Google smartwatch

[jleebiker]

So while we are squabbling about battery life, what the latest Audio update did/did not do, what color and opacity the tiles should be, how effective FB chat on the phone is, others are marching forward:

Google reveals Android Wear, an operating system for smartwatches | The Verge

And what are we doing...

 

[Jazmac]

They are not the first to develop an operating system. Do you know if it is Linux based?

 

[mrcraggle]

And how fragmented will these watches be? Can I have any phone and expect this to work? Will these watches be much like the phones each company produces and have a skin that ruins the experience? Even Samsungs own watches only work with a handful of devices.

 

[jleebiker]

Think big picture folks. The fact that they are pressing forward and we argue about minutae.

 

[Davulsukur]

Woah, that watch is impressive.

 

[rockstarzzz]

2013 was the year for smartphones
2014 is meant to be the year for smart wearables. Google is well into the game. They have Google glasses and now this.

They are surely leading the industry while Microsoft will just about catch up with 2013 on April 2nd, 2014.

 

[Jazmac]

2013 was the year for smartphones
2014 is meant to be the year for smart wearables. Google is well into the game. They have Google glasses and now this.

They are surely leading the industry while Microsoft will just about catch up with 2013 on April 2nd, 2014.

Google glass is a kids toy. At least I don't expect it to ever reach critical mass. No one wants to be under constant surveillance from their friends let alone people you don't know. Smart watches might have a better shot at it.

 

[rockstarzzz]

Google glass is a kids toy. At least I don't expect it to ever reach critical mass. No one wants to be under constant surveillance from their friends let alone people you don't know. Smart watches might have a better shot at it.

Even if kid's toy - it is out there. What has Microsoft got? If it does go mainstream end of this year or next year - Microsoft has another catch up to play. It has hardly caught up on smartphones, nowhere near watches or glasses and it's revamped Windows 8.x is still struggling to convince the loyal masses + Xbox One is struggling against PS4.

All in all, it looks like Microsoft keeps getting pushed on back foot in innovations. If that continues, there will be markets after markets that Google would have reached when Microsoft turns up to those, they will be as saturated as smartphone market is currently.

What does that mean? That means forget about that ecosystem dream it is chasing because that will only happen if it is leading or at least competing in all those fields instead of playing catch up. Only place Google is catching up is desktop OS and Office solutions discounting enterprise on Windows 7 who won't switch.

 

[anon(5872827)]

lets see the real ones first not the fake renders and then we talk

why would I want another device on me that does the same thing as my smartphone and I have to charge it every couple of hours ?

 

[Laura Knotek]

Even if kid's toy - it is out there. What has Microsoft got? If it does go mainstream end of this year or next year - Microsoft has another catch up to play. It has hardly caught up on smartphones, nowhere near watches or glasses and it's revamped Windows 8.x is still struggling to convince the loyal masses + Xbox One is struggling against PS4.

All in all, it looks like Microsoft keeps getting pushed on back foot in innovations. If that continues, there will be markets after markets that Google would have reached when Microsoft turns up to those, they will be as saturated as smartphone market is currently.

What does that mean? That means forget about that ecosystem dream it is chasing because that will only happen if it is leading or at least competing in all those fields instead of playing catch up. Only place Google is catching up is desktop OS and Office solutions discounting enterprise on Windows 7 who won't switch.

I think the major issue is that Google has gone after consumers first, and then enterprise users second.

Microsoft has been entrenched in enterprise for such a long time that it cannot seem to put aside enterprise long enough to focus just a bit on consumers.





Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 using Tapatalk

 

[jleebiker]

WOW! Beautiful!!!! Moto, shut up and take my money!!!

Moto 360: It's Time - YouTube

 

[Editguy1900]

WOW! Beautiful!!!! Moto, shut up and take my money!!!

Moto 360: It's Time - YouTube

Yeah, it's the first one I've seen that interests me. But, price would be a big factor for me. I'm not paying $300 for a watch, I don't care what it does. It's doesn't do anything my cell phone can't do so, if I bought one, it would mainly be as a time piece (and really just a matter of slight convenience because it's not that hard to pull a phone from my pocket). I'm not sure that there's an enormous demand for smart watches, but time will tell. Obviously if Apple ever gets into it, they will sell a bunch to their hardcore followers. I'm actually surprised they don't find more electronic gadgets to sell because they have a base that will buy anything with the Apple logo on it.

 

[jojoe42]

If Microsoft doesn't announce a Notifications API or something for other devices to extend onto at Build 2014 I would be severely disappointed as they are potentially missing out on an entire new sector of the consumer market. Personally I've been in the market for a wearable lately, and to be honest the Motorola watch is beautiful - and believe it or not there are quite a few people who would happily pay for devices like that and (knowing Android) cheaper offerings like the Galaxy Gear Neo and Pebble. I would be expecting Microsoft to be announcing something later on this year of their own.

 

[raycpl]

btw,,, what are the SARS ratings going to be with these glasses?? How safe are these really? Its too near the brains...

 

[SSgt Bruskowiz]

I dont see the need of half baked products who are pushed on the market to soon, just to be the first.

A watch oke, smartwatch?
For what, to see the time and date.........thats fine
but for messages and mail, no thanks people complained already that the phones where to small to read and write.
Funny, people dont want to wear watches anymore because they have there phones.
So why should a smartwhatch makes any difference.

The glasses, nice but no thanks.
I see the warningsigns already, no glasses alowed.
I believe that there are not many people who would feel comfortable with those glases around,
i know i wouldnt.
For some kind of jobs i can understand it, but for daily use.

I dont think that those goodies are going to be around for long.
Remember the bluetooth earpieces, once mainstream and now.

That does not mean that i dont like the Motowatch.

 

[wpmartjr]

I think it's a nice watch but when buying something like this, won't you ask you're self "what's the point of this device?" and you will discover, most people don' need it. It's a gimmick. So it would be better for google to improve android, most people i know buy an android phone because apple is too expensive and wp has too few apps, so it's not like they like android, they just don't have another option, but that will soon change

 

[jojoe42]

I dont see the need of half baked products who are pushed on the market to soon, just to be the first.

A watch oke, smartwatch?
For what, to see the time and date.........thats fine
but for messages and mail, no thanks people complained already that the phones where to small to read and write.
Funny, people dont want to wear watches anymore because they have there phones.
So why should a smartwhatch makes any difference.

The glasses, nice but no thanks.
I see the warningsigns already, no glasses alowed.
I believe that there are not many people who would feel comfortable with those glases around,
i know i wouldnt.
For some kind of jobs i can understand it, but for daily use.

I dont think that those goodies are going to be around for long.
Remember the bluetooth earpieces, once mainstream and now.

That does not mean that i dont like the Motowatch.

Sure they may be a trend thing, but I can see the use in them for people who might find it useful. In my mind, smartwatches are designed for three main things more or less - notifications, small bits of info like music control and sometimes calls. I don't know about you guys but I think of Nokia users in the forums heavily use/like the Glance screen because when they pull their phone out it gives all the basic information (time, notifications) at a glance without having to unlock their phone. I think of the watch as an extension of this - for example in a meeting or in class, wouldn't it be great if you could just leave your phone on silent all day and let your watch take the notifications? It's certainly more subtle than pulling out your phone to reject a call. Also, personally my 1020 lives in an OtterBox case so it is a bit bulky and thus cumbersome sometimes to pull out of my pocket; and for users with larger phones like the 1520 and Icon it'll be more convenient to be able to leave the phone in your pocket or backpack than pull it out every time you want to change tracks or see text messages. Furthermore (I find this the killer feature really) the ability to change tracks from your watch is kind of cool - you don't have to buy headphones with inline controls anymore, and you can leave your phone in your pocket too.

Taking phone calls on a watch I can understand as some people would think to look silly, but it sounds practical for some - for example when I Longboards around town I usually leave my phone in my bag than in my pocket cause it's more protected - if you look at the Hot Watch for example (you can just cup your hand and it uses a directional speaker/mic to pick up your voice), it's a pretty slick way to take calls, but once again for a small group of users. It's mainly the fact that you can easily access relevant information LIKE on the glance screen from your wrist, admittedly quite handy

As for the glasses, not sure how I feel about those....I think once I get over the novelty of feeling semi-like Iron Man with a HUD in my vision I would fail to see the point. Smart glasses are not as subtle as smartwatches really

 

[hyperthermia]

Now cortana gets a bigger role to the entire windows ecosystem. She must not just be good but best to compete with google and siri. These gadgets aren't called "smart" for nothing.

 

[Jas00555]

So while we are squabbling about battery life, what the latest Audio update did/did not do, what color and opacity the tiles should be, how effective FB chat on the phone is, others are marching forward:

Google reveals Android Wear, an operating system for smartwatches | The Verge

And what are we doing...

OP, you'll have to forgive me when I say I don't understand what you're trying to spread FUD about.

"while we talk about how KitKat can finally run on lower spec'd devices, Microsoft and Sony just came out with the most amazing consoles in years." - said no Android fan. Ever.

Are you trying to say that Microsoft will be left out of an unproven market yet? I'd rather Microsoft building their ecosystem through an all-in-one entertainment system that extends your devices to your TV instead of smart watches. Oh, wait, they've already done that. I've never seen a single person with a smart watch and I don't see there be any use for them for the price that these things will probably ask for.

 

[jleebiker]

OP, you'll have to forgive me when I say I don't understand what you're trying to spread FUD about.

That's Ok, I'm not seeking your opinion nor approval. If you don't get it, don't worry, it probably doesn't apply to you. Just because YOU'VE never seen a single person with a smart watch doesn't mean there isn't a market for it. A fruit-fly that spends his life living off one fruit only thinks there's one fruit in the entire span of his existence.

The point of this was that certain vendors are driving forward with NEW, while others are complacent and waiting to see what happens. Smartwatches and wearables are nothing terribly new. Someone is finally doing something about it. While one vendor is out there pushing the envelope, another is waiting to see how the market will respond and those that are tied to that vendor will once again be complaining about all the things their device can't do.

As for the functionality of these types of devices, speaking for myself, I am in TONS of meetings. I HATE having to pull out my phone to check a message or email EVERY SINGLE time I get an alert. Having a wrist based device that looks inconspicuous and sublime would allow me to filter what is and what is NOT important with out disturbing everyone else. So for ME, it is very functional. I can only speak for myself.