I think Apple already knew how to connect to the internet without charging, way back in the 1990's.
Maybe Swatch will miniaturize this idea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uXJlX50Lj8
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Swatch Prepares to Go Head-to-Head With Apple Watch
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I think Apple already knew how to connect to the internet without charging, way back in the 1990's.
Maybe Swatch will miniaturize this idea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uXJlX50Lj8
Just like Motorola, Nokia and Blackberry once understood the (slightly high-end even) mobile phone business? They showed us!
Technodynamic
macrumors 6502
same was true with iOS and the "smart watch". The other companies had absolute garbage OSes back in the iPhone - iPhone 3 generation.
They'll learn the hard way again I suppose.
Since Motorola really kicked off the mobile phones, I would say they have a slightly better understanding than most.
Popeye206
macrumors 68040
+1 and eco system.
I'm sure some will come out with very nice looking watches. But without an eco system and great software, they will have limited appeal.
Swatch and other watch makers coming into this segment are no surprise. They really have only two choices. Try it themselves, or focus on traditional watches and hope smart watches don't kill the traditional market. Probably more important to companies like Swatch than someone like Rolex. I don't see the need for Rolex to get into the smart watch game... it's not why you buy a Rolex.
Show any evidence that any of these watch companies currently has the software expertise to develop something as complete and polished as RIM did with the BlackBerry OS, or Nokia did with Symbian... much less better.
Or just maybe they've got buildings full of genius software geeks and UX researchers hiding somewhere in the Black Forest or Swiss equivalent?
Elvergun
macrumors 6502
LOL...the characters we get in this site.
So now you are defending a CEO who opened his mouth only to say something stupid? I don't need to work for decades in the watch industry to know that his statement was stupid and that it sounded condescending. It sounds even more stupid now that he is trying to do a 180.
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jdawgnoonan
macrumors 65816
I think that some are overestimating how much that matters. As long as there is an open and standard method for collecting the health type data collected by sensors on the device (as there are) then I am not sure "Apps" will matter. I don't belive that most people are going to install a ton of different apps on a watch regardless of its capabilities. Maybe I am wrong though.
I know that I personally don't want Facebook, Twitter, nor any other social media on my wrist. I also don't need pictures of plane crashes or other bad news showing up on my wrist. Notifications for texts, calendar events, or phone calls would be nice. For anything very intensive my smart phone is far superior.
I think that anyone who thinks that smart watches are going to be a bonanza for developers like smart phones have been are fooling themselves. These are phone accessories. Only a fraction of iPhone owners are going to buy an Apple watch and only a fraction of those who do are likely to install a bunch of non-stock software.
I use a 6+ now, before that a Nexus 5, before that a Lumia 920, before that a Galaxy S3, and before that iPhones...I don't want to buy a watch that requires an iPhone and won't work with any other phone. Apple makes great stuff, I have Macs and iPads and they are great, but I cannot say that I want an expensive watch that needs to be replaced within 2 or 3 years max and I refuse to start a watch habit that mirrors my existing phone habit.
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CB1234
macrumors 6502a
Stylus for
watch sounds a good idea....it could also back up as a 'toothpick'....😉Certainly not, they are still majority family-owned, the CEO is the son of the founder. This is Europe, family-owned companies tend to stay family-owned for a very long time in the vast majority of cases. In particular, if they are still family-run, companies rarely sell out to others.
In biggest example I can think of for the US is Walmart. I don't think anybody would think it to be likely that would sell themselves to, eg, Amazon (itself still run by its founder, though there is a clear difference between founder-run and family-run over multiple generations companies).
Apple Pay is also still restricted to the US. Yes, the US is much larger, but starting in one country first and that being your home country is something that happens all the time.
Note to Swatch: wait til summer
If I were Swatch, there's no way I would release a smartwatch in the next 3 months. It will be just completely eclipsed by the hype surroundingwatch. It will be totally lost in the shuffle. What I would do is wait til mid-summer, when the hype around Apple has died down, but before the Apple keynotes in the fall. Then they would get a lot more mileage out of the publicity. And that's assuming that the watch is something worth having, of course.
If I were Swatch, there's no way I would release a smartwatch in the next 3 months. It will be just completely eclipsed by the hype surrounding
watch. It will be totally lost in the shuffle. What I would do is wait til mid-summer, when the hype around Apple has died down, but before the Apple keynotes in the fall. Then they would get a lot more mileage out of the publicity. And that's assuming that the watch is something worth having, of course.The point is that it didn't do them much good. Apple still came in and sucked up most of the profits.
The more competition the better. Got to keep the pressure on Apple's development teams. They also provide feedback to Apple on features that might be improved, or no one wants.
I don't hold shares, as most people in the world don't, and don't care about profits. I guess when that's all you have to use for a discussion...
And my point had jack **** to do with Apples profits....
Piggie
macrumors G3
More like grossly over estimating just how many people will actually want one of these devices after the initial wave dies away.
With all the people in the world, just how many smart phone overs have been sitting there every day just thinking to themselves.
"Dam, I wish I had a tiny screen, vastly more limited version of this phone strapped to my wrist that I can charge every day as well as this phone I already have"
I think there are valuable use cases. I've posted mine before - but in short - I typically leave my phone ringer off at work and at home. Having alerts pop up on my phone and the vibration on my wrist (with caller ID) when someone calls is handy - esp if I've stepped away from my phone.
And yes - while not often, I have googled things from my wrist for a quick check on something without the need to take out my phone. Handy for when it's cold out 🙂
LordVic
Cancelled
if you think swatch is a "no-name" brand, i seriously recommend coming out from under your rock.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swatch_Group
Chupa Chupa
macrumors G5
Or grossly over estimating how many people want want these devices based on a hunch and an anecdote. This market is in its infancy and the initial "wave" you speak of has past and the next one coming is bigger, not smaller, not fading. Millions of Nike, Fitbit, Garmin, Polar, etc. activity bands already sold. 500K Pebbles sold without much marketing at all. Maybe its a fad, maybe not, but until we see what the Apple Watch can do is like predicting the who will win the Superbowl and by what score first day of training camp.
And, no, I've never said I wish I had a tiny screen, but I have said it's such a PITA to pull my phone out of my pocket to see who is calling me. I have been in situations where it would have been rude for me to check my texts even though I knew an urgent one was coming. So for me I'm intrigued.
Piggie
macrumors G3
Oh yes, there are "some"
Fundamentally I don't see a mass interest in body/health monitoring, full stop.
There is, and always will be a group of people who do, but it's not the mass consumer.
Almost everyone at some point in their life buys some exercise equipment of various types, and I'd suggest probably 90%+ of all these items end up in the attic, or being sold onto others very shortly.
I can see there could be something in bring watches up to date with electronics.
We'll see 🙂
jdawgnoonan
macrumors 65816
Exactly. But a normal watch that had the capabilities of FitBit and that didn't need to be charged all of the time because it doesn't duplicates smart phone features might be pretty cool.
Honestly, I think that most smart watches are goofy looking to begin with. Apple has good design chops and I am anxious to see what the their watch looks like. In photos it looks like anther oversized fat smartwatch that does things that a niche audience will like, but it is differenctiated by a really nice choice of bands.
Most of us in the US hold shares, whether directly or indirectly, in lots of companies.
Anyway, the point of the person to whom your were responding was that the naysayers of the Apple Watch said the same about when the iPhone came out. They claimed that Apple couldn't compete in a market where there were entrenched players. Apple showed that it didn't matter. They could build a successful product that would completely transform the mobile industry.
Piggie
macrumors G3
Oh, I'm not for one moment saying it's a poor piece of technology.
Given the tech right now, it's very clever.
It will be the best of it's type.
None of that means that in general people actually want it beyond the initial hype over a new product by "Apple"
I think this will sell on the back of being Apple, but the sales will slow pretty quick, and nothing like the long term mass appeal of a phone or tablet.