How many are getting an Apple watch?

[Artdeco]

Looking forward to the Pebble Time Steel, need to sell the 2 Pebble Steels I have.

I'm not locked into a particular platform, just looking for what works best for my needs.

 

[ControlD]

Looking forward to the Pebble Time Steel, need to sell the 2 Pebble Steels I have.

I'm not locked into a particular platform, just looking for what works best for my needs.

I'll be interested to hear what you think about it. I'm sort of torn from what I have seen so far. I feel like part of the draw of the original Pebble is the cheap price. At $200+ it makes the decision on getting one a little more difficult. My Pebble was $99 which sort of made it an easy buy (even though it was a gift).

 

[poofyhairguy]

I don't think I've seen one person wearing it not that I notice watches much and I live in a very apple crazed area.

I have seen a few.

The biggest Apple nerd has one and likes it for the second screen triaging. He admits though that it confused his non-nerd wife at first, and basically the only reason she "loves" it is because of the doodling and sent your heart beat crap.

 

[blairharrington]

I'm very interested in a smartwatch simply for notifications. The Pebble Time seems way overpriced at $200 and apparently the screen is pretty crappy indoors.

The Apple Watch is way overpriced IMO for an entry price of $350.

The Basis Peak seems very unreliable.

I know the Android Wear for iOS rumor but it's still just a rumor.

There really are so few options right now for iPhone users.

 

[ControlD]

I'm very interested in a smartwatch simply for notifications. The Pebble Time seems way overpriced at $200 and apparently the screen is pretty crappy indoors.

The Apple Watch is way overpriced IMO for an entry price of $350.

The Basis Peak seems very unreliable.

I know the Android Wear for iOS rumor but it's still just a rumor.

There really are so few options right now for iPhone users.

Heck, just get the original Pebble for $79 then. The screen is perfectly fine indoors on that one at least.

I wonder why the new one doesn't work well indoors? I thought it was still an e-ink type of display.

 

[blairharrington]

Heck, just get the original Pebble for $79 then. The screen is perfectly fine indoors on that one at least.

I wonder why the new one doesn't work well indoors? I thought it was still an e-ink type of display.

Pebble Watch is probably my best bet, but it's fugly IMO and I'm not sure I want to use a black and white screen.

It's just one review, but TechCrunch was pretty down on the screen for indoor use.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/05/27/pebble-time-review/#.ssjn9k:WxVU

 

[vi edit]

I'm very interested in a smartwatch simply for notifications. The Pebble Time seems way overpriced at $200 and apparently the screen is pretty crappy indoors.

The Apple Watch is way overpriced IMO for an entry price of $350.

The Basis Peak seems very unreliable.

I know the Android Wear for iOS rumor but it's still just a rumor.

There really are so few options right now for iPhone users.

I just came out of a meeting where there were three of us wearing MS Bands. I'm hooked up to a cheap Lumia 635, another was synced to an Iphone, the third was hooked to a Samsung Galaxy variant. I think I've sold 3 bands alone just by people stopping and asking me what it is, and what it does.

Have yet to see an Apple Watch in the wild.

 

[ControlD]

I just came out of a meeting where there were three of us wearing MS Bands. I'm hooked up to a cheap Lumia 635, another was synced to an Iphone, the third was hooked to a Samsung Galaxy variant. I think I've sold 3 bands alone just by people stopping and asking me what it is, and what it does.

Have yet to see an Apple Watch in the wild.

Wait a minute.

The MS Band is platform agnostic?

 

[vi edit]

Wait a minute.

The MS Band is platform agnostic?

Yes indeedy. It's a slut. It doesn't care who it pairs with.

You only get Cortana voice recognition if you are on Windows Phone though. At least for now. They are supposed to port Cortana over to the other OS's shortly. No word on if it will support voice recognition after that.

 

[ControlD]

Yes indeedy. It's a slut. It doesn't care who it pairs with.

You only get Cortana voice recognition if you are on Windows Phone though. At least for now. They are supposed to port Cortana over to the other OS's shortly. No word on if it will support voice recognition after that.

Wow. I might look into one myself if/when something happens to my Pebble.

 

[Commodus]

I'm very interested in a smartwatch simply for notifications. The Pebble Time seems way overpriced at $200 and apparently the screen is pretty crappy indoors.

The Apple Watch is way overpriced IMO for an entry price of $350.

The Basis Peak seems very unreliable.

I know the Android Wear for iOS rumor but it's still just a rumor.

There really are so few options right now for iPhone users.

I don't think the Apple Watch is overpriced, it's just the classic Apple product: the company's "only the best we think we can make" philosophy means that the base price is high. The question is more whether or not Apple should have launched when the hardware cost $350, or if it should have waited until the hardware would be more accessible ($300 would probably cross a big psychological barrier).

In my experience, the Watch is the best smartwatch out there, with the nicest display, fitness features you actually want to use, upscale design options and relatively deep app support. The main problem is that smartwatches themselves are early, so it's both expensive and has some rough edges in the software.

 

[blairharrington]

I just came out of a meeting where there were three of us wearing MS Bands. I'm hooked up to a cheap Lumia 635, another was synced to an Iphone, the third was hooked to a Samsung Galaxy variant. I think I've sold 3 bands alone just by people stopping and asking me what it is, and what it does.

Have yet to see an Apple Watch in the wild.

Just looked into the Band. I would buy it right now if the keyboard were compatible with the iPhone. But it isn't. That's a damn shame.

 

[vi edit]

Just looked into the Band. I would buy it right now if the keyboard were compatible with the iPhone. But it isn't. That's a damn shame.

Keyboard sucks to use anyway. Too small of a screen to easily do anything. I usually do VR since I'm one of 9 people that actually has a windows phone.

 

[blairharrington]

Keyboard sucks to use anyway. Too small of a screen to easily do anything. I usually do VR since I'm one of 9 people that actually has a windows phone.

Keyboard looks just fine IMO. And it's better than having no keyboard whatsoever, like on the Apple Watch.

 

[Artdeco]

Yeah, Apple is using Siri, and it's pretty good, but the conditions have to be just right.

 

[Commodus]

I don't know about the lack of a keyboard. I'm of the mindset that a feature you don't like using isn't much better than missing that feature altogether. Look at Opera web browsing on the Samsung Gear S: sure, you can do it, but you'll probably wish you hadn't.

To me, the bigger deal is simply making sure that Siri as well as you'd hope: fast, accurate and a wide range of commands. Not that you'll usually want to talk to your watch, but it's very convenient when you're setting a timer or telling your friend that you'll be late.

 

[blairharrington]

I don't know about the lack of a keyboard. I'm of the mindset that a feature you don't like using isn't much better than missing that feature altogether. Look at Opera web browsing on the Samsung Gear S: sure, you can do it, but you'll probably wish you hadn't.

To me, the bigger deal is simply making sure that Siri as well as you'd hope: fast, accurate and a wide range of commands. Not that you'll usually want to talk to your watch, but it's very convenient when you're setting a timer or telling your friend that you'll be late.

I'd rather have a mediocre keyboard option than no option at all. From all accounts voice dictation will not work in noisy environments. So I would want a way to reply in said situations so I don't have to whip out my iPhone. At least give me the option. IMO it's a glaring weakness with the AW.

There is also the issue of privacy. Many times I would not want to speak a text out loud. Typing a response provides me the option to communicate privately.

 

[ControlD]

I can honestly say I have not one time wished I had a keyboard on my watch (even though I can put one on there if I really want to). You can have any number of canned responses stored ("OK", "Give Me a Minute", etc.) which takes care of quick responses. If you need to type out an actual response then 99 times out of 100 you will grab the phone out of your pocket and type on that. I mean, your phone is already with you, why not use it and its much larger and easier to use keyboard?

I guess if that's a feature you absolutely must have then it narrows the field down quite a bit, but I just can't imagine it being very useful.

 

[blairharrington]

I can honestly say I have not one time wished I had a keyboard on my watch (even though I can put one on there if I really want to). You can have any number of canned responses stored ("OK", "Give Me a Minute", etc.) which takes care of quick responses. If you need to type out an actual response then 99 times out of 100 you will grab the phone out of your pocket and type on that. I mean, your phone is already with you, why not use it and its much larger and easier to use keyboard?

I guess if that's a feature you absolutely must have then it narrows the field down quite a bit, but I just can't imagine it being very useful.

How is a keyboard on a watch not useful? Canned responses isn't going to cut it in most situations. Most my text convos are one sentence replies. A halfway decent keyboard on a watch would be hugely beneficial. The whole point is not have to fish out the phone from my pocket if I don't have to.

 

[ControlD]

How is a keyboard on a watch not useful? Canned responses isn't going to cut it in most situations. Most my text convos are one sentence replies. A halfway decent keyboard on a watch would be hugely beneficial. The whole point is not have to fish out the phone from my pocket if I don't have to.

I can see it being useful to have the option, but honestly trying to type out a message on a tiny little screen like that is just more frustration than I want to deal with. I can actually "type" out messages on my Pebble using the buttons, I just don't do it. That's when I get my phone out and type a proper message. But, I never need to do any "stealth" texting.

But that's me. For you it sounds like having a functional keyboard built in is a feature you want so you should certainly look for that.

 

[openwheel]

how small are your fingers to be able to type on a watch face?

 

[ControlD]

how small are your fingers to be able to type on a watch face?

That's sort of my thinking as well. It would require a special layout with REALLY good prediction to be useful IMO.

 

[openwheel]

I don't even think it's physically possible for any properly built male adult, but what do I know about smart watches?

 

[Commodus]

Since this partly doubles as the news thread:

Apple Watch finally arrives at Apple Stores in two weeks

It'll have taken two months for supply to catch up to the point where Apple actually has retail stock... that's a bit nuts. Reminded of when the iPod mini first launched and it was nigh-on impossible to get one for the first little while.

Also, it's notable that the Apple Watch is finally coming to Switzerland, the home turf of watches. I wouldn't be surprised if they sell an unusually large number of Editions there, if just because there are a lot of wealthy watch collectors in the area.

 

[vi edit]

Also, it's notable that the Apple Watch is finally coming to Switzerland, the home turf of watches. I wouldn't be surprised if they sell an unusually large number of Editions there, if just because there are a lot of wealthy watch collectors in the area.

Or the Swiss give Apple the finger because of this comment....
http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/4/6104871/jony-ive-thinks-the-iwatch-will-sink-switzerland