I'm fine with the shape and design. The price is what's getting to me. At least 1 MR user has said something to the effect of "I'm glad they kept premium components and kept it at that price!". Good for them. It feels like they add a bit of chrome and metal features, and that justifies adding an extra $100 or so to the price.
The real issue for me, and this is thee double whammy is I'm still using an Ipod Touch. I'll have to wait a few years before an Iph that can pari with an iWatch is cheap enough. Right now, I'm all tech-ed out.
Actually this reasoning is exactly why I expect Apple will continue to offer the 1st Gen watch alongside the 2nd Gen, so they can drop the price in relation to the Gen 2, and why the latter will be packed with new features.
nicho is absolutely right, the 5S retails for $450 from Apple (and refurbished models are available for as little as $200). A 42mm Sport costs $400 (add one watch band and you're at $450), and the least expensive stainless is $549 (as much as a an iPhone 6). The watch should probably not cost more than the phone, unless it's made out of a precious metal. Certainly an aluminum watch probably shouldn't cost as much as an aluminum iPhone. As it stands, even a 38mm stainless costs as much as an iPhone 6S. The 42mm costs $50 more!
I hadn't really thought about it in those terms, but for a device that requires a phone, that's a ratio that's a little out of whack.
As for the iPod Touch, it's hard for me to imagine that Apple will keep it going much longer. However, since the Watch doesn't require Touch ID, of NFC, there's absolutely no reason the Touch couldn't be software upgraded to pair with the Watch. I imagine the only reason the Touch, and iPads were not enabled from the beginning, is because the Watch essentially shipped with beta software that barely supported the iPhone pairing. For all intents and purposes, the watch is virtually autonomous now without the iPhone, i.e. relying on wifi to communicate with the paired device, or functioning without the paired device. An Watch with GPS eliminates almost all dependance on the phone except for use in areas where there is no wifi network. If the 2G watch is able to operate this way flawlessly, then there's truly no reason not to allow it to be paired to iPads and the Touch, which in turn expands the market to those using non-Apple handsets but otherwise own an iPad or a Mac. With that said, the cheapest iPad is $269, and the cheapest iPod Touch is $199. If those prices remain constant, then that suggests to me the least expensive watch should be priced no more than the least expensive device it can connect to. So a 38mm Sport should probably cost no more than $199, or $249 if they eliminate the 16GB option. And $249 is right about where they're going to probably offer the 1G as soon as the 2G is introduced.