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>> Carrying two smart devices makes no sense, and the phone got here first. I've always believed the watch will replace the phone. It's easier to carry than a

>> Carrying two smart devices makes no sense, and the phone got here first. I've always believed the watch will replace the phone. It's easier to carry than a phone. I would replace my iphone with a smartwatch in a heartbeat but unfortunately the current models are too limited: no 4g/lte, poor battery, no carplay, not easy to read data(i.e emails), too bulky etc. The main issue is that the watch is just not good enough for now but eventually it will get a big chunk of the marketshare.

flukus 10y ago
The biggest limitation is the screen size. Watches could arguably be made to do everything we want, but we'd still need to plugin an external screen. I'd like to see someone give an futurama style armband a go.
- phs318u 10y ago
  This would probably work better with a thinner, smaller smartphone. https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Sports-Armband-iPhone-MyBand/dp/B00KC64JUY https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Sports-Armband-iPhone-MyBand/...
- toyg 10y ago
  With an armband you lose a hand for interaction. But I agree that screen size will forever be the watches' undoing. Where they will excel is any segment that has an item you have to mindlessly carry on your person all day: security badges, wallets, door keys, insurance trackers, health-device controls. Everything else will stay on phones or similarly-sized devices.
  - tw04 10y ago
    You could in theory just have a very thin remote display with the "brains" inside of the watch. In theory that display could be made much cheaper so you have no/less concerns about dropping/breaking/losing it. Pretty hard to misplace a watch that's always on your wrist.
  - saghm 10y ago
    > With an armband you lose a hand for interaction. I think the comparison being made was between armbands and smart watches, not armband phones vs. regular phones. I don't know about you, but I _certainly_ can't use both hands to interact with a watch on my wrist.
    - toyg 10y ago
      > he comparison being made was between armbands and smart watches Well, we were talking about watches completely replacing the phone, then saying you need a bigger screen for that, so at that point I think it's legit to compare "a watch with phone-like screen" vs regular phone.
  - Fnoord 10y ago
    > With an armband you lose a hand for interaction. Absolutely true. What you gain is (some are more or less debatable and/or situational): 1) Stability. The device cannot be knocked out of your hands or dropped, unlike 5" phone. I can give you two situations where this is very safe where a phone isn't: in a store, and on a bike. 2) 24/7 on you, with the advantages you mentioned. 3) Less chance of the device getting grabbed out of your hands. If the device looks like a normal watch (and not like an Apple Watch) the chance of getting robbed for your watch stays approx the same. 4) Information leaking. Phone has this too. Phone has larger screen, watch with t-shirt is 24/7 seen.
- nitrogen 10y ago
  What ever happened to picoprojectors?
  - baldfat 10y ago
    They are still around. The user experience is less then optimal.
  - afterburner 10y ago
    You mean the Cicret? That was bullshit. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KbgvSi35n6o https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KbgvSi35n6o Or the more realistic kind that project on a wall in a dark room?
    - nitrogen 10y ago
      I mean TI's DLP-based picoprojectors that were supposed to be built into phones.
bmm6o 10y ago
Has anyone figured out how to integrate a camera into a watch? Nobody would replace a phone with a device without a camera.
- jon-wood 10y ago
  I totally would almost all the time. I use my phone's camera maybe once or twice a week, otherwise its just a useless extra, and I know the occasions on which I'm going to want a device with a camera so I could easily plan for them and take my phone (or a real camera) with me.
  - wishinghand 10y ago
    That sounds like a minority use case- most people take pictures with phones these days, unless they're professional or amateur photographers.
  - taejo 10y ago
    I have a nice camera with good lenses, filters, etc., but I nevertheless probably take more photos with my phone: it's the camera that's always in my pocket, any time I see something interesting.
    - JustSomeNobody 10y ago
      Same. Also, I take way more pics of the kids with my phone than my dSLR simply because I never know what they'll do next and I always have my phone with me.
- jacalata 10y ago
  I used to work in the phone industry and there actually is a niche of people willing to pay a bunch of money to get a device without a camera, usually because they work in some high security area.
- daxelrod 10y ago
  There's the CMRA which adds cameras to an Apple Watch band: http://www.recode.net/2016/11/2/13489812/glide-camera-apple-watch-strap http://www.recode.net/2016/11/2/13489812/glide-camera-apple-...
mustacheemperor 10y ago
I got a Moto 360 Sport for <$100 on black friday and at that price point it's proven pretty useful for me as a general secretary and meeting tracker. That said, I would say it absolutely fails that "good enough" test - most of its useful functionality just moves Google Now to my wrist. It is helpful to see if I am being urgently hailed during a meeting or while out of the office, but again, I can't fathom it ever being worth its original asking price of $300 with those limited use cases and its assortment of small, frustrating problems.
tintor 10y ago
You can't take photos and videos with watch.
- mikestew 10y ago
  Samsung's first iteration of the Gear had a camera, IIRC. I also recall the picture quality was reported to be about as good as you would from a device that size. (Ah, here we go: http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-gear-camera-sample-shots http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-gear-camera-sam...)
phjesusthatguy3 10y ago
Dick Tracy wasn't carrying around a lump of plastic in his pocket. It's just a shame that when we get to the point of having all the world's intelligence accessible to us instantaneously, it's going to be mediated through institutions that are actively selling us out to the prison system.

flukus 10y ago

The biggest limitation is the screen size. Watches could arguably be made to do everything we want, but we'd still need to plugin an external screen. I'd like to see someone give an futurama style armband a go.

phs318u 10y ago
This would probably work better with a thinner, smaller smartphone. https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Sports-Armband-iPhone-MyBand/dp/B00KC64JUY https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Sports-Armband-iPhone-MyBand/...
toyg 10y ago
With an armband you lose a hand for interaction. But I agree that screen size will forever be the watches' undoing. Where they will excel is any segment that has an item you have to mindlessly carry on your person all day: security badges, wallets, door keys, insurance trackers, health-device controls. Everything else will stay on phones or similarly-sized devices.
- tw04 10y ago
  You could in theory just have a very thin remote display with the "brains" inside of the watch. In theory that display could be made much cheaper so you have no/less concerns about dropping/breaking/losing it. Pretty hard to misplace a watch that's always on your wrist.
- saghm 10y ago
  > With an armband you lose a hand for interaction. I think the comparison being made was between armbands and smart watches, not armband phones vs. regular phones. I don't know about you, but I _certainly_ can't use both hands to interact with a watch on my wrist.
  - toyg 10y ago
    > he comparison being made was between armbands and smart watches Well, we were talking about watches completely replacing the phone, then saying you need a bigger screen for that, so at that point I think it's legit to compare "a watch with phone-like screen" vs regular phone.
- Fnoord 10y ago
  > With an armband you lose a hand for interaction. Absolutely true. What you gain is (some are more or less debatable and/or situational): 1) Stability. The device cannot be knocked out of your hands or dropped, unlike 5" phone. I can give you two situations where this is very safe where a phone isn't: in a store, and on a bike. 2) 24/7 on you, with the advantages you mentioned. 3) Less chance of the device getting grabbed out of your hands. If the device looks like a normal watch (and not like an Apple Watch) the chance of getting robbed for your watch stays approx the same. 4) Information leaking. Phone has this too. Phone has larger screen, watch with t-shirt is 24/7 seen.
nitrogen 10y ago
What ever happened to picoprojectors?
- baldfat 10y ago
  They are still around. The user experience is less then optimal.
- afterburner 10y ago
  You mean the Cicret? That was bullshit. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KbgvSi35n6o https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KbgvSi35n6o Or the more realistic kind that project on a wall in a dark room?
  - nitrogen 10y ago
    I mean TI's DLP-based picoprojectors that were supposed to be built into phones.

bmm6o 10y ago

Has anyone figured out how to integrate a camera into a watch? Nobody would replace a phone with a device without a camera.

jon-wood 10y ago
I totally would almost all the time. I use my phone's camera maybe once or twice a week, otherwise its just a useless extra, and I know the occasions on which I'm going to want a device with a camera so I could easily plan for them and take my phone (or a real camera) with me.
- wishinghand 10y ago
  That sounds like a minority use case- most people take pictures with phones these days, unless they're professional or amateur photographers.
- taejo 10y ago
  I have a nice camera with good lenses, filters, etc., but I nevertheless probably take more photos with my phone: it's the camera that's always in my pocket, any time I see something interesting.
  - JustSomeNobody 10y ago
    Same. Also, I take way more pics of the kids with my phone than my dSLR simply because I never know what they'll do next and I always have my phone with me.
jacalata 10y ago
I used to work in the phone industry and there actually is a niche of people willing to pay a bunch of money to get a device without a camera, usually because they work in some high security area.
daxelrod 10y ago
There's the CMRA which adds cameras to an Apple Watch band: http://www.recode.net/2016/11/2/13489812/glide-camera-apple-watch-strap http://www.recode.net/2016/11/2/13489812/glide-camera-apple-...

mustacheemperor 10y ago

I got a Moto 360 Sport for <$100 on black friday and at that price point it's proven pretty useful for me as a general secretary and meeting tracker. That said, I would say it absolutely fails that "good enough" test - most of its useful functionality just moves Google Now to my wrist. It is helpful to see if I am being urgently hailed during a meeting or while out of the office, but again, I can't fathom it ever being worth its original asking price of $300 with those limited use cases and its assortment of small, frustrating problems.

tintor 10y ago

You can't take photos and videos with watch.

mikestew 10y ago
Samsung's first iteration of the Gear had a camera, IIRC. I also recall the picture quality was reported to be about as good as you would from a device that size. (Ah, here we go: http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-gear-camera-sample-shots http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-gear-camera-sam...)

phjesusthatguy3 10y ago

Dick Tracy wasn't carrying around a lump of plastic in his pocket. It's just a shame that when we get to the point of having all the world's intelligence accessible to us instantaneously, it's going to be mediated through institutions that are actively selling us out to the prison system.