Forums >Off the Beaten Path>2014 iWatch Thingy
not bad for mile 25
I'm wearing one of those samsung watches right now (the sport version). Got it as a free trial for a month from the samsung experience store, along with a galaxy 5. The watch is kinda cool. I could see how it could catch on if was a bit more user friendly... I find it cumbersome, as I do the galaxy 5. It has too much junk all over the place that I don't need or that wasn't designed well. If apple makes a watch, I bet it will be more user friendly, and I'd likely get one depending on what it actually did. I'm upset about the rumors that the 6 is going to be a lot bigger. I want an iPhone mini. If I wanted a huge phone I'd carry around my ipad. The galaxy is way too big for my pocket. In fact, I think the iphone 5 and the 4s are too big. Big screens are a trend, just like those annoying sqack walkie talkie phones (Boost Mobile, was it?). I'm hoping they die off.
I'm wearing one of those samsung watches right now (the sport version). Got it as a free trial for a month from the samsung experience store, along with a galaxy 5. The watch is kinda cool. I could see how it could catch on if was a bit more user friendly... I find it cumbersome, as I do the galaxy 5. It has too much junk all over the place that I don't need or that wasn't designed well.
If apple makes a watch, I bet it will be more user friendly, and I'd likely get one depending on what it actually did.
I'm upset about the rumors that the 6 is going to be a lot bigger. I want an iPhone mini. If I wanted a huge phone I'd carry around my ipad. The galaxy is way too big for my pocket. In fact, I think the iphone 5 and the 4s are too big. Big screens are a trend, just like those annoying sqack walkie talkie phones (Boost Mobile, was it?). I'm hoping they die off.
There is a Galaxy Mini. How come the iPhone is still so clunky compared to my sleek, 2.5 year old Galaxy SIII?
CT JEFF
Not seen much on the I-watch yet, but I am looking forward to this: http://www.timex.com/one?cid=HP-1up-ONE-getstarted -Kelly
Not seen much on the I-watch yet, but I am looking forward to this:
http://www.timex.com/one?cid=HP-1up-ONE-getstarted
-Kelly
I work near the Timex Headquarters. We get to try out the One+ . I havent seen the price (I think $400) but the fact that AT&T includes a year of 3G service is a huge factor. AT&T still doesnt have an annual recurring 3G price yet. I dont think its perfect, but its a huge jump forward. Things Id like to see in my ideal watch.
3G - Live location. Communication. Emergency.
Waterproof - many watches act funky with water and sweat
Pool Laps & Open Water - few watches can accurately measure water distance, but there are some good ones out there now.
Great battery
Solar / Movement powered. We know this is an option, itd be great if you could extend the battery in the woods, or while running
Cadence / No foot pod required -
Bluetooth & ANT - HR and other connections
Quick GPS location lock -
Camera - Start with a 1/2 MP camera, but something so we can take a shot of the bear on the path, or whatever. Then the camera and storage can improve over time.
As for the APPLE watch. Not impressed yet, but Id like to play with it and get a better idea.
RUN SAFE. Barefoot 1st: 6/9/13. PR: 5k=22:50 10k=47:46 HM 1:51. FM 4:28 Oct 2015 joined RUN 169!
why the race to make smart watches? it seems to me very few people under 50 wear a watch. if you want to know the time you look at your phone. it seems like smart phones phased out the watch and now they want to bring it back. except it's tethered to the thing that already replaced it... the smart phone.
old woman w/hobby
Exactly. I don't get it.
steph
The phone more or less did make the watch redundant. You don't get that much more from a wristwatch -- mostly the convenience of just glancing at it instead of taking the phone out of your pocket. But now you can get that back, plus a lot more. The question is, what new kinds of things will this enable? A lot, I expect. We will have to wait and see what these do to our sense of personal affordances. Just knowing the initial feature set is not enough to tell you what it will be like to wear one. When the iPhone came out, was it immediately obvious how transformative it would be? Putting capabilities in new places always changes things.
Feeling the growl again
Except now smartphones are morphing back towards larger and larger devices which are more of a PIA to carry. I have a Galaxy SIII, I seriously don't understand how anyone without a purse can stand to carry any of the newer devices which are larger. I'm more of a Zoolander phone person. I'd welcome smaller devices like a watch but without looking into it deeply I'm sure at this date it lacks some functionality I would not want to give up.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Yeah, it will be a while before watches are able to *replace* phones, rather than supplement them, even if you're willing to live with the screen size and obvious difficulties using it as a handset.
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Phablets. My husband's phone is one of these. I cannot comfortably hold it to actually use it AS A PHONE...and he doesn't even have much of a case on it! This has been one of the selling points of the iPhone for me (and it works seamlessly with my computer and iPad and replaced running with a phone and an iPod). I'm bummed that Apple is getting further from their "think different" stance with these devices so that they might compete with Android models in size. Some of us actually prefer the smaller footprint for good reason -- especially when using a Lifeproof case. It's the reason I loved my Samsung Juke phone pre-smartphones. It was tiny and easy to run with or throw in a small pocket on my purse.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
I'm bummed that Apple is getting further from their "think different" stance with these devices so that they might compete with Android models in size. Some of us actually prefer the smaller footprint for good reason
I have big hands and worsening eyes -- I've been waiting for the bigger screens forever.
But yeah, not everybody is like me. I'm sure they will continue to sell the 5s / 5c for quite a while. There is not much new other than bigger screens in the 6es. Well, OK, faster processor. But I would expect that with the next major rev the smaller form factor will continue to exist. You're right, there is a definite need for it.
MTA -- and of course, the NFC, used for Apple Pay. That is actually a big deal. At least in the near term, a much bigger deal than the watch. For now at least, you can't get that without the bigger phone. Oh, right... except that you can get it with the watch too (tethered to say a 5)... huh.
But yeah, not everybody is like me. I'm sure they will continue to sell the 5s / 5c for quite a while. There is not much new other than bigger screens in the 6es.
Was going to buy the 6, will probably buy the smaller 5. Oh well, cheaper new phone for me.
As for the topic, I do not see the draw of the Apple Watch. Of course, it's Sep. 2014 and I don't have a smartphone and I went entirely without a cell phone between about 2004 and 2008. So maybe I'm not the target market.
Just a dude.
I would like a decent un-tethered smart watch.
I've had medical problems. My wife doesn't like the idea of me running who knows where with no way for her to get ahold of me. I refuse to carry my smart phone, and haven't found a comfortable way to strap it to myself somewhere. Putting it in my pocket doesn't work either.
If I had a watch, and JUST a watch, that I used all the time anyway, then she would be happy that if I fell over and broke my leg, I could still probably call her. Or an ambulance. /shrug
That's why I am looking at things like the Neptune Pine or the new Timex. Neither of those are perfect, but they both look way better than trying to drag my Samsung Galaxy around.
I don't care about GPS much. I own a Garmin and use it maybe once a every couple months. I don't care about music. I want to time my run and have a way to call someone if there is an emergency.
Maybe the real genius market is to find a way to strap a cell phone on so it stays dry and doesn't get in my way. /shrug
Getting back in shape... Just need it to be a skinnier shape...
Some of us actually prefer the smaller footprint for good reason -- especially when using a Lifeproof case. It's the reason I loved my Samsung Juke phone pre-smartphones. It was tiny and easy to run with or throw in a small pocket on my purse.
Yeah, I'm a small person and my 5 is as big as I want my phone to get. I have mine on me all the time and I need something that's going to fit in my hand easily so I'm not fumbling with it and also fit in my pocket somewhat reasonably (the 5's already a little big for this). I don't watch videos and I can read my emails just fine on my phone, so I'm not interested in anything larger.
No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.
Probably not.
I'm looking forward to seeing it in person. I was 100% meh on the ipad when they announced it but we happened to be in the store the day it was released, tried it out, and bought it on the spot.
Kelly, have you tried just running with the phone in your hand? That's what I do for any run that isn't a race or a track workout where my phone is close anyway.
For this reason I want a small iPhone 6 like Samsung has a galaxy mini. I guess that's a 5 and it's in my hands right now.
I'm sure they will continue to sell the 5s / 5c for quite a while.
With crappy iOS7. The only reason I'll likely "upgrade" to the 6 would be for a more reliable iOS than 7. It's been pretty much a complete disappointment when compared to iOSs 5 and 6, which never gave me a moment of irritation. 7, on the other hand, is forever unstable. When I first installed it on my 4s I assumed that the issues were simply a matter of new software on old hardware. But it's been no better on my 5s. Still better than the Android I had prior to switching to iPhone (which would crash in the middle of the night on the charger and had to have the battery removed a minimum of 3x/day once they rolled-out the first major update), but not the reliability I expect from an Apple product.