO. And yes watchOS3 is great - been using the betas for some time now.
BTW my guess is that the seller isn't traveling, but wants to make sure he makes a sale before the announcement. You could always offer him a little less to make it that much more enticing to you
Tell him you know that the new models are being announced next week.
OR, you could wait until after the announcement - my guess is that a LOT of gen1 models will be on eBay, swappa, CL, etc. in the very near future.
BTW my guess is that the seller isn't traveling, but wants to make sure he makes a sale before the announcement. You could always offer him a little less to make it that much more enticing to you
Tell him you know that the new models are being announced next week.OR, you could wait until after the announcement - my guess is that a LOT of gen1 models will be on eBay, swappa, CL, etc. in the very near future.
Tough call. When I bought mine, I really wanted the SB. But the only way they offered it was with the link band for $1,100. So, I got the space gray sport instead. I love it. And, I had later affirmed my decision when I tried on a SS and it felt much heavier to me. If Apple had introduced the original AW with a SB and sport band SKU, it would have been a tough decision.
If it were in your shoes, and I could afford the incremental cost, then I would probably wait and get the next gen aluminum space gray with a sport band for a likely $350. It is not quite as flashy as the SB, but it would be the latest tech. And I love the tech.
However, if $350 would be a stretch, then I would jump on the $200 SB. It is a beauty.
If it were in your shoes, and I could afford the incremental cost, then I would probably wait and get the next gen aluminum space gray with a sport band for a likely $350. It is not quite as flashy as the SB, but it would be the latest tech. And I love the tech.
However, if $350 would be a stretch, then I would jump on the $200 SB. It is a beauty.
Thanks guys. I think I'll wait - $350 is a lot, but I can manage it, and if the new model doesn't 'Wow!' me (the biggest thing I'd like is GPS) I may be able to dip below $200 for a first gen model. I appreciate it!
Is it aluminum or stainless steel? 38mm or 42mm? If it's aluminum, Best Buy recently had them (recertified) for $179. Of course, including Apple Care adds some value, problem negates the difference.
I bought mine about a month ago for $200 (sport model w/ extra band). I still think it was a fairly decent deal. I bought mine intending to resell it and by the AW2 when it comes out. Now I'm not convinced AW2 is worth paying the difference.
The 42mm sport AW2 will probably go back to $349 and be there for a while. Assuming you don't need GPS, with watchOS 3 you won't be missing a whole lot in terms of performance or abilities. If you think you'll be happy with it go for it.
I bought mine about a month ago for $200 (sport model w/ extra band). I still think it was a fairly decent deal. I bought mine intending to resell it and by the AW2 when it comes out. Now I'm not convinced AW2 is worth paying the difference.
The 42mm sport AW2 will probably go back to $349 and be there for a while. Assuming you don't need GPS, with watchOS 3 you won't be missing a whole lot in terms of performance or abilities. If you think you'll be happy with it go for it.
Stainless Steel, 38 (which I like better, after playing around with them back at the announcement). I'm a runner, and GPS would be a huge boost. But, I have a Garmin that I love and could always trade-off as needed.
With Apple Care that's probably a pretty decent deal. There are some performance issues w/ watchOS 2 but watchOS 3 really helps a lot. So if you get it don't let all the lag freak you out.
Like I said, GPS would be the big difference. I guess I'd decide how bad I need it, and it doesn't sound like you need it too bad. Other than that all that's rumored is a better processor (the new OS will help with a lot of that) and better waterproofing. Form factor should stay the same. Prices may drop even more but that's a pretty good deal. You could always decide to sell it later and put that money toward the new one if you really decided you wanted it.
Just be sure you're safe, buying things off of Craigslist, especially expensive things, creeps me out.
I'm in a pretty similar position. Best Buy Canada had the 42mm space grey aluminum sport band version for $50 off (originally $469 Cdn)... which made it easier to consider, but to sweeten it, I had $35 in Best Buy gift certificates, at least one that I had to use soon. So, a brand new watch for $85 less...
I was torn because when the AW first came out, I appreciated its looks, but thought it might be a bit limited in fitness related tracking, especially given the price (about $500 Cdn). I really liked the stainless steel version, but have a hard time justifying spending almost $800 Cdn. I ended up buying one for my wife for our anniversary last year - she loves it - but she cares less about detailed fitness reporting.
One thing I do is stairs (5 flights, 10 times up and down, pushups inbetween) and there were not a lot of fitness trackers that track changes in altitude.
So, I experimented with both the Garmin Vivoactive and the Pebble Time. I found the Vivoactive to be very good for fitness overall (e.g., running), but tracking the stairs was okay. However, notifications were clumsy, and the watch and interface were clunky to look at, and not overly intuitive. I decided to go with the Pebble Time, and I've used it for pretty much for the last year.
The Time is a much simpler, straightforward device and in some ways, that's good. But notifications sometimes get dropped, it does not do much at all when you're separated from the phone, and some of the apps - especially the fitness ones - are really basic. The case scratches fairly easily. And it feels... a bit cheap.
I think I'm happier scaling down my fitness tracking - I'd settle with just good activity monitoring overall - and having better notifications ability.
So, I'm hoping I made the right choice, especially given the likely release of AW2 next week.
Question: I can track my general activity/fitness without having the iPhone next to me, right?
I was torn because when the AW first came out, I appreciated its looks, but thought it might be a bit limited in fitness related tracking, especially given the price (about $500 Cdn). I really liked the stainless steel version, but have a hard time justifying spending almost $800 Cdn. I ended up buying one for my wife for our anniversary last year - she loves it - but she cares less about detailed fitness reporting.
One thing I do is stairs (5 flights, 10 times up and down, pushups inbetween) and there were not a lot of fitness trackers that track changes in altitude.
So, I experimented with both the Garmin Vivoactive and the Pebble Time. I found the Vivoactive to be very good for fitness overall (e.g., running), but tracking the stairs was okay. However, notifications were clumsy, and the watch and interface were clunky to look at, and not overly intuitive. I decided to go with the Pebble Time, and I've used it for pretty much for the last year.
The Time is a much simpler, straightforward device and in some ways, that's good. But notifications sometimes get dropped, it does not do much at all when you're separated from the phone, and some of the apps - especially the fitness ones - are really basic. The case scratches fairly easily. And it feels... a bit cheap.
I think I'm happier scaling down my fitness tracking - I'd settle with just good activity monitoring overall - and having better notifications ability.
So, I'm hoping I made the right choice, especially given the likely release of AW2 next week.
Question: I can track my general activity/fitness without having the iPhone next to me, right?
Yes, the AW does all the activity tracking totally independently of the phone. The current gen AW does not have a barometric altimeter, so it cannot count stairs. However, the rumor is that the AW2 will have a barometric altimeter.
Thanks. Yes, I've heard that the AW2 will have an altimeter. I found the one on the Garmin to be not overly accurate. I don't think my total flight of stairs had enough change in altitude to measure distinctly. In hindsight, I think I care a little less on just exactly what I've done, but more that I did it, and I did it with some intensity.
Yep, I have had devices with and without barometric altimeters, and I was always skeptical of the altimeter accuracy. Some folks complain less about Fitbit devices with barometric altimeters, but I have not used any of those.