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Five years ago, a collective mania overtook the industry. Nobody could think of a clear reason why consumers needed an expensive "smart" watch when they already had a smartphone in their hand, pocket or bag. What value could it deliver? Even Google didn't seem sure: in its now notorious launch video, a punter used a watch simply to replicate features on their phone. But the industry convinced itself that wearables were another platform, and nobody wanted to be a sad second in this race. So the giants entered the market. Not because they wanted to, but as a hedge. Someone else might take a lead.
As we predicted in 2014, this was a solution looking for a problem. And an expensive one, at that.
Are wearable devices whose OS wakes up only when needed for smart features the answer?
(Score: 1) by anubi on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:59AM (1 child)
I ended up tossing my Timex Datalink watches.
I got turned onto those from an article in BYTE magazine...and thought for sure that sooner or later the protocol specs would show up, along with LED driver code for our 8080 processors, as those things required one to place the watch in the light of a monitor running a program in a certain EGA mode in order to make it work, and it required WIN 3.1 I believe. Well, when those went by the wayside, due to lack of information of how to save the watch, it got tossed.
All that remains is the memory of the experience and the lesson of how risky it is to buy proprietary technology. Had I bought some tools instead of those watches, now I am quite sure I would still have those. So, as far as I am concerned, a nicely made power tool will ace out a smartwatch any day at the checkout register.
Unless I am really, really, really hard up, proprietary protocol -> no sale - not even at going-out-of-business prices. I consider it was junk the day it rolled out of the production plant that made it.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:49PM
Yep. I too have had a few (inexpensive) proprietary devices that quickly became trash. Good thing they were bargain basement prices.
Like you, I now value openness extremely high on my requirements checklist. At least open enough to do what I want.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.