

Rumor: Apple Building Bluetooth Smart Watch  - jeffpalmer
http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/27/rumor-apple-building-bluetooth-smart-watch/

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cydonian_monk
Really now. I understand there might be some small market for "smart watches,"
but who, honestly, still wears a watch? And who would want to wear a watch
that you will (possibly) have to charge daily? This is a watch in name only.

That aside, I can see benefits to connected devices such as this. I'm just not
sure I'd call them watches.

~~~
benesch
I'd actually be quite interested in purchasing one of these. To address your
points:

 _> Who still wears a watch?_

I do. (I'm young, too.) It's nice to be able to tell time by glancing at your
wrist rather than fishing through your pockets for your cell phone. Especially
if you're at a meeting that's dragging on—you can surreptitiously glance at a
watch without being rude; it's significantly more obvious when you pull out
your cell phone.

 _> have to charge daily_

I don't sleep with my watch; I imagine most people don't. I'd honestly much
prefer a watch that I throw on a charging stand each night. Finding a damn
screwdriver that's the right size and hunting down the correct watch battery
(if only they'd all just take CR2032s...) is a huge pain, even if it's only
once every few months.

Maybe you're right that they're not watches in the traditional sense. But
might as well capitalize on the customer familiarity. It is a device on your
wrist that tells time.

~~~
cydonian_monk
I wore a watch up until my last year of college (2002-2003). Don't remember
why I stopped wearing it (didn't have a cellphone until 2 years later), just
that I did. Never once did I have to change batteries "every few months." One
of the more advanced watches/stop watches/gizmos I wore lasted six YEARS on
one battery. Sure, I didn't sleep with my watch on (at least not
intentionally), but the idea of needing to charge it every night? And probably
replace it outright after two years because it's a sealed device and the
battery can't be replaced? ? That seems wacko.

But I'll admit (slightly off from my first post) there's an obvious market,
and that yes - plenty of folks do still wear watches. This whole thing just
seems odd.

~~~
benesch
Now that I think about it you're right—it's been every year or two for me. (On
a standard Timex Ironman.)

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neya
I don't see why this suddenly appears to be 'revolutionary' when Sony has had
this for a long time?[1] Heck you can even buy an Android powered Sony watch
WITH THE SAME DESIGN even now!

[1][http://www.sonymobile.com/gb/products/accessories/smartwatch...](http://www.sonymobile.com/gb/products/accessories/smartwatch/)

~~~
tankbot
From the piece: "It won’t be revolutionary, per se — many have already entered
the smart watch space"

Anyway, I would buy this. I stopped wearing a watch when I got my first cell
phone back in the late 90's but recently (last year) started wearing an iPod
nano as a watch. I use it for listening to the radio/music during my commute
and it's great.

It's also a conversation piece as most people haven't seen anything like it
and the idea of a multi-touch interface on a watch blows their minds. The only
drawback is a lack of bluetooth connectivity, I yearn for the ability to get
data/updates from my phone while it's pocketed or stream music to an external
device from my 16gb watch. Also there is no audio output except for the
headphone jack which makes timers/alarms pointless unless you always have
headphones on.

It's really to bad that nobody has hacked the 6th gen nano as it would be
great for home-brew. Something else I want is a "stealth" bootable usb device
on my wrist. :o)

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kmfrk
Spoiler alert, Apple constantly build various prototypes to toss around ideas,
most of which never make it past that stage.

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adamlindsay
I have gone the complete opposite direction of the many questioning who wears
a watch anymore. Recently I picked up my first automatic, a Seiko of course. I
have worn it for about 2 months now, and am about to tear into it. There are a
lot of sites that sell after market hands, faces and of course straps. The
movement I picked up is well documented and will allow me to get into it
without too much problem. There is something magical about a device that
requires no power other than being worn. It tells decent time, but loses a few
seconds a month. Thats part of the charm of it. Can your GPS Mobile device
tell better time? Of course it can. But that isn't really the point. After
only two months, I feel quite an attachment to it and actually feel naked
without it. I do use it functionally though. A quick flick of the wrist will
always be faster than pulling a phone out of the pocket, pushing a button and
putting it back in your pocket. There is of course the aesthetic/fashion
aspect as well. Currently I have a nice nato strap which has received a ton of
compliments. After many years of no watch and relying on PDA's and Smart
Phones, I can safely say I am now a watch wearer for life.

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mpgoetz
I also wear a watch in the form of the Nike Fuelband. It sleeps when I'm not
actively looking at it, so the battery lasts several days. The clasp is also a
USB connector, so it just plugs into my laptop when the battery gets low. 30
minutes later and im good for another few days.

I also frequently get complements on it because it looks like a sleek
wristband until the LEDs light up.

I would love to see more wearable accessories go this route and conserve power
until I actively look at or wake up the device.

If someone added streaming music or mp3 functionality that could pipe music to
a Bluetooth headset, that would be something I would definitely pay money for.

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frozenport
I remember the Fossil Write
PDA(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_Wrist_PDA>)

The charging was a problem, but I couldn't find a killed application or use
for it that wasn't covered by a regular watch. The only thing I used it for
was a watch!

I think that these products face an existential crisis that asks "what can a
watch do better than my Android cellphone?"

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JohnFromBuffalo
As they should. This is a sector that has truly suffered for innovation. I've
tried to use two or three between a Sony watch to a palm connector watch. Nike
has done a pretty cool thing with their sport bracelet, but it fails on
Android horribly. At least make an device/app that does a crap load more than
track forward motion and time. PLEASE do so.

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silentmars
Doesn't seem too likely to me, or at least it would be a fairly significant
reversal of Apple's approach to things. It's such a niche market. That's not
the kind of space Apple cares to play in it. Where's the opportunity for the
kind of mass-market world changing that Apple likes to focus on?

~~~
codex
I think it depends on what the intended use is. A watch would be a waste of
time. But I suspect this device will primarily be used for easily composing
and viewing text messages without taking one's phone from one's pocket/purse.
I expect texting will soon be the dominant form of communication.

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marknutter
If Apple is smart, they will build only the watch face and allow people to
install it in any number of 3rd party wristbands ala the iPod Nano. In fact, I
would wager that their entrance into this market is a direct response to the
popularity of using the 6th Generation iPod Nano as a watch.

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crisedward
I actually like the idea of having an smart watch, but the problem I see with
the technology is the battery time, I don't really want to be charging my
watch every 8 hours, I don't want to charge it at home, and at work. The more
you can do with the watch the less it's battery will last.

~~~
georgemcbay
If this is a real thing, I'm sure the watch will be a mostly dumb display that
gets "smart" by connecting to your iPhone/iPod/whatever.

Something like an ARM Cortex-M4 hooked up to an OLED screen with a bluetooth
radio for talking to the devices that do the real heavy lifting. You wouldn't
need to recharge the battery on something like that every 8 hours.

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FireBeyond
"Apple has long had a small hold on the watch market thanks to its iPod nano,
which is easily attached to a wrist band turning it into a full-functioning
watch."

Err, for small, you mean 'infinitesimal'. I don't think I've seen anyone,
ever, wearing a nano as a watch.

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crucialfelix
I remember thinking when the iPhone rumors were swirling that if apple DIDN'T
build a phone then they would have to be complete idiots. therefore they were
obviously working on a phone.

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codex
This watch will not be used primarily to tell the time. It will be used
primarily to read and compose text messages, possibly with a curved
touchscreen for better ergonomics.

~~~
UnFleshedOne
evn smlr kbrds, lol?

Then again people got used to texting on T9...

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mmanfrin
I foresee a flop.

~~~
mixmax
No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

[http://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-
ip...](http://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-ipod)

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hnriot
A smart phone bears little resemblance to a phone and I suspect a smart watch
will be similar. There are already a bunch if amateur attempts but one from
apple might be big hit, as MP3 players wane in popularity possibly this could
be something new for Apple. I'd give it a try..

