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Analyst 'Channel Checks' Suggest iWatch Coming in 2014, Pricing Guessed at $199

The iWatch is going to be a "watch"... in the same sense as how the iPhone is just a "phone".

Fitness, health, location, responsive communication, biometrics, ecosystemic synergy and geo fencing.

It will also tell time.
 
Klosefabrinio said:
$200 for a watch? are you serious? but, why am i expecting low prices from apple, my mistake:rolleyes:
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Have you been a watch shop lately? $200 is not expensive. You can spend a lot more just for the right brand name. The iWatch won't be toy, it will be a serious bit of kit.
 
It's About Time...

After all this waiting what's the bettings that the invite to the iWatch introduction will simply say It's About Time...

That will really get everyone buzzing :D

Apple marketing, if you use this, I claim my $5 now :rolleyes:

RTP.
 
RodThePlod said:
After all this waiting what's the bettings that the invite to the iWatch introduction will simply say It's About Time...

That will really get everyone buzzing :D

Apple marketing, if you use this, I claim my $5 now :rolleyes:

RTP.
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"Watch this!" (Just kidding, but I think they also wouldn't use yours as it emphasize too much on the watch as the classic time teller which probably will be the least interesting feature of it ...)
 
The analysts have it wrong (big surprise). The iWatch will be a line of night vision goggles.
 
lars666 said:
"Watch this!" (Just kidding, but I think they also wouldn't use yours as it emphasize too much on the watch as the classic time teller which probably will be the least interesting feature of it ...)
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Haha true. It'll be interesting to see what Apple pull out of the bag with this one. I wouldn't be surprised if, amongst other things, the iWatch will be used to facilitate the NFC payment system that Apple have been rumoured to be working on for the last few years.

I think it'll be quite natural to pay for small value items by simply picking up your goods from the counter and have your iWatch pass by the NFC terminal. More convenient than taking your phone out and waving that around...

;)

RTP.
 
lars666 said:
Calm down, everybody else, I'll do the necessary typing work. Here we go: Apple also was second or later with mp3 players, smartphones and tablets ... And you see how this worked out.
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...and phones...remember this quote...?

We've learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in."

Whatever Samsung puts out...they'll modify to copy whatever Apple puts out.

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RodThePlod said:
Haha true. It'll be interesting to see what Apple pull out of the bag with this one. I wouldn't be surprised if, amongst other things, the iWatch will be used to facilitate the NFC payment system that Apple have been rumoured to be working on for the last few years.

I think it'll be quite natural to pay for small value items by simply picking up your goods from the counter and have your iWatch pass by the NFC terminal. More convenient than taking your phone out and waving that around...

;)

RTP.
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Yep that and other things like notifications, siri like communication, health status and other things.
 
To me the most exciting thing is the possibility of the sensors. If this could be a smart watch with capabilities of a Body Bug or other health monitors with an open API for apps like MyFitnessPal to pull in calorie burn information!!!!
 
Kilamite said:
I don't think it will start at $199. Anything more than $99 for entry and it won't sell.
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The Jawbone Up is $129 and Nike Fuelband is $149. Both selling well. The iWatch will mimic the features of these bands plus a lot more so I think it's a bridge too far to suggest it won't sell at $199; it will, just not as many units as if it was $99. But I don't think Apple can make a decent product for $99 given that is the same price of the Fitbit Flex which basically does nothing on the band but show progress dots and lacks the altimeter of the other Fitbit monitors.

The Pebble is $150 and to-date that is the closest comparison to an iWatch's presumed functionality. But it's big and bulky. A sleek design has it's cost too. Engineers and engineering isn't cheap. I think at $149 it's a WOW! price. But even at $199 Apple will get enough early adopters just like it did with the iPhone and iPad to grow the product.

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Klosefabrinio said:
$200 for a watch? are you serious? but, why am i expecting low prices from apple, my mistake:rolleyes:
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No your mistake is expecting Apple to come up with some sort of complicated to use, poorly designed GUI Timex or Casio frankenwatch with price point to match.
 
attention span

Another gizmo used to distract people from watching what they are doing and where they are going.

I walk and drive daily through the gauntlet of mindless drones staring down at their device of preference.
 
At least i've got my own iWatch style already :D

image.jpg



image.jpg
 
ValSalva said:
Analyst 'Channel Checks'. Made me think of something...

Can you imagine a cable television channel called "The Analyst Channel"? The place to go for self-interested speculation and wrong information :D
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I think that channel is called Fox News ;)
 
Shaun said:
Have you been a watch shop lately? $200 is not expensive. You can spend a lot more just for the right brand name. The iWatch won't be toy, it will be a serious bit of kit.
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it will be a serious bit of kit? please tell me more about the iWatch.:rolleyes:
 
bbeagle said:
You DO understand that Android smart watches out right now cost more than $200?

$235 for this one, the Z1. It's got to be the worst interface imaginable. ....
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Bad example. That's an entire smart phone on a wrist, not just a smartwatch. Perhaps it should even be called a "smablet" :)

Actual Android smartwatches include the Sony for about $110..

live_view_watch.png

and the I'M starting at $299 (hey, it's Italian design and has a unique curved capacitive screen)...

im_watch.PNG

Personally I loved my WIMM One ($199) developer watch, which was more powerful than any of the others, because it included WiFi, so it could update its news readers, weather, etc without needing a phone mothership for comms. I had no problem creating my own test app for it, and it included a watchface SDK. Unfortunately, they were bought up by someone unknown.

wimm_one.png

I think that the biggest barrier to smartwatch adoption is battery life. People just aren't going to want to charge all the time. Once a day is not uncommon, but even once a week is a pain. They'll either need batteries all around the strap (like Apple patents seem to indicate) or some kind of quick inductive charger.
 
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Shaun said:
Have you been a watch shop lately? $200 is not expensive. You can spend a lot more just for the right brand name. The iWatch won't be toy, it will be a serious bit of kit.
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Agreed. $200 is not 'expensive' at all for something that will eventually be recognized as a wearable "personal computer". The iPhone is, for the most part, a personal computer. Even the near-obsolete iPhone 4 of today is a MUCH more powerful computing device than some of the old IBM mainframes used during the Cold War era.

Give it a few years, and the iWatch will eventually evolve into a "personal mini-computer" that can do many of the tasks (and maybe more) that a 2005-era iMac or an iPhone 4 could have done.

"iWatch, print my most recent email message."
"iWatch, turn on the security alarm on my Lexus."
"iWatch, purchase/download the Jimmy Buffet album on my iTunes Store Wish List."

Apple's rabid obsession with "thin" devices is a prelude to even further miniaturization, thus leading the way to true personal wearable mini-computers imagined in Star Trek and The Jetsons.

At first I was also suspicious (annoyed) of Apple's obsession with "thinness". But eventually I realized what they are trying to do. Their goal is to pave the way or push the envelope in personal computing miniaturization.
 
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jmh600cbr said:
It would be great if it came before samsungs. It's really sad that Apple is coming second these days.
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Ok, after yet another embarrassingly awkward presentation from Samsung where you'll see skits with people asking each other what time is it while skipping around on stage and a booming voice from nowhere saying "The Galaxy Gear...always on time...with YOU" you'll see why it's better to think a little more and perfect something before letting the whole world watch (get it) you embarrass the hell out of yourself.
 
kdarling said:
I think that the biggest barrier to smartwatch adoption is battery life. People just aren't going to want to charge all the time. Once a day is not uncommon, but even once a week is a pain. They'll either need batteries all around the strap (like Apple patents seem to indicate) or some kind of quick inductive charger.
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I said the same thing in another thread: phones ... yeah, the SOP is charging every 1-2 days. A watch? Batteries last a long time (including when charged via solar).

I love the idea of inductive charging with a watch, because the other feature I think is needed is waterproofing, even if just like a meter. Watches get a decent amount of water exposure, so they could go port-less, using induction charging (use BT for headphones).
 
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