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Ask Slashdot: What Features Belong In a 'Smartwatch'?
Nerval's Lobster writes "If the rumors are true, and Apple is indeed hard at work on a newfangled timepiece (dubbed the 'iWatch'), what unique features could such a device offer a public already overloaded with all sorts of handheld devices? Answer that question, and you're perhaps one step closer to figuring out why Apple — again, if the rumors are true — decided to devote millions of dollars and the precious hours of some very smart people in the effort. This article suggests voice control (via Siri), biometrics, mobile payments, and other possible features, but there must be loads of others that someone could think up."
Track masturbatory habits.
Last gen Iphone + duct tape.
Hopefully the ability to accurately tell time. But with the way phones these days work at making calls, I won't hold out much hope.
The whole idea of an iWatch just gives me a headache.
Well, for starters, how about everything that the Basis has?
I think it would be nice to pretty much just have a mirror of the actual device. Almost like remote desktop for the phone in your pocket.
Maybe a few buttons that do extra things.
it should work better than a compass , If im in the woods it should be able to tell me where i am and how to get home if Im lost. and a incredibly long battery life.
...screaming at you every waking moment of the day.
I would love sciency things like being able to determine ozone levels, pH of the air, nitrogen/oxygen mix, alcohol detection. But that's why I'm not in charge of choosing sensors for phones.
...in case you ever pick up an Android device.
Everything is better with Bluetooth!
Karma: Bad
A good smart watch needs a bluetooth handset that looks like an ordinary cell phone. You could use it for voice calls, so as not to look like "that dork talking into his Dick Tracy wrist phone".
But I suppose people talking to their wrists would at least be slightly less annoying than the bluetooth earpiece people who are indistinguishable from the mentally ill when encountered on a city sidewalk.
Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
How about some James Bond-esc features, like a: laser cutter, knife, garrote wire, etc. ??
^_^
Walkie talkie to call self-driving car Feature to make wearer invisible Laser beam No sharks please Please make this watch. Thank you.
Visit http://ringbreak.dnd.utwente.nl/~mrjb/growingbettersoftware to download your free copy of the book
First it was pocket watches, then someone came up with a more efficient mechanism, leading to the analog wrist-watch, so we had to upgrade
Then came the digital watch, which had functions such as "stopwatch" and "calculator", so we had to upgrade.
Then came the cell phone, which some people (for reasons I still fail to understand) thought was more convenient for checking the time by pulling a large device out of their pocket rather than just glancing at their wrist, but still - we had to upgrade.
Now here's something new that we'll have to upgrade to.
Yeesh.
I've seen one or two arm-mounted computers on the net, but they're pretty much just PADDs strapped to the wrist. I've seen a few watches with additional features (Bluetooth linked caller ID display, camera, USB drive, multiple timezones, etc)- none of these compare to the wristwatch we currently use!
Now it's time for either a large weight on the arm or a small device linked to a larger one you'll have to carry around.
All I want from a watch (and granted I'm the kind of person who doesn't see the benefit in a smartphone over a flip phone or why cameras are needed there or irritated avians, just battery draining fluff) is an hour hand, minute hand, second hand is preferable, date function is helpful on occasion, stopwatch for running, possibly the calculator function, and finally (but this is the big one) LONG BATTERY LIFE SO I CAN BE SURE IT'LL KEEP TIME.
There are the self winding watches, those can work, but the benefit of these devices currently elude me.
I want a souped up Dick Tracy watch... with not just a speaker, but video... like this
What would the killer feature of a "smart watch" be? That depends on who's using it. So the ultimate killer feature would be the ability to use any app from any source, without restriction. That way each person would find their own killer app.
I think we all know the iWatch, if it ever exists, won't do that.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
The problem with a tiny-display device is that the interface can only have very few or very small buttons. But with Siri -- especially as Siri improves -- you don't need any buttons at all. So this may just be a wearable iPhone with a small, but thoroughly usable screen. I wouldn't want one, but I can see the market.
Maybe I could live with charging it weekly but on a daily basis? forget it.
It will stream videos, play music, have Angry Birds and have a great newsreader; but won't excel at it's primary task which, in this case, is keeping decent time.
If I have to charge a watch every day, I'm not going to be using one.
I stopped wearing a watch when I started carrying a cellphone, so I'm not 100% sure I'd use one of these smart watches anyway - but I must admit some of the ideas I occasionally hear floating around this idea do intrigue me. However the existing smart watches don't impress me at all - not really enough bang for the buck.
#DeleteChrome
Who needs a watch anymore? The only thing I could see them doing to make this work is taking away the time display on my iPhone and not allowing any apps to display the time.
Hey.... you have to admit, having a watch that allowed you to travel through time would be pretty kick-ass.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Workout data. For bikes, heartrate, power, cadence plus some Strava features.
Obviously it needs a high power laser and a targeting circle, which uses Apple Maps and the AppleID of the target to precisely hit the wrong building.
That or a scrolling stock ticker with a built in Angry Birds game that is voice controlled.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
I think an e-Ink screen is an absolute must. You'll be looking at your watch often in broad sunlight, and with e-Ink, the screen could be on all the time and not take much power when it's idling.
Watch must be water reistant to 100m (I don't dive, but the ones rated for less have been known to die in the sink or shower).
Stopwatch must display 1/100ths of a second.
Countdown timer must have repeat function.
I mean really, it is a time piece after all...
--- Mercutio was right.
A metal melting laser.
..with live results of Apples shares prices dropping.
but if I had the time I'd probably rip off the features listed on the spec sheet for the Pebble Watch and pass them off as being my own ideas. Come to think of it, that's probably exactly what Apple is going to do. Hope those Pebble guys have deep pockets and a solid patent portfolio...
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/apple-patent-motion-charger-induction,17760.html
Somehow, I don't see why something that has the purpose of telling me the time would be killing anything. But I guess you could always put a tiny assault rifle in one. Or a laser beam (shark optional).
That is all.
A black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am.
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
Speaking as somebody who uses a lot of iDevices (work and home) including an iPod nano (6th generation) as a watch currently. Battery life is on the order of days of use as a media player, weeks to months if used just as a watch. Adding a few features like Bluetooth would be a further drain on the battery, but I'd hope a few years worth of refinements on an old design would mean that battery life would still be similar after enhancements.
An overly obvious way to make an iWatch would be to take that same iPod nano form factor and:
Without any serious investment nor innovation, it's already useful. Meeting Alerts will show up on your watch if you want, same for important e-mail, texts from select people, incoming calls, and that stupid reminder to pick up milk on the way home ...
Since this is obvious stuff and it hasn't been done yet, I'm guessing the designers probably have some "killer features" that are non-obvious.
"Flame away, I wear asbestos underwear"
I'll tell ya what shouldn't be in a smart watch: Apple patents. DICK TRACY INVENTED IT!
A "Neurophone" is an ultrasonic transducer that uses bone conduction to present sounds to the inner ear.
How about a neurophone output?
The output could be spoken Siri-style messages, communication from the watch to the wearer would be inaudible to anyone else, there would be no need for a loudspeaker in the watch, or an earphone.
Consistently "higher performing" SO javascript tests written for the apple javacript engine runs faster?! Wow I'm a true convert, pass me some Jobs prayer beads. Lower resolution screen, no customization AT ALL, slow as hell compared to the HTC DNA, but I guess when Apple is slower its just an outlier right? Google voice search returns results faster than siri. And hows that apple maps working out for ya? Did they rearrange the geography for ya?
What would be really great is if they could finally give us an integrated blood sugar monitor. No more needles for diabetics and of course "there's an app for that" that would help track blood sugar levels.
Smartwatch confirms it: keyboards are dying.
What if I do the same thing, and I do get different results?
So my smart watch will need to come with a ticking tick tone or no deal.
Quick notifications come to mind.... email, texts, weather alerts. Whatever you'd want pushed to it.
But on the high end side of what I could see with this is medical monitoring. Could this be used to meassure heart rate? Insulin levels? O2 levels? It would be great for training and better yet could be used for people in a high risk catagory. Imagine knowing your heart is having issues minutes before they manifest in a really disabling way. That could save lives.
I know everyone is going to cry and moan because this has Apple's name on it. Please stop, this isn't just about Apple and your fanboi bias just isn't all that interesting.
I think "smart"[whatever] technology is being overlooked in ways that could really benefit the end user. The technologies that are out there have a pretty solid track record and need to be brought into more serious applications. Science fiction writers have had ideas about this kind of thing for decades and longer. We could be working on this today. I'd be willing to beta test something with these kinds of potentials for free.
I'd love to have something that could tell me the blood sugar level in real time. Alcohol level could be cool too, for getting that elusive perfect steadily rising drunkenness without blackouts or vomiting.
A garage door opener!
A functioning watch
Wifi to seamlessly resync with NTP servers
Advanced watch functions like alarm, stop watch and timer
MicroSD card reader
MP3 player
Desktop sync (through blue tooth?)
Maybe a battery cell band for increased power
headphone jack (you'll need a technique to secure the wire for joggers, exercisers, etc)
Simple notification system to receive texts, email, tweets, FB updates, etc., seriously doubt sending capability will work
Lose all the extended functionality like web browsing unless you plan on pimping a new ultra low-end mobile format for displaying web pages.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
and a large enough wristband to fit around my meaty paw
It was called the iPod Nano.
And then they killed it.
Did they rearrange the geography for ya?
Yes :(
A smart watch only really makes sense as a convenient interface to a more powerful machine. The features important to it are therefore input and output, along with a connection to your phone. So a display, a microphone, and a button are the obvious ones. A smart watch will probably have fewer features than a non-smart watch.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
A separate bluetooth headset should take care of the phone interaction. I would put sensors there (at very least, for pulse), as a small screeen for displaying fast information (time, weather, notifications, playlist controls, etc, and a "remote desktop" for your real phone, that could be big enough to not have it always in your hand.
Phones are getting big, maybe splitting the interaction with several separate devices could be the way (and yes, something similar to Google Glass could be in the kitchen too)
How about a self-contained package which holds all of the wearer's medical records? (Yes, sort out the security issues first.)
How about continuous monitoring of heart rate, blood oxygenation, and temperature?
Rather than go to the doctor "with a fever", the doctor could tell if the fever was low-grade, "spiky", how long it has been going on, &c. Perhaps the specific fever character could be used to disambiguate between certain diseases. A patient could tell if the fever was only certain times of the day (allergic to something at work?) or in certain places.
Blood-oxygenation monitoring and heartrate could be used to diagnose sleep apnea, tell how much exercise the person is getting. Motion monitoring could diagnose sleep disorders.
But as an Apple product, the cost will likely make Rolex blush
Nice try Apple R&D ;)
It should keep track of every item on my person, a RAD counter, tell me the condition of all my limbs, what skills I have, maps, and it should double as a flash light.
Dick Tracy had it all.
Frankly, all I want from a watch is: the time.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
Well, to start with this isn't a new concept. The pebble project has been around for awhile, though it's more of a smartphone interface in some ways.
That said:
* An "idle" time of at least 1mo.
* Waterproof, inductive charging
* Bluetooth/wifi
* Ability to sync calendar events/email etc from the cloud (internet and OTA from other devices)
* If cellular-compatible, the ability to act as a hotspot
* Ability to act as a bluetooth speaker/mic for other smart-devices
* Infrared (would make a dandy universal remote)
Apple fanboi 1: take your ring off, it's scratching my bunghole!
Apple fanboi 2: I'm not wearing a ring.
Apple fanboi 1: OK, take your watch off!
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Stop making high tech watches. They look, act and just appear ridiculous, you look like a complete fool wearing one and you simply have no need what so ever for computing ability in your watch. The fact that company's like Rolex or Citizen aren't releasing "smart" or "iWatches" means there is no market for it. Out of the biggest and most powerful watch making company's you wont see this catch on, people want a professional, sexy looking watch that does what it is meant to, tell time. I don't want anything else in there that can screw that up, my current watch will keep time insanely well that is what I bought it for. The day when I go to Apple or any other computer company for a watch is the day I also apply for my mental status to be declared retarded. Leave the watch alone, it works, it looks good and it doesn't need to change. Leave the watch making to company's like Citizen or Rolex or the other 50 that do it well, I don't need a friggen Apple logo on the bottom of a white watch that simple looks horrible.
Meh. Just have it run on blood. It could have the needles that would pierce your skin each time you put it on, and little micro pumps to suck up the blood.
Heck with all the Vampire mania going on with tweens these days it should be an instant hit. Put that sparkly faced vamphunk on it and the market will swoon.
You could of course just surgically implant it into your wrist, though upgrades might be expensive.
But for the really chronos fan, have a chip implanted directly into your brain, that using your neural connections not only powers itself using the electrical impulses of your brain, but also sends the time information directly into the neural cluster that is responsible for keeping track of time, making you never forget what time it current is and when you turned into a cyborg. I've heard with the recent advances that the death rate is down to only 10%
Or you could use a series of mechinical gears and switches attached to a spring, and strap it to your wrist.
There is a nuclear powered quartz watch that will last for 10,000 years, however it also weighs 1000kg, produces a lot of scalding steam, consumes a lot of water, and causes cancer of the wrist.
Or Apple could realize that no one wears a watch anymore because they all use their Phone to tell time. Unless they want to put out their Phone buisness so that no one uses a Phone to call anyone, they just use their watch. That just seems overly complicated and unproductive however.
number one feature for me is that it's NOT a huge chunky monstrousity.
(number one failing of most smart watches is they try to include everything and end up huge)
Built-in GPS so the government^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hyou always know where you are. Use the GPS location to figure out when the sun rises and sets, and allow setting alarms in relation to that (e.g. 10 mins after sunrise). That way you always wake up with the sun. Winning!
The ability to burn your wrist down to the bone with a failing battery. Tie this in with some software and you have a nifty little reminder app.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Although I understand and support Apple's dock connector(historically USB was unreliable and slow, so a combined USB firewire port was great for many of us) USB is sufficient now, and the proprietary connector seems a bit outdated. I would hope that Apple would put a simple micro USB. It wold be a good mass storage device.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
It should at least play MP3s and Video. Not flash though because that would probably get too hot. It should also link up to my iTunes whenever I am near my computer and automatically sync whatever is in there to the watch. I also thing 2TB of storage isn't asking for the world, I mean c'mon this is 2013. HDMI out should be and option as well as USB3. I mean, it already does Video, we covered that, I should have a way to present that on the projector at work. USB should be available but optional so it doesn't give bad press to the iPad (lollerz.. that still sounds like a cyberspace feminine hygeine product doesn't it?). There should be a solar panel for recharging the battery as well as a power jack that charges using the (optional) USB port. I suppose you could charge over the HDMI port too, but I don't know. Lastly, it should be able to make phone calls on it so I don't have to dig my iPhone out of my pocket every time I want to make a call. That should really cut down on the amount of scratches on the glass. Lastly, there should be an Otterbox case available for it. Nothing fancy or bulky you know, just a waterproof case so I can go swimming with it. Oh, and It should be small and light. and thin. Nothing bigger than like a quarter or maybe a half-dollar coin. lollers.. Who's going to want like this brick thing hanging off their wrist?
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I stopped wearing a watch over a decade ago (years before I had a mobile phone) and have never missed it. There are so many clocks around most of us there is no need for a watch.
I for one hope I won't be forced to wear one again in a world requiring them for payments.
You know, you can still buy all those things (though, calculator watches are admittedly harder to find now than pocket watches). You don't have to buy any of it if you don't want. Though, I might recommend one with a camera. If you place it right, and it can record video, you could use it as a security camera to catch those darn kids, should they get on your lawn.
And anything james bond has in his watch that looks cool.
In addition to the obvious things like GPS, Siri, blutetooth, apps, and phone call response/averting like the ability to answer a call in speaker phone mode with a tap or gesture:
1. Always-on voice control -- if the toy R2D2 robot running on double A batteries can have it, why cant a modern device (it wont consume much power, it's listening only for a specific keyword(s)).? One of the keywords can be a distress codeword that can call 911 or help and activates (GPS) tracking. Note, Always-on voice control is different than Siri which requires you to press a button. ... though the first versions can be electricity based. .. she can send a short vibration sequence -- kinda like Morse code. The phone will vibrate in a specific pattern first to tell you it's her message, and then it will vibrate out the message. Doesn't have to be vibration only .. any sort of touch/skin sense thing I suppose.
2. Tap anywhere, including on the outside of the strap to answer the phone.
3. Heart rate and other health or distress vital signs monitor. An IR camera and other sensors facing downwards at the skin will probably be the best way to implement this
4. Ability to quickly send a canned text or voice message when you cannot answer the phone -- Ideally the UI will allow for this even in darkness when you are in a movie theater.
5. A pulse system that allows people to send you basic text-style messages without you having to read it. For example, if you are in a meeting and your friend wants to tell you she's gotten home
6. Finger gesture to text character/word as a keyboard substitute.
7. USB 3/lighting connector.
8. NFC
9. Seamless data sync/integration with phone and other devices.
The above features are what I would expect in the first edition, the second version should have a miniature camera, thumbprint recognition.
There are a few other features I don't want to list here because I know Apple is gonna snag 'em and patent these features. I don't mind the snagging I don't like the patenting. After all, I am not bitter that 2 years after I mentioned that a large touchscreen phone and voice UIs would sell really well .. they announced the iPhone. Proof: http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=163341&cid=13644457
the iWatch already exists using iOS on ipod nano
http://www.amazon.com/Wrist-Jockey-Casual-Grid-watch/dp/B004B7FXHI/ref=cm_lmf_tit_4
there's no need for a new device, this works just fine
My rolex gets me laid. I wish I was joking but is true, and I consider that a feature.
How about a flashing red "It's later than you think !" feature ?
It should beep if your smartphone gets out of bluetooth range (ie, you're forgeting it).
1. Exchange business cards on contact. That would be nice.
2. Do a quick background check on people that I touch. Medical, business, personal, etc and send the result to google glasses or some other display so I can read it in real time. A disease check would be nice too.
3. Teleprompter. How convenient!
4. If I die, the watch should alarm and send the appropriate notifications.
5. Whatever a fitbit does too. Heck, it's there.
6. Complain if my phone goes out of range. Very handy.
7. Charge using my body's electrical field/motion/whatever.
8. Buy me a drink, remotely. F*ck the bartender - bring the drink here, to me, now.
9. It should look cool. I mean, it's a f*ucking smart watch, so it has to look smart. It could be as big as Wonder Woman's bangles for all I care.
10. At some point it should be embeddable.
Some sort of proximity color sensor to detect the color scheme of your wardrobe and adjust the screen settings accordingly.
The new iTunes already does this with album art in album view now, it's subtle at first but pretty striking.
Younger people, speaking generally, don't tend to wear watches. The logic being that you've already got other devices that can tell you the time, such as a phone.
So if it's a "smart watch" then you're duplicating a load of stuff that would be easier to do on a phone already. If it's a fashionable normal watch but with patent troll rounded edges, then why would people need one anyway?
I'm assuming it'll be something else entirely. Apple, as much as I'm not fond of them, don't really release that many complete failures these days.
A lanyard or a clip or a chain
For the last 30+ years I have worked in industries where wearing a wrist watch was innconvenient due to hygiene requirements of frequent hadwashing (Meat industry, food industry, child care and now elderly care)
So I want a timepiece that hangs arounfdmy neck, or is clipped to a pocket or belt.
Being visible in the dark is also a requirement (I work night shift you insensitive clods)
An independant-of-internet-connection GPS and compass would be useful, especially in bowing or deep snow (I walk to work)
Calling it a watch would be misleading. Smartphones today could be called an iWatch as they mimic those watches we kept in a pocket (maybe on a chain or strap) and pulled them out when we wanted to know the time. Just that now we expect it to do more than tell time.
I imagine something a wider (along the forearm) than the old wristwatches we loved 20 years ago to give a reasonable* size screen. The rest works a lot like a smartphone.
*reasonable:less of an adjustment than we made to a smartphone screen after attaching larger and larger screens to our desktop computers.
Basically you wouldn't want to leave any out since then there'd be some missing.
..a smartwatch should not need to sync with iTunes, not should need gigs worth of patch updates - that much is clear.
Telling the actual time should be a reasonable request also/.
Even if it doesn't accurately tell time, you could have it constantly play MP3 files of songs with known times. If it's 5:00PM when Train's Hey Soul Sister (3:37) starts, at the end of the song you know it's 5:03:37PM. Then Ke$ha's c'mon (3:22 radio edit version) starts playing, and at the end you know it's 5:06:59PM. And so on.
Medical information. Not just blood pressure and heart rate, but your actual medical information like allergies, medical history, etc. Instant info access for paramedics or even 911 with the next idea...
Phone Integration. No not a phone watch, but a smart display capable of displaying alert from your phone such as new email, new text messages (and possibly display the message), missed calls, calendar alerts. From computer to phone to watch. There is little need for the watch to allow replying, a larger device is needed for that usually, but a phone accessory that is useful and lets you gather and display information from your phone without having to pull it out would be handy in a lot of ways.
Camera. Little memory and instant on capability. App on phone fixes orientation based on a tiny gyroscope in the watch and embedded information from it.
Digital key sync
NFC functions
home control functions
A list of things your phone can do but might be handier on a smaller device is essentially what a 'Smartwatch' should do. However battery is still the limiter, the more you want it to do the less like a watch it becomes and more like any other electronic device with their inherent limitations on daily usefulness.
I think he was referring to jailbreaking / walled garden / etc.
PocketPermissions Android Permission Guide
So when I look down at my watch and realize I am late, I can set it back a few minutes. Or if I am stuck in a meeting, I can set it ahead a few minutes.
What a depressing site this has become.
Even if the idea of a smartwatch turns out to be not very viable in the end, generating all kinds of ideas for it should be fun. Instead 'smart-ass' useless comments dominate here.
First, it could be beautiful, and adaptable to your own taste.
There is the silent alert function, you feel something and look at your watch. Fast and natural.
Then, there is the sensor platform, for sports and exercising, like the Nike FuelBand, but all kinds of sensors can be imagined. With Bluetooth, it might even download/upload data (even time/location/internet) from/to a nearby device such as a phone or camera, for direct display or as an input.
It could be an app platform. Anyone could come up with useful or fun applications.
It could act as a key/passcode or remote or wallet or NFC device
It could trigger a SOS with the right touch-gesture.
There are endless possibilities, and only one needs to be a killer-feature to make it another must-have breakthrough device. Apple could throw a few hundred million at it, and it would be a good gamble. If only to develop the creative potential in the company. Probably, it already has done so. It's fun to work there, I guess.
The only point of a device like this is that it gives you a UI that doesn't require fishing through a pocket or handbag. However, pretty much all smart watches have foundered because the screens couldn't display enough useful information beyond the time, and the buttons were too small and fiddly to be convenient. Is there enough useful information that you don't want to fish out your smartphone for that you'd be prepared to get one of these? I dunno. Short messages (SMS, Twitter), appointment notifications, some of the location specific stuff proposed on the Google Goggles video maybe. And it's a bit less creepy than Google Goggles, too.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
I want it to be a dumb display that my phone pushes what I want to it. Make it a 320X320 display and nothing more.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
100m may be oeverkill. Maybe 40m?
http://www.xkcd.com/909/
I know I'll get flamed, because on Slashdot 'looking nice' means wearing socks with your Tevas (preferably black), but there are a few basic things men of a certain age should have - One of them is a nice watch. I have an Omega Seamaster that I've worn pretty much every day for the past seven years. I just can't see the need to put a portable computer on my wrist - It just screams 'unprofessional.'
I have a Motoactv that is now defunct, thanks to Google only wanting the patents off of Motorola. It's a great device it's an MP3 player, exercise tracker that ties into a heart rate monitor or cadence sensor for biking, displays calories burned and number of steps taken in a day, It's got golf courses on it so you can see the distance stuff needed to play and keep your scores (I don't play golf), it has a GPS to show your route (wish it was more interactive on what you can do other than just see your you just ran) and the statistics that it keeps for your workouts. When tired into the website (it also has a android app) I can see exactly where I was on a map and show what my heart rate was, what song I was listening to at that moment, speed of my run, elevation of where I was. It tells time to. But it doesn't have an alarm clock also it doesn't vibrate, during workouts there is a coach that gives you information it's an electronic voice (a nice female sounding voice) , The device allows you to also race yourself with tones of if your running better or slower against your last workout. It's Bluetooth enabled so you can use Bluetooth headphones and also for notifications from the phone - weather, facebook, etc. Also has the ability to have a corded headphones if you want and you can then also use it as a radio. It's water resistant so a run in the rain is not a problem, wish it was water proof. Also it has to be charged every day. I really love it. I'm just said that once it dies I will not be able to get a replacement, although there are other ones that are out there that have gps and tie into online exercise communities they don't have an mp3 player built in. I do wish the battery lasted longer but when I'm not running I'm sitting at my computer so I let it charge then.
https://motoactv.com
Google if you read this please don't kill this device I would love to buy a version 2 when the battery dies. Oh the battery is not replaceable either.
Paul: Father... father, the sleeper has awakened! - Dune
A smart watch should replace one or more devices I'm required to carry with me, not add to the geek loadout. For instance, if it can do the things my phone currently can do, including provide hotspot for tablet or laptop, and do it well enough that my phone can stay home, then it would be a sought after item. (For me at least.) Bonus points if it has well-integrated, easy to use 2 way TV capability, as I've wanted to own a Dick Tracy watch since I was a kid. But if it's just a bluetooth appliance that talks to other devices that I also must carry, then fail.
What I suspect we will actually see is a device that interacts with your ipod and iphone and ipad and ilaptop and doesn't provide any unique capabilities or information. It'll be an alpha-geek toy of limited usefulness but supreme bragging rights. Yawn. Just another reason for me to steer clear of the Apple store on launch day.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
With all the features people want in this thing, the battery will probably have to be pretty big or you won't get much use out of it. (It will be enough of a change to have to plug my watch in every night; I don't want to have to do it every few hours.) Which means the only way anyone is going to release something like this is if it has very limited features--maybe just time, date, a few basic alerts, etc., which means it probably won't be worth the cost. But then again, people will spend $500 on a watch that keeps worse time than the one that came with my breakfast cereal, so you never know.
I agree completely.
Companies think the only way to make money is with subscriptions and monthly fees. And when their service reaches end of life and the server goes away, the functionality is lost.
If only they'd concentrate on making a good product, there'd be tons of innovative uses for the information.
I suppose it's the result of modern "cost accounting" practices.
Bruce Tognazzini (founder of the Apple Human Interface Group) has some pretty interesting ideas about what an Apple watch should do.
Personally, I'll stick with my (practically indestructible) G-Shock for sports and my mechanical watch for everything else. The latter doesn't need charging, looks great with a suit or casual clothes and I don't have to draw attention to myself when I take it out of my pocket, turn it to the correct orientation and press the power button to view the time - but I appreciate that my views will probably differ from the general Slashdot consensus.
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
It needs to verify that I'm the one wearing it via a heartbeat detector, fingerprint reader and/or DNA verification.
It should have a reverse touch interface to signal alerts and to provide directions without having to look at the screen.
A backup RTC battery so if the main one that powers the funky iOS stuff runs out you don't have to keep resetting the time. Or are they going to assume connectivity everywhere and pray the time will sync by ntp? The nice thing (for me) about watches is that they're wear-and-forget. Mine probably hasn't been off my wrist in weeks, I would hate one you have to take off and charge every night. Then again, I generally hate ones that aren't automatic mechanicals.
Invisibility. That's all.
My phone tells me the time, so I haven't worn a watch since I got a phone and I will never wear a watch ever again.
In addition to the obvious things like GPS, Siri, blutetooth, apps, and phone call response/averting like the ability to answer a call in speaker phone mode with a tap or gesture:
1. Always-on voice control -- if the toy R2D2 robot running on double A batteries can have it, why cant a modern device (it wont consume much power, it's listening only for a specific keyword(s)).? One of the keywords can be a distress codeword that can call 911 or help and activates (GPS) tracking. Note, Always-on voice control is different than Siri which requires you to press a button. ... though the first versions can be electricity based. .. she can send a short vibration sequence -- kinda like Morse code. The phone will vibrate in a specific pattern first to tell you it's her message, and then it will vibrate out the message. Doesn't have to be vibration only .. any sort of touch/skin sense thing I suppose.
2. Tap anywhere, including on the outside of the strap to answer or silence the phone or to view the time. Or maybe shake to silence. Will have to test to see which gestures or tap method is best.
3. Heart rate and other health or distress vital signs monitor. An IR camera and other sensors facing downwards at the skin will probably be the best way to implement this
4. Ability to quickly send a canned text or voice message when you cannot answer the phone -- Ideally the UI will allow for this even in darkness when you are in a movie theater.
5. A pulse system that allows people to send you basic text-style messages without you having to read it. For example, if you are in a meeting and your friend wants to tell you she's gotten home
6. Finger gesture to text character/word as a keyboard substitute.
7. USB 3/lighting connector.
8. NFC
9. Seamless data sync/integration with phone and other devices.
10. buttonless slick design, face and bottom having a gentle curve to it.
The above features are what I would expect in the first edition, the second version should have a miniature camera, thumbprint recognition.
There are a few other features I don't want to list here because I know Apple is gonna snag 'em and patent these features. I don't mind the snagging I don't like the patenting. After all, I am not bitter that 2 years after I mentioned that a large touchscreen phone and voice UIs would sell really well .. they announced the iPhone. Proof: http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=163341&cid=13644457 [slashdot.org]
A "smartwatch" needs to support NTP or something very similar. Having to have to manually set the correct time on a watch every few weeks or months is ludicrous in this day and age.
I still wear one and don't use mobile phones since I am disabled and can't hold a smartphone correctly. A calculator watch works well for simple tasks. I'd like to see an PDA type like it. I know they exist, but they are big and heavy. :(
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
A pony.
"I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
Apple must only convince customers that the watch receives push notifications, and they will have an audience. In all sarcasm, though, it may need a side screen so that customers can see the time while they are reaching for their phones.
At least two tactile buttons (so you can feel the click in the dark), one in the lower-left edge, and one in the upper-right edge (so you can easily press them between the thumb and index finger of your right hand while wearing the watch on the left).
The buttons should be 100% user-definable, be able to shift each other, and support double/triple/quadruple-clicks.
Example: press lower-left button with thumb and keep it pressed; press and release upper-right button with index finger three times, then release lower-left button.
Example: press and release middle button twice, press and release upper-right button twice, then press and release middle button once.
The nice thing about two buttons that can shift each other is the staggering number of gestures you can create by allowing double/triple clicks prior to shift. For example:
triple-click lower left, keeping it pressed down after the third, then press and release upper right button twice before releasing the lower left button.
Personally, I'd want to add a third button, centered along the upper edge, to add further user-defined context to shifted multiclicks of the two diagonal buttons.
Make the screen touchable, and you can even add variants with diagonal thumb-swipes while holding one of the buttons (before or after one or more shifted multiclicks, of course). And Graffiti. Graffiti-1, specifically, including the single-stroke alternates that I'm crippled without.
Not that I've given the matter much thought, of course... or spent hours poring over Android's source trying to come up with some way of grafting low-latency hardkeys onto a case through the USB jack so I can have real tactile buttons even if the @#*$&@( manufacturers are determined to ram laggy, delayed touchscreens down our throats...
All I've really needed was this: http://www.casio-usa.com/products/Watches/Databank/CA53W-1/
A Smartwatch should be able to unlock and start my car from a safe distance.
iTheft is pretty common. If I could wirelessly mate the watch to my iThings which lock down when out of range of the watch I might consider it. Only to have my watch stolen along with my iPhone...
It must be water proof. Beyond that it must display date and time. Knowing Apple, it will play music. GPS and photos would be nice.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
It should be big enough to easily use, have a phone in it, and fit in my pocket... Because who in the hell wears a watch any more?
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
To be honest, I can't think of a single feature such a watch would have other than to tell time. What's the purpose of it? Why is Apple building this? It is a jobs program, is it a piece of yuppie jewelry, or what?
For several years now I have had to put up with unsufferably smug idiots telling me that my wrist watch is old fashioned and that anyone who's remotely important in the universe uses a smart phone in their pocket to tell what time it is. So now they've changed thier minds? Their smart-pocket-watch is too inconvenient and they want a smart-wrist-watch instead?
Remember the good old days when you had a calculator wrist watch and everyone knew you were a nerd and thus you were socially ostracised for good reason, but you stuck with it because any true nerd does not follow the herd. Now you'll get essentially the same thing in a smart watch and all buyers will claim they've been nerds all along and that nerds are cool.
One of the biggest advantage of a watch, is that it is practically ALWAYS on your body.
So it should have a virtual button somewhere, to ** ring your cell phone ** for you, so that you can find it.
If you have a watch and a smartphone that communicate, maybe get them to be aware of their relative positions to open up a new gesture interface? Eg. change volume by raising your hand, hold your hand to your ear to make a call (assuming speaker/ mike in the watch communicating with phone in your pocket) etc. Okay, so who wants to define the gestures for surfing porn ...
Don't go to a brothel if you want to buy broth
Biggest complaint I have about modern watches is the thickness. Watches today are no thinner than watches were forty years ago. Even 6mm thick still qualifies as a thin digital watch. The reason I don't wear watches anymore is because they're so bulky.
Other complaint is that every dress watch on the market still has buttons/knobs on the side which scratch up your wrist. It should be straightforward to eliminate the crown, and set the time using an optical sensor you hold up to a computer, like the old Datalink watches from the 1990's.
"Look, it tells time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Rome, and Gstaad."
I'd want to VNC into my phone.
1) Tell time
2) Long lifespan battery charge (in terms of years)
3) Cheap
4) Lightweight/unobstrusive
5) Waterproof
Imagine....You can someday hone the power of both the iWatch and Google Glasses....Beware....because no mere mortal can keep powers such as those at bay for too long....
They could use magnets accelerometers etc to track the position of your hand relative to your phone/tablet. Then, you can wave your hand or do certain gestures to control your phone/tablet. Add a led and use it more or less like a wii controller to interact with a smart tv. Use it with a small projector to do something cool.
Assumedly something like the I'm Smart or the Sony Smart Watch, or the Pebble.
I'm personally keen on the latter because it sounds more hackable, but I'd be assuming that's not where Apple would be coming from...
My first mobile phone was pretty big. You definitely could not put it into your jeans pocket. ... my phone (and smartphone) show the time quite well.
Since you can do that I don't use a watch anymore
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
I want a "watch" let's call it, or rather, something I wear on my wrist, that is connected (wirelessly, I mean ...) to my phone as a slave but let's me do certain things without taking my phone out of my pocket!
Such as ...
Oh, and the form factor should be rectangular, landscape mode.
I could imagine "screensavers" (or, I guess, wallpapers) being a big deal on these things, too ... as would photo rotation apps.
And once we get thing bendable color e-paper or oled displays or whatever you can have your whole forearm covered with a display. When you're not actively using it for viewing information it could be all colorful and arty, eliminating the need for tattoos.
I'm sick and tired of these hip, "ironic" sigs. This is an actual, honest-to-goodness no-nonsense sig!
NTP
I would like to see a product specifically aimed at elderly and invalids.
A prospective user would be an elderly person who can barely see (can read large books with a magnifying glass), has a lot of trouble walking, is prone to dangerous falls, may be wheelchair bound, but does not like to have prosthetic devices or things around the neck, or invasions of privacy such as having a live-in helper. Basically, imagine any of the geeks here in 40-50 years if you are still alive then and have turned into a crotchety geek with (hope not!) diabetes-induced illnesses.
Key features:
ONE BIG BUTTON - this is something Apple gets right.
100% voice operated and voice response, so you do not need to see the screen or even have much feeling in your fingertips.
Ability to trigger by voice without using button
Ability to set watch to be extremely loud
Allow extremely loud settings to be for specific features (like telling the time, which you would only do when you are alone)
Ability to understand weak voices and whispers
Ability to rename the trigger code word (for example to "Computer" not "Siri")
Call for help (Computer, help!) - automatic connection to a 911 dispatcher to get maybe an ambulance
Call people on the phone by name (Computer, call ). Optionally allow a watch setting to require a confirmation, answerable by "Yes" or "No".
Skype people by name
Speak the time, clearly enunciating. (What time is it)
Speak the date (What is the date)
Play music (Computer, play )
Detect heartbeat / bodily status, and if asleep or not. There must be some way to do this without being evasive (such as maybe a pad that fits into a wheelchair seat back? Or watch back?)
Detect things like refrigerator door opening/closing, microwave use, flame on in over/on stove, lights on/off, ambient temperature, doors open/closing, home security. I just thought of it but what would happen if a home alarm went off and the only person home is someone who is unable to walk to the control panel and reset it? They could be bombarded with high-pitched sound for hours without being able to do anything about it and go nuts.
Additional functions:
Voice operate appliances, such as setting microwave or room thermostat
Camera (best if it includes infrared and sonar), covers area in front of you if you hold the watch so you can see its face to allow:
- obstacle tracking alerts (Stop! The dog is lying on the floor in front of you!)
- can zoom in on text or displays (e.g. thermostat, microwave, book), do real time OCR and read it aloud.
- allow display of what the camera sees on a TCP/IP wirelessly connected client, i.e. a big tablet or other flat screen. So you can put your hand over a book and read the text in huge letters on an ipad or android tablet in hugely magnified letters. Also, allow real time image processing (high contrast, magnification) so it is possible to make out the face of the person across the table from you.
- detachable bluetooth camera (since moving your arm to use the watch as a magnifying glass will be very awkward)
Light of variable intensity (can be too bright and surprising when shined on a book, but you may want a lot of light if you are trying to move in the dark).
- multiple microphones, detect where something was dropped for example. (Computer, where is my fork, etc.)
Basically a watch or even just an iphone sized device could be extremely useful and life-changing but an iphone touch display is definitely not usable by the people who would need it. I would actually say it is better to make this android based so it is more open. And make it possible to disable touch screen, or just make a couple of huge soft buttons, because it is 100 times easier to screw up using it for someone who needs assistive help if you are using a touch screen. Imagine you are totally drunk, or delirious from two all-nighters, it is nearly pitch dark and you are fumbling for something - like if you had a huge backpack with tons of pockets and you
I'd say for me:
- just voice and text (and maybe temperature/weather)
- phone build in! not a little me connected to another phone
- waterproof, not so much for diving but at the beach you'd rather not leave it behind when swimming
- Look like a normal watch, maybe just a one line old fashioned lcd for scrolling through a text message etc.
- Input text method by i.e. using a ring (like on divers watches) that you rotate and press down to select a character
- possibly an earpiece with expanding foam so that you can keep it in your watch (compressed) where it charges and when put in your ear expands to stay there
- remote key for my car. Why carry around a key when your watch can double as a key.
- be from a decent watch brand
- maybe email... just maybe
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All the features in pebble + touch screen interface (those buttons look so hard). A colour screen would be nice too (if it doesn't affect battery life).
I can foresee a watch that will rely less on voice input (i.e. Siri) but on "gestures". If there is a voice input, it will be secondary. It's primarily about touch. Think one or two or even three finger input.
Apple's monoculture and price tags.
Pip-Boy 3000 please.
THE SOFTWARE, IT NO WORKY!!!
.. could be an alternative working title. except that might be too similar to another product in development. :/
If John Travolta wears one when he's piloting his Boeing, then I'm buying.
Given the reliability and data quality of ankle trackers used on sex offenders, maybe Apple should consider up-ending that market with the iSexOffenderTracker? It will be tracking else more effectively than anything else, so why not them as well?