4 ms·

I was a former hater and said I'd never buy one but recently won a Apple Watch Sport purely by chance. I tried it out and gave it an objective look, if I didn't

by rubyfan 10y ago

I was a former hater and said I'd never buy one but recently won a Apple Watch Sport purely by chance. I tried it out and gave it an objective look, if I didn't like it then I'd sell it. After the initial neat factor, I don't remember to wear it every day (this is probably more me not remembering to wear it and less a conscious decision. But the scenario when I do make it a point to wear is when I'm traveling or on a road trip. The killer app was driving with the Apple Watch (not what I would have expected). I found the GPS vibrating prompts, a glance at the watch for next turn really awesome features and I try not to drive anywhere unfamiliar without it. This is one area that's super subtle but really well thought out. Again useful during driving, I also found the ability to skip music with my hands still on the steering wheel to be incredibly helpful. Feels safer than taking my eyes off the road to fumble my phone. Would I pay for the next Apple Watch? Maybe. But I definitely no longer consider myself an Apple Watch hater.

jsemrau 10y ago
That still does not sound it would validate to investment? A 10 dollar bluetooth earplug does not vibrate but aurally guides you. And at least on my car (2016 C-Class) after pairing you can skips songs via the steering wheel.
- rubyfan 10y ago
  The subtle vibration and the ability to glance at the next instruction are pretty helpful. An ear bud is just going to make the voice louder than on my phone or when connected to my car audio. The point is, I'm usually not waiting to listen the next instruction and usually listening to music instead. Without the watch I usually miss the instruction or part of it then have to take my eyes off the road. Like I said, the feature is subtle but well done imo. Also 2016 C-Class is probably not a good investment if that's your killer feature ;-) Seriously though, some of us are frugal and won't spend our money on new cars. Bluetooth connectivity is nice but not really worth the investment in a vehicle if you already own one in good repair. A watch is orders of magnitude cheaper.
  - MichaelGG 10y ago
    Why not just mount your phone up in a visible place, turn off audio nav, and leave it in car mode? If you're unfamiliar with the place, surely the map overview is helpful, especially in nontrivial lane/turn scenarios. I get that the vibration is useful to tell you to pay attention, and maybe current map software can't just provide a quick ping sound without screwing up music playback. But I'm not sure why glancing down at your hands is a good idea.
    - rubyfan 10y ago
      Yeah I have one of those phone mount things too and Waze is running on the phone with Maps in the background to shout the audio instructions. The pre instruction vibration is great for just that reason, to tell me to pay attention. Usually a few minutes after the most recent instruction I zone out, so when I'm glancing down at the watch I'm looking for mileage until the next instruction. Also, sometimes I play Slacker radio from the phone too, which the phone does a decent job of interrupting the music and speaking the instruction for. Also I have the Automatic OBD plug which audibly alerts me when I'm speeding and a bidirectional dash camera that fits over my mirror, you know just in case an accident or something. Hmm, after writing all this out I'm thinking I might have over done it with car gadgets.
  - hx87 10y ago
    'Frugal' means different things to people with varying preferences--to me, buying an Apple Watch isn't frugal. Even if you're frugal, pretty much every car that doesn't have Bluetooth A2DP has at least an AUX input, and the ones that don't can either add one as a CD changer emulator or have a tape deck (and thus can use a cassette adapter). Pop in a $13 Bluetooth A2DP adapter on the end, mount your phone on the dash or windshield, and boom, you can stream music while car nav interrupts only when it has something to say. Much cheaper and better solution than a vibrating watch.
technofiend 10y ago
>I also found the ability to skip music with my hands still on the steering wheel to be incredibly helpful Well presumably you take one hand off the wheel or have a really long tongue?
- mikeryan 10y ago
  There are active Apple Watch users who use their nose ;-) http://www.wsj.com/articles/nosy-apple-watch-users-discover-another-way-to-go-hands-free-1451077454 http://www.wsj.com/articles/nosy-apple-watch-users-discover-... I'm an apple watch user but I've not perfected the schnozz technique.
- rubyfan 10y ago
  Haha. No, believe it or not both my hands are on the wheel and I use my finger to tap on the screen. Kind of a 11:30 and 1:00 position - no tongue involved.
Shivetya 10y ago
Sorry, but encouraged to take my eyes off the road especially away from the typical line of sight used while driving? no thank you. I can have my phone talk to me when driving and tell me when to turn. There are so many mounts available I can put it anywhere. Besides, if its killer app is GPS there is something seriously wrong with other apps then. Me, when it becomes my phone I will be happy. As in, when its not a slave device.
stonedge 10y ago
I sold my Apple Watch a few months ago, but I thoroughly enjoyed this feature. It would subtly vibrate just before you needed to turn and with kids making noise in the car, the vibration was better than listening for "turn now!". I now have a Microsoft Band 2 and with Google Maps I get the same functionality, so it turns out I didn't lose anything by selling my Apple Watch.
gambiting 10y ago
"Again useful during driving, I also found the ability to skip music with my hands still on the steering wheel to be incredibly helpful." I feel like that's significantly less important nowadays, with literally every single new car offering bluetooth connectivity and music controls directly on the wheel, you can use them without even looking.
dionidium 10y ago
I also found the ability to skip music with my hands still on the steering wheel to be incredibly helpful. It's a sign of how broken and far behind automobile tech is that Alexa was first developed for the kitchen and not the car.
- hx87 10y ago
  Voice commands on car entertainment systems was available all the way back in 2008, albeit in a $120k car (Lexus LS600h L).
  - dionidium 10y ago
    And you can buy the Echo Dot, which I'm willing to guess works so much better that it might as well be in a different category, for $90.
  - relaxatorium 10y ago
    It was available in 2009 in a fairly cheap Ford sedan. Microsoft Sync got a lot of shit because from what I've heard, the touchscreen version was a total mess, but the voice only version before that in my car's been pretty solid.
  - Alupis 10y ago
    >> It's a sign of how broken and far behind automobile tech is that Alexa was first developed for the kitchen and not the car > Voice commands on car entertainment systems was available all the way back in 2008, albeit in a $120k car Voice command entertainment system are available in your run-of-the-mill $14k car nowadays. 2016 Ford Fiesta S model has Sync 3 voice command system built in.
    - dionidium 10y ago
      Meh. I've never used one of these car systems, but without any knowledge at all I can confidently say that the experience and capabilities come nowhere near matching Alexa. Totally different products. I'd love to be wrong. But I doubt I am.
superuser2 10y ago
Really? I found having my watch constantly buzzing on the steering wheel incredibly jarring. There is no substitute for a dashboard mount - directions should be a quick visual scan away, not a "let me take my hand off the wheel, raise my watch, scroll down to the dismiss button, and press it." Google Maps was the first set of notifications I disabled, with vigorous prejudice.
- vitd 10y ago
  Not sure what you mean about raising the watch and scrolling. On the Apple watch you get a series of short buzzes for a left turn and long buzzes for a right turn. There's no looking, scrolling, or dismissing necessary.

by rubyfan 10y ago

jsemrau 10y ago

That still does not sound it would validate to investment? A 10 dollar bluetooth earplug does not vibrate but aurally guides you. And at least on my car (2016 C-Class) after pairing you can skips songs via the steering wheel.

rubyfan 10y ago
The subtle vibration and the ability to glance at the next instruction are pretty helpful. An ear bud is just going to make the voice louder than on my phone or when connected to my car audio. The point is, I'm usually not waiting to listen the next instruction and usually listening to music instead. Without the watch I usually miss the instruction or part of it then have to take my eyes off the road. Like I said, the feature is subtle but well done imo. Also 2016 C-Class is probably not a good investment if that's your killer feature ;-) Seriously though, some of us are frugal and won't spend our money on new cars. Bluetooth connectivity is nice but not really worth the investment in a vehicle if you already own one in good repair. A watch is orders of magnitude cheaper.
- MichaelGG 10y ago
  Why not just mount your phone up in a visible place, turn off audio nav, and leave it in car mode? If you're unfamiliar with the place, surely the map overview is helpful, especially in nontrivial lane/turn scenarios. I get that the vibration is useful to tell you to pay attention, and maybe current map software can't just provide a quick ping sound without screwing up music playback. But I'm not sure why glancing down at your hands is a good idea.
  - rubyfan 10y ago
    Yeah I have one of those phone mount things too and Waze is running on the phone with Maps in the background to shout the audio instructions. The pre instruction vibration is great for just that reason, to tell me to pay attention. Usually a few minutes after the most recent instruction I zone out, so when I'm glancing down at the watch I'm looking for mileage until the next instruction. Also, sometimes I play Slacker radio from the phone too, which the phone does a decent job of interrupting the music and speaking the instruction for. Also I have the Automatic OBD plug which audibly alerts me when I'm speeding and a bidirectional dash camera that fits over my mirror, you know just in case an accident or something. Hmm, after writing all this out I'm thinking I might have over done it with car gadgets.
- hx87 10y ago
  'Frugal' means different things to people with varying preferences--to me, buying an Apple Watch isn't frugal. Even if you're frugal, pretty much every car that doesn't have Bluetooth A2DP has at least an AUX input, and the ones that don't can either add one as a CD changer emulator or have a tape deck (and thus can use a cassette adapter). Pop in a $13 Bluetooth A2DP adapter on the end, mount your phone on the dash or windshield, and boom, you can stream music while car nav interrupts only when it has something to say. Much cheaper and better solution than a vibrating watch.

technofiend 10y ago

>I also found the ability to skip music with my hands still on the steering wheel to be incredibly helpful Well presumably you take one hand off the wheel or have a really long tongue?

mikeryan 10y ago
There are active Apple Watch users who use their nose ;-) http://www.wsj.com/articles/nosy-apple-watch-users-discover-another-way-to-go-hands-free-1451077454 http://www.wsj.com/articles/nosy-apple-watch-users-discover-... I'm an apple watch user but I've not perfected the schnozz technique.
rubyfan 10y ago
Haha. No, believe it or not both my hands are on the wheel and I use my finger to tap on the screen. Kind of a 11:30 and 1:00 position - no tongue involved.

Shivetya 10y ago

Sorry, but encouraged to take my eyes off the road especially away from the typical line of sight used while driving? no thank you. I can have my phone talk to me when driving and tell me when to turn. There are so many mounts available I can put it anywhere. Besides, if its killer app is GPS there is something seriously wrong with other apps then. Me, when it becomes my phone I will be happy. As in, when its not a slave device.

stonedge 10y ago

I sold my Apple Watch a few months ago, but I thoroughly enjoyed this feature. It would subtly vibrate just before you needed to turn and with kids making noise in the car, the vibration was better than listening for "turn now!". I now have a Microsoft Band 2 and with Google Maps I get the same functionality, so it turns out I didn't lose anything by selling my Apple Watch.

gambiting 10y ago

"Again useful during driving, I also found the ability to skip music with my hands still on the steering wheel to be incredibly helpful." I feel like that's significantly less important nowadays, with literally every single new car offering bluetooth connectivity and music controls directly on the wheel, you can use them without even looking.

dionidium 10y ago

I also found the ability to skip music with my hands still on the steering wheel to be incredibly helpful. It's a sign of how broken and far behind automobile tech is that Alexa was first developed for the kitchen and not the car.

hx87 10y ago
Voice commands on car entertainment systems was available all the way back in 2008, albeit in a $120k car (Lexus LS600h L).
- dionidium 10y ago
  And you can buy the Echo Dot, which I'm willing to guess works so much better that it might as well be in a different category, for $90.
- relaxatorium 10y ago
  It was available in 2009 in a fairly cheap Ford sedan. Microsoft Sync got a lot of shit because from what I've heard, the touchscreen version was a total mess, but the voice only version before that in my car's been pretty solid.
- Alupis 10y ago
  >> It's a sign of how broken and far behind automobile tech is that Alexa was first developed for the kitchen and not the car > Voice commands on car entertainment systems was available all the way back in 2008, albeit in a $120k car Voice command entertainment system are available in your run-of-the-mill $14k car nowadays. 2016 Ford Fiesta S model has Sync 3 voice command system built in.
  - dionidium 10y ago
    Meh. I've never used one of these car systems, but without any knowledge at all I can confidently say that the experience and capabilities come nowhere near matching Alexa. Totally different products. I'd love to be wrong. But I doubt I am.

superuser2 10y ago

Really? I found having my watch constantly buzzing on the steering wheel incredibly jarring. There is no substitute for a dashboard mount - directions should be a quick visual scan away, not a "let me take my hand off the wheel, raise my watch, scroll down to the dismiss button, and press it." Google Maps was the first set of notifications I disabled, with vigorous prejudice.

vitd 10y ago
Not sure what you mean about raising the watch and scrolling. On the Apple watch you get a series of short buzzes for a left turn and long buzzes for a right turn. There's no looking, scrolling, or dismissing necessary.