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posted by janrinok on Friday July 17 2015, @04:48AM   Printer-friendly
from the watch-that-is-essential-to-breathing... dept.

You would probably say the same if you were Eric Migicovsky, who runs smartwatch maker Pebble, whose business model involves selling people computers to wear on their bodies.

Even so, Migicovsky's confidence in the wider trend fuelling that business is notable, at a time when despite Apple and Google's moves into the smartwatch market, there is still widespread scepticism about what exactly these devices are for.
...
So, what are smartwatches for? Migicovsky compares the current state of the market with smartphones in 2007, in the early days of iPhone and Android.
...
For smartwatches in 2015, those core use cases appear to be activity-tracking and notifications – 90% of Pebble owners use notifications every day, according to Migicovsky – with watch-face customisation also scoring highly in Pebble's case.

On paper the case for something like Google Glass becoming indispensible seems stronger. Is Pebble right?


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2015, @05:51AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2015, @05:51AM (#210327)
    I still wear a literal "stupidwatch", i.e. an old-fashioned watch with gears and springs and such. Likely the only electronics inside is the quartz movement. I can look at it at a glance and know what time it is, while taking out my phone just to check the time takes substantially more effort and in a crowded public space it's a good way to get rolled. I suppose the thinking is similar: it takes only a second to look at one's wrist to see what's there, while taking out one's phone from one's pocket is by comparison a lot of effort. But I have to agree that I fail to see the point with regard to these modern "smartwatches". There is no notification from my phone that is so urgent that it cannot wait until I can get to a place where I can look at it properly. Activity tracking is also not so urgent either, and I'd rather use a specialised device for that during the times when I need it, just like my "stupidwatch".
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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by davester666 on Friday July 17 2015, @06:27AM

    by davester666 (155) on Friday July 17 2015, @06:27AM (#210332)

    Really? A "good chance to get rolled" by pulling your phone out of your pocket.

    First, I hope you also go out and buy lottery tickets, because it's only slightly more likely that you will be robbed in this fashion.
    Second, if you live in an area where you are more likely to be rolled for flashing your phone, you are also going to be rolled for your watch. Or your wallet.

    • (Score: 2) by davester666 on Friday July 17 2015, @06:30AM

      by davester666 (155) on Friday July 17 2015, @06:30AM (#210334)

      oops, quote was wrong "good way to get rolled", not "good chance".

    • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2015, @07:57AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2015, @07:57AM (#210341)
      Spoken like someone who has never lived in a major city or waded through the crowds in one. It's a lot easier to have your phone snatched out of your hands because you couldn't resist looking at the latest notifications than it is to have a properly fastened watch ripped off your wrist or your pockets picked.
      • (Score: 2) by Zinho on Friday July 17 2015, @02:57PM

        by Zinho (759) on Friday July 17 2015, @02:57PM (#210454)

        It's a lot easier to have your phone snatched out of your hands because you couldn't resist looking at the latest notifications than it is to have a properly fastened watch ripped off your wrist or your pockets picked.

        I'm not sure I agree with that, based upon an anecdote from my personal history.

        I had a properly fastened watch stolen from my wrist as I walked down the street in a mid-sized Brazilian city I visited as a tourist. A street urchin simply jammed his finger between my wrist and the watch body (leaving quite a scratch, as the watch wasn't very loose) and pulled, shearing the watchband pin. Zero points for subtlety, but quite effective. For a thief willing to replace that sheared pin there's a lot of value in a smartwatch. Also, clever pickpockets are fully capable of removing a Rolex from your wrist without your notice; I'd say that if you're targeted that way your wallet and watch are about evenly at risk.

        As a personal security note for those who have this happen to them, don't be stupid like me: I actually chased the kid down and got the watch back. Considering that it was a Timex Ironman watch that I could replace easily the risk of chasing a random kid down unfamiliar city streets was pretty dicey. If he'd had a group of thugs watching his back I might have run into an ambush and lost all the travelers' checks in my wallet for the low price of a club to the head or shiv in the ribs. Especially considering that the watch body got damaged in the process and wouldn't hold a pin properly afterwards, I really should have just let the kid have it.

        --
        "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2015, @03:40PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 17 2015, @03:40PM (#210473)
          I've had a few phones stolen from me over the years as described, but just as I have never won the lottery as the GP suggests, I have never had my watch stolen or my wallet picked out of my pockets. These days smartphones fetch far higher prices than typical watches, are usually worth much more than the amount of cash people regularly carry, and are easier to fence.