Apple Watch Gets Another Competitor in the Android-Based LG Watch Urbane

[Dmunjal]

http://www.apple.com/iphone-6/

Gee - they sure like to talk about how thin it is
They sure do speak to the resolution
64 bit architecture sounds like a spec to me
The FPS that the camera is capable of, aperture, pixels.


But no - Apple doesn't care about spec

Those certainly are specs. The other two mentioned weren't.

 

[mikezmac]

LG Watch Urbane

Um, is this thread about the LG Watch Urbane?

Can we say 'off-topic'

vs. non- is getting old and lame, like coke vs. Pepsi.

If you must then at least compair the little we do know of the Watch to the LG Watch Urbane.

Maybe?

 

[Michael Scrip]

lol.. thinking about something and actually bringing it to market are 2 totally different things. sure apple may have been working on it. but the simple fact that they were not the first to bring to the market voids that they were actually first.

We KNOW Apple wasn't the first in smartwatches.

Who thinks that?

 

[Dmunjal]

Sorry, but a circular face for a digital watch is just really really stupid and just reinforces how little thought some companies put into their products.

LG and others also offer square watches.

http://www.android.com/wear/

It's called choice. Maybe Apple users aren't familiar with the concept.

 

[kdarling]

Apple didn't consider the iPod Nano 6G to be a watch you say? Then why did they it come with so many watch faces built in?

Oh for sure, people loved using the Nano as a standalone watch. It was too bad that it couldn't link up with a phone.

... Based on this history, I would say it's safe to assume that the Apple Watch has been in development since at least 2008.

Interesting conjecture, but Apple claims otherwise.

Jon Ive and Tim Cook have publicly and repeatedly stated that the Apple Watch project began a while after Steve Jobs' death in late 2011. So, basically at the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012.

 

[SoGood]

410mAh... Whatever that means?!?

Success or failure of this whole smart watch sector surely will be dependent on their run time. Until AppleWatch and others are able to support more than a day, they won't take-off in a big way. Guess they all have to start somewhere... Like the way how cellular phone, smartphone etc started in their respective early days.

 

[twoodcc]

i think the apple watch will be the best for me, as i am looking for something that's main function is sports based. hopefully

 

[MrX8503]

The iPhone was far from being the first smartphone.....so why is it so important that the Apple watch be the first smart watch?

 

[samcraig]

Those certainly are specs. The other two mentioned weren't.

Feel free to split hairs - the point remains. Apple cares enough about specs. You argued otherwise.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Of course it has bugs, like all software, but nothing else has ever offered a UX that was better or that people loved as much.

Back to work, Tim.

 

[Dmunjal]

Feel free to split hairs - the point remains. Apple cares enough about specs. You argued otherwise.

That was someone else. I never said Apple doesn't offer specs. I argued that they lead with marketing and not specs.

 

[samcraig]

That was someone else. I never said Apple doesn't offer specs. I argued that they lead with marketing and not specs.

You're right - sorry...

 

[i.mac]

Are you kidding me? Apple is following in this category.

Are you kidding me? Every one jumped on apple with a me-first half baked product.

----------

The iPhone was far from being the first smartphone.....so why is it so important that the Apple watch be the first smart watch?

It does not mater. Apple' watch will be better, and it will have most of the profits in this product segment. Plus, the first Apple watch will be a colectors item.

 

[samcraig]

Are you kidding me? Every one jumped on apple with a me-first half baked product.

----------



It does not mater. Apple' watch will be better, and it will have most of the profits in this product segment. Plus, the first Apple watch will be a colectors item.

Misguided logic. For reasons posted several times in this thread

 

[friedmud]

I think Apple has pulled off the ultimate fast one. To make people believe that they are high-end. This image has been cultivated though years of amazing marketing and a legion of cult fans.

It's been cultivated by using high-quality materials and caring about "fit and finish" (including on the software side) which is what any upmarket company should try to do.

The way the original iMac looked and felt (even though it was plastic!). The way the old Mac Pro tower looked and felt (I can feel the aluminum now!) not too mention how silent it was. The solid metal back on the original iPod. The aluminum on the nano. The curves on the redesigned nano a few years later. The way curves of the original iPhone felt. The way the screen was attached. The responsiveness of the software. The pure simplicity of the new Mac Pro.

SO many things go into making something "up market"... certainly capabilities is a piece of the puzzle but not the whole thing.

Let's go for a car analogy.

If you take a Ford Fusion and get the big engine option and give it a $60,000 price tag... does that make it more of a "luxury" than a base level BMW or Audi that has a smaller engine and costs less? No.

Price is not the only defining feature of "luxury". You can put a high price tag on a turd... that doesn't make it luxurious... nor does it make people want to buy it. You gain "cult" following for your "up market" items by proving yourself over and over again in your _design_ (where design is aesthetics coupled to capability... both have to work together).

The apple watch will be so much closer to a "luxury" than anything else on the market. It will have the "fit and finish" that comes with buying an Apple product. That includes the materials... the physical way you interact with it (like the unique clasps)... and the way the software works. All of that will be better... and I'll be wearing one

----------

BTW: These things _are_ competitors.... because successor or failure in the wearables market could cause people to choose one ecosystem over the other (or even switch!).

If you're just thinking of getting into the smartphone game - or you've been in one ecosystem and it's time for a new phone and you're interested in a smart watch... then a good smart watch to go along with the eco system you're going to buy into could be a differentiator.

Saying that this isn't a competitor is like saying the iPhone6 is not a competitor to the Android phablets because it runs iOS instead of Android. I think the "switcher" number from the 6 and 6+ are showing that people _do_ move between the ecosystems...

 

[wikiverse]

Targeting people who buy both Android and luxury items.
That's a failure in the making.

You should visit Asia sometime. Even Europe.

 

[rjlawrencejr]

because unlike Apple Watch, andriod wear has been out for a while and people know how it will look. Just like a TV companies don't have to show the TV playing Titanic to sell.

I guess you haven't been to a Best Buy, Fry's, or Walmart lately and looked at their TV displays. But more to the point: if you look at their marketing materials, not only are all the images not displaying the Android Wear interface, all the images appear to be showing the exact same classic analog face. I don't think it's because people are already familiar with Android Wear. Sure, those of us commenting here are familiar, but we are but a small subset of the market.

Notice the models and how they're dressed. It is obvious LG is trying to position this as a luxury/fashion item (ala Watch) and somewhat downplaying the "techy" side of it.

 

[Dmunjal]

It's been cultivated by using high-quality materials and caring about "fit and finish" (including on the software side) which is what any upmarket company should try to do.

The way the original iMac looked and felt (even though it was plastic!). The way the old Mac Pro tower looked and felt (I can feel the aluminum now!) not too mention how silent it was. The solid metal back on the original iPod. The aluminum on the nano. The curves on the redesigned nano a few years later. The way curves of the original iPhone felt. The way the screen was attached. The responsiveness of the software. The pure simplicity of the new Mac Pro.

SO many things go into making something "up market"... certainly capabilities is a piece of the puzzle but not the whole thing.

Let's go for a car analogy.

If you take a Ford Fusion and get the big engine option and give it a $60,000 price tag... does that make it more of a "luxury" than a base level BMW or Audi that has a smaller engine and costs less? No.

Price is not the only defining feature of "luxury". You can put a high price tag on a turd... that doesn't make it luxurious... nor does it make people want to buy it. You gain "cult" following for your "up market" items by proving yourself over and over again in your _design_ (where design is aesthetics coupled to capability... both have to work together).

The apple watch will be so much closer to a "luxury" than anything else on the market. It will have the "fit and finish" that comes with buying an Apple product. That includes the materials... the physical way you interact with it (like the unique clasps)... and the way the software works. All of that will be better... and I'll be wearing one

----------

BTW: These things _are_ competitors.... because successor or failure in the wearables market could cause people to choose one ecosystem over the other (or even switch!).

If you're just thinking of getting into the smartphone game - or you've been in one ecosystem and it's time for a new phone and you're interested in a smart watch... then a good smart watch to go along with the eco system you're going to buy into could be a differentiator.

Saying that this isn't a competitor is like saying the iPhone6 is not a competitor to the Android phablets because it runs iOS instead of Android. I think the "switcher" number from the 6 and 6+ are showing that people _do_ move between the ecosystems...

I completely agree that Apple products use much better materials, have better design and construction than others. I'm sure you and many others on this board appreciate that difference.

But the other millions (the majority btw) who buy Apple do not necessarily appreciate these things and couldn't even describe them the way you have. They buy the brand. Which has been created and cultivated by marketing.

 

[flyinmac]

I wonder if Blackberry will make a smart watch.

It better have the blackberry keyboard or no deal

 

[rjlawrencejr]

410mAh... Whatever that means?!?

Success or failure of this whole smart watch sector surely will be dependent on their run time. Until AppleWatch and others are able to support more than a day, they won't take-off in a big way. Guess they all have to start somewhere... Like the way how cellular phone, smartphone etc started in their respective early days.

Why do so many people think battery life will be the ultimate deciding factor? Don't get me wrong, of course battery life is important, but if I can get a full day - 6am to midnight without any "range anxiety" so sure that will be considered to little. We have become conditioned to charging devices on a regular basis. I would venture to guess on a very small portion of users need a full 24 cycle and thensome between charges.

 

[flyinmac]

Sorry, but a circular face for a digital watch is just really really stupid and just reinforces how little thought some companies put into their products.

Actually circular digital watches are not uncommon. My standard watch fits that description. Square ones always feel clunky and huge to me. I prefer a minimalist feel. Like barely noticeable. The Apple watch looks like it's going to be a bulky awkward in my way kind of watch. So I'll be skipping it.

But I'd barely be interested in the concept of a smart watch anyway, so makes little difference.

If a watch adds useful function to my daily life, then maybe it'd be worth considering. But smart watches as they are have nothing I would use.

But, if I were to consider one, it would need a minimalist feel, and need to be something I'd barely notice I was wearing.

 

[AppleScruff1]

I completely agree that Apple products use much better materials, have better design and construction than others. I'm sure you and many others on this board appreciate that difference.

But the other millions (the majority btw) who buy Apple do not necessarily appreciate these things and couldn't even describe them the way you have. They buy the brand. Which has been created and cultivated by marketing.

Excellent post.

 

[SoGood]

Why do so many people think battery life will be the ultimate deciding factor? Don't get me wrong, of course battery life is important, but if I can get a full day - 6am to midnight without any "range anxiety" so sure that will be considered to little. We have become conditioned to charging devices on a regular basis. I would venture to guess on a very small portion of users need a full 24 cycle and thensome between charges.

Because you are an early adopter and willing to put up with the inconveniences. The majority will complain about this and that and until they are satisfied eg. Battery run time, no one will capture the bulk of the market.

 

[flyinmac]

Why do so many people think battery life will be the ultimate deciding factor? Don't get me wrong, of course battery life is important, but if I can get a full day - 6am to midnight without any "range anxiety" so sure that will be considered to little. We have become conditioned to charging devices on a regular basis. I would venture to guess on a very small portion of users need a full 24 cycle and thensome between charges.

Maybe it's because we've never had to charge a watch daily before, so this seems like going backwards.

I personally like my watch battery lasting for years without thinking about it. And honestly I still feel that having to deal with a watch battery every 5 years is too frequent. On that one day I feel annoyed that it's only been 5 years since I popped a 50 cent battery in it.

My favorite watch was a solar one that recharged all day on its own. That watch lasted about 15 years. And it was still a small watch, about the size of 4 quarters in a stack.

 

[kds1]

No. Apple marketing is in your head.