Well the web seems to be buzzing about wearable tech and / or Apple's potential iWatch so heres a thread.
For me the clincher is the passwords, if it can be a "bulletproof" system involving this and my iphone which does away with passwords for all my online stuff and possibly a real world payment scheme then bring it on ! Under 200 quid please and a battery life of a week would be good, biometric would be lovely for my fitness and for further security, someone steals it or the phone and it doesnt work Also seems a lot less intrusive than Google Glass or problematic with privacy.
Much as I love my tech and I want new interesting gadgets, I love my watches too and find it hard to, right now, to imagine being limited to a single watch.
So for me it has to be something I can use in addition to my watch. But not sure how that can happen without looking a bit of an idiot!
I like the idea, especially the potential for integration with my other devices for secure passwords etc.
I'll be interested to see how they deal with charging and how long the battery lasts. Nobody is going to want to wear a watch the size of a brick, so there's an obvious trade off between size and battery life. I can't imagine myself using a watch if I have to take it off and plug it in to charge it every day.
Seems to be the bane of my life these days. The obsession with smaller and thinner devices all the time is daft when it's at the expense of battery life. Classic point in case, I was at the Gadget Show trade day at the NEC yesterday and though I wasn't using my phone especially hard by 3pm I had a flat battery. That was a right pain in the arse, especially as I wasn't driving so didn't have my car charger available either. Same with my little Canon compact camera. The battery life is appallingly bad, if I take it out anywhere I need to take at least three or four spare batteries to have any chance of getting through the day. It's bloody ridiculous.
mate just got one of these for his iOS devices - pretty good value for money me thinks at 35 quid for iPad/iphone and 12000mAh [url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/EasyAcc®-SuperBoy-12000mAh-External-Smartphone/dp/B008YRG5JQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1364991297&sr=8-2[/url] I actually like this one as smaller and a dual LED torch too and dead cheap [url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/TeckNet®-External-Chargerfor-Mobilephone-Blackberry/dp/B008MXJZ62/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1364991516&sr=8-13[/url]
Give me fatter devices and better battery life any day.
Funnily enough, after yesterdays frustration I just ordered a similar thing last night: http://www.amazon.co.uk/PowerGen-PGMPP1 ... 90&sr=1-16
I did previously have a mophie juice pack for the iPhone 4/4s which effectively doubled the battery life.
The point is though, what's the point in having a smaller, lighter uber-sexy bit of tech when it won't last a whole day being used for the purpose intended unless you take another device which is twice the size and has to be connected via a cable for a couple of hours to recharge it? I'd far rather they just accepted that battery life is an issue and made the bloody phone 2 mm thicker to house a decent size battery that's fit for purpose!
To me, a smart phone should be able to last all day with regular use without fear of a flat battery.
RiK wrote:Funnily enough, after yesterdays frustration I just ordered a similar thing last night: http://www.amazon.co.uk/PowerGen-PGMPP1 ... 90&sr=1-16
I did previously have a mophie juice pack for the iPhone 4/4s which effectively doubled the battery life.
The point is though, what's the point in having a smaller, lighter uber-sexy bit of tech when it won't last a whole day being used for the purpose intended unless you take another device which is twice the size and has to be connected via a cable for a couple of hours to recharge it? I'd far rather they just accepted that battery life is an issue and made the bloody phone 2 mm thicker to house a decent size battery that's fit for purpose!
To me, a smart phone should be able to last all day with regular use without fear of a flat battery.
Totally agreed and this watch will have to last at least a week too - I see WSJ has said Apple want a weeks use too
Deckard wrote:
Totally agreed and this watch will have to last at least a week too - I see WSJ has said Apple want a weeks use too
Maybe the strap could have a bendable battery in it?
Those external battery options seem ok, but do they retain their charge for long periods when not used? Had other solutions in the past that when pulled out of the bag tended to be flat as not needed for months on end.
Deckard wrote:
Totally agreed and this watch will have to last at least a week too - I see WSJ has said Apple want a weeks use too
Maybe the strap could have a bendable battery in it?
Those external battery options seem ok, but do they retain their charge for long periods when not used? Had other solutions in the past that when pulled out of the bag tended to be flat as not needed for months on end.
Possibly some sort of power generator like some watches have currently as well ?
RiK wrote:
To me, a smart phone should be able to last all day with regular use without fear of a flat battery.
totally. my galaxy s2 is lucky if i get to 8pm on some days.
i have a pair of spare batteries, which make things a lot easier, but recently more and more phones are sealed units with no easily user-replaceable batteries (iphone being the main example, but the lumia 920 is another one and probably the main reason i havent bought one yet!)
i really dont like the way technology seems to be progressing right now (touchscreen UIs on desktops? GTFO!)
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psn: spazhammer75 http://nottsdj.co.uk - Nottinghamshire Weddings and Events DJ
I can understand the functionality of an iPod in a watch, since the Nano is almost small enough to strap comfortably onto your wrist. Push notifications from your iDevice, particularly e-mail alerts, could be handy. But scaling other functions and apps down to a watch size screen would be cumbersome.
And personally I don't wear a watch regularly, I just check the time on my mobile.
Yeah I'm sick of charging everything up. That's why I never actually used the Sony Smartwatch I bought, and because I know I'd get peanuts for it by the time eBay have taken their chunk it's just sat gathering dust.
Cloudane wrote:Yeah I'm sick of charging everything up. That's why I never actually used the Sony Smartwatch I bought, and because I know I'd get peanuts for it by the time eBay have taken their chunk it's just sat gathering dust.
How much battery life do you get out of your SmartWatch?
Sony have just created a website containing the nitty-gritty details of the internal firtlings, allowing people to create their own firmware. (It's built around an ARM Cortex-M3 chip from the same family as some of my creations at work, which means it wouldn't need a huge amount of effort for me to start cranking out code for it...)
"I am a very considerate person. If I want to go out all night on my miniature golf course and shoot lizards, well, no reason to keep the neighbours awake..."
Firefox wrote:
Sony have just created a website containing the nitty-gritty details of the internal firtlings, allowing people to create their own firmware. (It's built around an ARM Cortex-M3 chip from the same family as some of my creations at work, which means it wouldn't need a huge amount of effort for me to start cranking out code for it...)
Also seems a lot less intrusive than Google Glass or problematic with privacy.
