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Author Topic: Apple Watch Terry Lynn-Stevens Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1081 From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Registered: Dec 2012 posted 03-09-2015 10:49 PM                     How do people on the board think this new device will do? I have a hard time believing that there are going to be a ton of people wanting this thing. I understand that Apple has a lot of iPhone users so I am sure it will sell some. The cost of the watch starts at $350 and it must be paired to an iPhone. For a phone with a nicer design the price goes up. I have been reading some of the caveats: -18 hour max battery -Needs to be charged every night -What about becoming obsolete when version 2.0 comes out -power users are going to have some serious battery drain -will the pairing with the iPhone drain the battery and there are some others. I personally do not wear a watch, I haven't in almost 25 years, I do like the idea of the health stuff like fitness or heart rating, not so sure about Apple Pay or getting emails on my wrist. If the cost was under $200 I could maybe see it working. I do understand that Apple has very good marketing and a loyal Kool-aid drunk following, but I think this might be the first major Apple flop since the iPhone was released.  |  IP: Logged Marcel Birgelen Film God Posts: 3357 From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands Registered: Feb 2012 posted 03-10-2015 01:47 AM                     Can't wait to have the "App experience" on my wrist...  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 03-10-2015 01:50 AM                        I've only ever worn a watch when I worked at a movie theater and also high school so I could count the seconds until the bell rang. And also for riding the public bus to and fro during that time of my life. I can't see any advantages to such a device now especially if it requires you to already have a phone. But during my projectionist life it would have been cool to, say, have a CA Link status screen on display everywhere I go and I could control the projectors and sound system from my wrist (as long as the phone was not required). If anything, the watch should replace the phone. It'd be funny to see people talking into their wrists. They'd also have a hell of a lot harder time taking pictures which itself would be a virtue to society. Plus it'd be harder to lose.  |  IP: Logged Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 03-10-2015 02:12 AM                         |  IP: Logged Lyle Romer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1400 From: Davie, FL, USA Registered: May 2002 posted 03-10-2015 05:20 AM                     I believe that in cases like this, technology has developed past the point of its usefulness!  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 03-10-2015 08:43 AM                     I have no use for this, as this would be useless for me unless I was wearing glasses, something I only do now for reading. Even if I could see the screen clearly without glasses, the screen is really to small to be useful. Not being able to work for an entire day without a recharge is a show stopper. Being useless unless within Bluetooth range of my phone is a show stopper. Requiring an iPhone is definitely sales limiting. Ultimately, I think this is a solution in search of a problem. Because it is Apple, I think it will be successful, but as a niche product. I don't think there is a mainstream need out there for this.  |  IP: Logged Dave Macaulay Film God Posts: 2321 From: Toronto, Canada Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-10-2015 11:43 AM                     The believers will buy them, they drink any flavor koolaid Apple offers. Watches, in general, are fashion accessories now. There's a video of a man asking 20ish people what time it is but they pick only people wearing a watch. They all ignore their watch and check their phones for the time. There was another product in the apple announcement - a new macbook with odd features, especially having one USB-C port for everything... a grand total of exactly one port for charging, mouse, video... so you're on the hook for a costly ($80.00) adapter (from apple, there are/will be cheaper alternatives for sure) if you dare want to charge it and use a mouse or USB stick as well. I think apple has done a lot for laptop computer design, but this idea sucks. I'm glad I'm not paying apple prices for the revolution in laptop design though (I remember when all laptops were thick, heavy, had horrible displays, and were slow... ): I can get most of the improvements apple pioneered in any brand wintel laptop. And almost always get an SD socket, HDMI port, multiple USB ports, separate charger socket... plus more memory and roomier HDD... cheaper. A lot cheaper.  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 03-10-2015 12:41 PM                     Normally, I would have been working backstage on the rear-screen projection crew at that big APPLE event yesterday, but I had a couple of previously scheduled commitments that kept me from being there. As for the product itself- I just don't 'get it'. For one thing, who wants to charge their watch every 18hrs? Some of my work days are longer than that! And, as others have said "Who wears a watch anymore, anyway?" Although I have a couple of nice "dress watches", most of the time, if I wear one when I'm working, it's an el-cheap-o (under $20) plastic one since I often have to work with my hands/arms in tight spaces and a good watch would only get all scratched up, and a metal band might short-circuit some of the equipment I work with in certain situations. When the battery ran down, it was usually cheaper just to buy another one than to change the battery. I used to buy them at Wallgreens, but a couple of years ago, they stopped selling them. When I asked why they no longer carried them, the clerk told me "nobody buys watches anymore" So now, when I need to replace one I just usually get one from Hong Kong cheap on e-bay.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-10-2015 01:01 PM                     IMHO, the biggest Apple-related news was HBO inking a deal with Apple to have HBO's new streaming service exclusively on Apple TV. You get HBO for $14.99 per month without needing an overpriced cable/satellite package pinned to it. That, and the price break to $69, ought to dramatically improve Apple TV device sales. Lately other devices like Roku and Chromecast have been doing very well in that market segment. The HBO deal definitely gives Apple an advantage. Regarding the new MacBook, I'm not interested in a super thin notebook that has only one USB port. That just sucks. Any notebook needs to be able to connect at least a mouse and external hard disc without an adapter that could risk burning up that lone USB port. Not that it matters. I won't fart around with notebooks whose screens are any smaller than 15". I'm sure this new MacBook will appeal to those who like carrying around a notebook exposed like it's a fashion accessory or status symbol. Normal people carry a notebook in a case, which unfortunately hides the holy Apple logo. The iWatch does indeed seem like a solution in search of a problem. Not only that, but it's needlessly adding complication in the market segments where it wants to compete. FitBit wrist bands can get pretty expensive; the biggest model costs $250. But the FitBit doesn't require you to have a freaking iPhone paired up to it to work. I'm looking forward to the visual comedy that will take place when iWatch wearing people start showing up at the gym. It will be funny watching them fumble around with their phone and their watch before doing anything. Again, I'm sure the iWatch will sell pretty well since it's an Apple product. We'll certainly see some celebrities and über-douchebags showing off the $10,000 18K gold version. That version of the watch could cause other problems though. Imagine an unwitting Apple fanatic blowing $10,000 on a gold iWatch, but spent only $3000 on his wife's wedding ring. quote: Jim Cassedy For one thing, who wants to charge their watch every 18hrs? Yeah, really. Especially these days when you have watches like Kinetic watches that require no charging or other power sources at all it seems pretty silly to sell a watch that has to be charged every day. But the iWatch will get charged right alongside the iPhone since it's really just a high priced accessory for an iPhone. I'm sure Apple's marketing will pressure customers about that. No iPhone is complete without an iWatch to go along with it.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-10-2015 01:05 PM                        I would say the biggest problem with this thing is the size of it. A watch, even a pretty good sized one, has a smaller face than the Apple Watch does and can be curved, circular, oblong, whatever. For ladies, forget it...a fashionable watch might have a face of a 3/4" or less. So they're going to have something that fashion-conscious people won't want to wear because it looks dorky, and if they make it small enough to not look dorky, then it'll be too small to be useful. And most of the people, even the ones who don't think it's dorky-looking, don't wear watches. All of that said, I have long been in awe of Apple's marketing department, so...this could still work.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-10-2015 01:14 PM                     If the iWatch had a brand other than Apple it would look dorky. Style-wise, the iWatch is big, but not masculine looking. It looks like a toy next to men's sport watches and dress watches. The face is indeed too big for women's wrists. Any other electronics company or watch/jewelry company would have to deal with those issues. Apple doesn't because Apple is Apple. I'm sure celebrities will be wearing the $10,000 version, even female celebrities.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-10-2015 01:53 PM                        For what it's worth, Hollywood Reporter does a whole "special issue" every year devoted only to watches. They have million dollar + watches in there.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-10-2015 05:53 PM                     That's not surprising. Good accessories for a $1 million watch: a $20 million mansion and $30 million yacht. Nevertheless, I would expect that same watch issue from Hollywood Reporter to include that new $10,000 gold iWatch given all the Apple product placement in so many movies and TV shows. The Gold iWatch is a unique douche bag item in that it's basically the same item as common folks with standard incomes can buy, just in a package $9650 more expensive. That gets me thinking about all the smart phone theft related street crime. A gold iWatch could be a big invitation to get mugged in some places. I can also see people buying functional standard priced iWatch models and then modifying them in an attempt to pass them off as $10,000 gold models. It's bound to happen. During my time in New York City I saw plenty of street vendors selling bogus Rolex watches.  |  IP: Logged Martin McCaffery Film God Posts: 2481 From: Montgomery, AL Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-10-2015 06:23 PM                        I wonder if the iWatch, especially the Gold, is upgradable. How long will it be useful (as they define usefulness)? Kinda like digital projectors, you'll never see a 50 year old iWatch, but you'll pay extra for a 50 year old Rolex.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-10-2015 06:46 PM                        The limited battery life should be a deal-breaker for many people. Even the cheapest wind-up clock will run for more than twenty-four hours without attention. As for laptops, I rather _dislike_ what Apple has done to laptop design. Glossy LCDs, chiclet keyboards, lack of connectivity (bring back serial ports! or at least Ethernet!), non-removable batteries, and non-user-serviceable parts are all awful ideas that started with Macs and spread (like cancer) to many PC laptops. The only good thing that Apple ever did in its laptop designs was the magnetic power connector which, oddly, seems to be about their only design element that has not been copied by the industry as a whole. That said, the watch is an Apple product, which means that it will probably be a hit despite its high price and the fact that it will be obsolete in five years.  |  IP: Logged

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