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Does Anyone Outside Silicon Valley Even Want a Smartwatch?
New York Magazine ^ | 07/14/2014 | By Kevin Roose

Posted on 07/14/2014 7:32:33 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

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To: Bubba_Leroy

Speaking of less portable. Ran into a friend last week whose new phone has a 6.5” screen. That’s .5” smaller than my wife’s tablet.

Looks very strange indeed talking into it. But maybe in two years the guy with the little 4” or 5” phone will be the one who looks silly.


41 posted on 07/14/2014 8:19:15 AM PDT by Sherman Logan (Perception wins all the battles. Reality wins all the wars.)
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To: roofgoat

42 posted on 07/14/2014 8:19:42 AM PDT by Red Badger (I've posted a total of 2,763 threads and 85,263 replies. ...............)
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To: SeekAndFind

I haven’t worn a watch daily since I left my last job in 2002. I have a couple of nice watches for special events, but I don’t need it. My smartphone has the time on it, if I need to know the time I just glance at it.

Smartwatches won’t coax me back.


43 posted on 07/14/2014 8:19:53 AM PDT by Ted Grant
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To: ilgipper
Here's a nice activity tracker...


44 posted on 07/14/2014 8:20:22 AM PDT by Wyatt's Torch
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To: SeekAndFind

One more thought on the issue.

Nobody has a great record, to my knowledge, on predicting which tech will take off.

I remember reading multiple articles on why the iPad would never go anywhere. And others on how nobody would ever be able to compete with Apple on smartphones.


45 posted on 07/14/2014 8:20:59 AM PDT by Sherman Logan (Perception wins all the battles. Reality wins all the wars.)
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To: Sherman Logan

46 posted on 07/14/2014 8:25:01 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: Red Badger

ok, that’s pretty funny


47 posted on 07/14/2014 8:29:31 AM PDT by roofgoat
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To: Sherman Logan

48 posted on 07/14/2014 8:29:54 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: Sherman Logan

49 posted on 07/14/2014 8:30:31 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

those comic book ads were the best..............until you laid out the money, waited 8 weeks, and then opened up the box only to be highly disappointed.


50 posted on 07/14/2014 8:32:02 AM PDT by roofgoat
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To: US_MilitaryRules

Not wearing a wristwatch must be an American thing; everyone here has ‘em, though here it’s more men that wear them.

Biggest sellers in the Czech Republic are the Seiko 5 self-winding wristwatches and the Casio Edifice range. For those with a bit more $$$, definitely Omega or Panerai.

Invicta is pretty popular here too.


51 posted on 07/14/2014 8:32:38 AM PDT by AnAmericanAbroad (It's all bread and circuses for the future prey of the Morlocks.)
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To: Bubba_Leroy

LOL, I agree, they are simply accessories, and I buy the cheap ones that look great for awhile and then toss them when they begin to show the base metal.


52 posted on 07/14/2014 8:32:50 AM PDT by McGavin999
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To: SeekAndFind

I own a Pebble Steel.

https://getpebble.com/

Personally, I love it for several reasons.

1) I work in an office and I can know someone is texting me without the rest of the office having to hear the non-stop buzzing. I have several family members with health issues and never know when I’ll be called to hospital. While in a meeting, I can see if the hospital is calling me without having to be rude and pull out my phone.

2) When I’m out on my bike, I can run the GPS from my phone to the watch. When a new direction is coming up, my watch vibrates and tells me which way to turn and in how many feet. I can leave my phone safely in my bad or pocket and still have a fully functional GPS.

3) I do a lot of kayaking. I leave a wireless bluetooth speaker in the front compartment. I can leave my phone in dry storage and still change songs, Pandora stations, or volume from my watch (which is water proof).

Those are the three main reasons, but there are other little fun things it can do when needed. But I’m also a watch guy, I have several Swiss and Sturhling skeleton watches as well.

The thing I like most about the Pebble Steel is the fact that’s it’s really simple. It doesn’t try to be a cellphone on your wrist. It is primarily a watch that has the ability to connect to your phone of a basic level. I think things like the Galaxy gear are just overkill.


53 posted on 07/14/2014 8:37:30 AM PDT by H8Libs
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To: SeekAndFind
The difference is that no one questions whether it is technologically possible to cram a smart phone into a watch. The two problems that must be overcome before anyone will want to buy them are input and output.

Input is the reason tablets have not yet replaced PCs. Voice recognition technology is not yet a good replacement for keyboards. It is almost there, but not quite.

Output is going to be more of a problem. Google Glass and competing products are much more likely to be viable since you can see the output. Smart watches are going to need some sort of holographic or projection screen technology to solve the output problem.

These are the same reasons why calculator watches never replaced calculators, even though they were available 30 years ago.

54 posted on 07/14/2014 8:39:17 AM PDT by Bubba_Leroy (The Obamanation Continue)
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To: SeekAndFind

A smart watch, eh?

I guess I am a luddite, I went from using the latest and greatest Casio Watches with the little keyboard to now using a mechanical, (windup), pocket watch when I leave to go into town. My wife has to remind me to take the cell phone with me and I invariably leave it in the car.

What turned me off to the recent advances in personal electronics was the walking dead aka cell phone users who walked head down and punched away furiously in text-ese to all their myriad ‘friends’. Then there was the recent visit to the park with my grand-daughter. Most of the young kids were playing on the equipment and the older kids as well as their parents were head down and concentrating on the gadget in their hands.

So in conclusion I won’t be getting one of these gadgets anytime soon. There’s so much of the world around us that still there to explore with all of our senses.


55 posted on 07/14/2014 8:40:15 AM PDT by The Working Man
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To: Bubba_Leroy
Voice recognition technology is not yet a good replacement for keyboards. It is almost there, but not quite.

I'm using Android 4.something, and darn if the VR isn't excellent. Probably 98% at this time. I'm working to where I'll take notes on the job with the phone instead of paper/pen.

That said, I recently texted a friend named Mitch. What he got was, "Bitch, can you meet me at ..."

But possibly my voice just interfaces really well for some reason. Had a heck of a time 15 years ago with Dragon, and a friend could use her's almost perfectly.

56 posted on 07/14/2014 8:48:13 AM PDT by Sherman Logan (Perception wins all the battles. Reality wins all the wars.)
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To: SeekAndFind

The Motorolla smartwatch is the first one that I could see myself wearing.

I currently wear a solar powered atomic G-Shock, the shear convenience of always having the right time and never changing or recharging batteries may keep me away from a smartwatch for the foreseeable future.


57 posted on 07/14/2014 8:49:23 AM PDT by dangerdoc ((this space for rent))
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To: SeekAndFind

Bill Gates apparently still thinks that................


58 posted on 07/14/2014 8:58:58 AM PDT by Red Badger (I've posted a total of 2,763 threads and 85,263 replies. ...............)
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To: SeekAndFind

no


59 posted on 07/14/2014 9:06:22 AM PDT by bgill
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To: SeekAndFind

i’ve been developing code for 30+ years.

smart watches?

DOA

put them right next to ‘it’ (the segway, if you forgot)


60 posted on 07/14/2014 9:12:04 AM PDT by sten (fighting tyranny never goes out of style)
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