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Ask Slashdot: What Smartwatch Apps Could You See Yourself Using?
An anonymous reader writes: It's official: the smartwatch wars have begun. Apple's announcement of the Apple Watch added a contender to the race already shaping up between the Pebble watch, the Moto 360, and others. Personally, my doubts about wanting one were put to rest when I learned of the health-related features. Smartwatches will be able to track your movements and pulse rate, calculate how many calories you burn, and coach you continuously to improve your fitness.
If you have one or plan on buying one, what apps or functions do you see yourself getting the most use from? If you're still skeptical, what would it take? (If an app developer sees your requirements here on Slashdot, your wish might come true.)
If you have one or plan on buying one, what apps or functions do you see yourself getting the most use from? If you're still skeptical, what would it take? (If an app developer sees your requirements here on Slashdot, your wish might come true.)
Is the submitter of the article a developer looking for ideas?
LOL, true. We were talking about this at work. I'm far from an Apple hater. I bought a first-gen iPod and loved it, along with some later generations. I've had two iPhones (though now am on my second Android). I'm on my 4th Mac. I have Kindle tablets but admit that the iPad is a very nice machine.
With that said, it is hard for me to imagine why I would want - price aside - another device on my wrist that does a subset of the thing in my pocket. If the watch were useful away from the phone, I could see some applications. But as is? The uses are contrived and niche.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
or is there a hidden strategy of increasing the phone sizes of new iphones to deliberately make them unwieldy, and create a problem which can be "solved" with a smart-watch? ie, more crap to sell.
I get 7+ days with mine. Try a watch face that doesn't update every second -- just every minute.
The Pebble is cheaper and lasts longer without needing to juice up than any of the other options available. And looks decent for casual wear (for those who care). Unless you have really really small wrists and hands (and I mean REALLY small).
While ~$150 was pricy for me and I'm unsure I'd buy it again given the opportunity, That said, I'm hooked on notifications. I find that JUST for notifications I'm keeping my phone in my pocket far more often now. I really thought I was done with watches. Haven't worn one in 15 years.
With regards of "two way" communication, I really don't see a need for "two way" (like SMS reply) if it's going to be a battery killer. Unless you can make using such a small device easier than taking your phone out and using that, it's pointless. It's the notifications that make the difference.
I had a Sony Smartwatch for a while before it broke. Here are the apps I would like to see/write, besides the obvious notification apps:
Nextbus predictions
Remote control for mythtv
Monthly calender
Google maps with walking route
Weather
Display brief text, like shopping lists
Looks like a lot of these where covered in the Apple Watch presentation.
There lots of things people use their smartphones for that only require a quick glance. They are the kinds of things a smartwatch is suited for.
The correct solution is to put all the "phone" functionality (antenna, transmitter, etc.) in the "watch", and use the "phone" as nothing more than a remote display and computing platform.
This is completely backwards. The cpu, antenna, and trasmitter are the bulky items as well as the power hungry items that need bulky batteries.
That's the part (along with the large display) that needs to be tucked away. The watch should basically just be a fancy remote display and remote
buttons for the phone. A small VNC type remote display protocol would probably work perfectly. The cpu hungry app can run on the phone and
export it's display to the watch (obviously taking into account the smaller screen size). The apps would still be android/iphone apps. It would
just be that now your android/iphone has a 2nd virtual screen and a few extra buttons that it can interact with.