
My “Dumb” Watch - thedayisntgray
http://compassionmonk.com/this-is-my-dumb-watch/
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gauravjain13
Essentially, construct a straw man (modern smart watches with oh-so-many-
functions), and then attack it revealing the beautiful simplicity of a device
that just tells the time. Why not take it all the way back to sundials? Why
even add burden to the mortal coil and keep time?

(How did this make it to HN?)

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8lall0
Well, it proves that not everything should be able to do tons of stuff.

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owlninja
How does it prove anything? It is just the preference of the blogger who is
also pushing it by way of being an Amazon affiliate.

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drdeadringer
I don't know how you replied to a comment 26 minutes before I posted the
comment.

I also don't know how "Amazon affiliate blogger" fits into things.

I welcome you to enlighten me on either or both topics.

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jasode
_> I also don't know how "Amazon affiliate blogger" fits into things._

Fyi... amazon urls with _" &tag="_ are affiliate links that get a % cut of the
sales price.

In the blog's Amazon link, you'll see it redirects to a url that includes _"
&tag=compassionmon-20"_.

The blog author also wrote on the page: _" As an Amazon Associate I earn from
qualifying purchases from this link."_

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sinewav
My favorite thing about analog watches vs. a smartphone is that there's no
opportunity to get pulled into some push notification and forgetting why I was
even checking the time to begin with. I've been trying to pay more attention
to where I place my attention lately, and having a decent analog watch means I
can forget where my phone even is, instead of having to be disciplined every
time I interact with my "smartphone".

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c22
Funny, my experience with a smart watch has been more positive. I find that
getting push notifications on my wrist allows me to dismiss them then go back
to what I was doing right away. Without the watch I tend to linger on my phone
after dismissing the notification, addictively checking hn or emails instead
of getting back to the real world. This is the only feature of the watch I
really use, though. I'd love a "smart" watch that just received notifications
and had a much better battery life.

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ivankolev
I have been thinking about the feature set I would want in a watch and why
would I want to smart connect with phone etc. and I just don't see a need. I
ended up with solar powered Swiss made carefully designed and engineered
marvel of a "dumb" watch that never* needs charging and apart from the time-
related bells and whistles has just the no non-sense functions of baro/alti
meter and compass.

Best piece of tech I have ever had, though admitedly it costs around double of
smartwatch.

\-- * the accumulator battery will of course deteriorate with time, and the
watertight gaskets would have to be replaced at some point.

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gnode
I mostly agree with the sentiment about smart watches, but I like my watch to
be a bit more featureful than this.

Recently my Casio F-91W died and I replaced it with a somewhat more expensive
but functionally simple analogue watch. I'm kind of regretting not just
getting another F-91W, as I really miss its backlight and date display. I now
find myself reaching for my phone when I want a time / date check and treating
the watch mostly as a fashion accessory.

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Jaruzel
I stopped wearing a watch shortly after I started carrying a mobile phone
(~1994) as the phone could tell me the time and date, and I had to keep it
charged anyway. I didn't see the point of carry a redundant item such as a
wristwatch. Even now I see 'smart' watches as nothing more than gimmicks.

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limomium
I have a mechanical wristwatch, and love it. Scenario: I want to know how long
something lasts (e.g. lunch)

Wristwatch:

1) raise arm 2) pop crown 3) twist crown to align hands at 12:00 4) push crown
5) twist crown to wind

And now I can view at a glance how long it's been since I set it.

Same function with my smartphone:

1) dig smartphone out of pocket 2) press power button to activate screen 3)
swipe my unlock figure (sometimes twice because it doesn't register correctly)
4) tap clock app icon 5) tap timer tab icon (out of three extremely similar-
looking icons, sometimes tap wrong one) 6) tap 'reset' then start icon 7)
press power button to deactivate screen 8) put smartphone back into pocket and
everytime I want to check that timer: 9) dig smartphone out of pocket 10)
press power button to activate screen and the timer's displayed.

Twice the effort, thrice the hassle.

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thowthisaway
I love my smart watch, i'm able to share my health info with my doctor (heart
rate mostly) I can go running without my phone, I never miss a call/text from
my wife, and it nags me to standup and stretch once in a while, and it tells
me stupid jokes. I can also see the picture of my kids every time I look at
the time.

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erikig
I expected to see the Casio Databank - the best dumb smart watch I've ever
owned.

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jwilk
> the battery life lasts a gazillion years

According to the product description, it's more like 3 years.

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dr0pp
That's what you will read on most watch descriptions and it's an extremely
conservative value. I have never had a wrist watch battery dying on me, even
after wearing it for 10 years.

