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What would be the killer app for a smartwatch from a hacker/techie perspective? Because I'm still struggling to see any realistic use case for myself.

OJFord 10y ago
In a movie, we'd be disabling CCTV cameras from it as we ran through corridors of the Pentagon, y'know, hacking stuff. In reality, I think the author just did it for its own sake: > I ended up with a free LG Watch Urbane ... I realized that smartwatches were just a fad (for me at least), and this was a device I could experiment with.
veli_joza 10y ago
For me, killer application is basic usable text input. I'd love to covertly send text messages, write down some thoughts and TODO items, while still maintaining eye contact and following discussion. For it to be usable, it should not require sight and higher typing speeds should be achievable by training. This rules out virtual querty keyboards and predictive suggestions. I think glyph recognition would be usable, but also other gesture systems would work if they don't demand supervision by sight.
- jokr004 10y ago
  Does there exist any input method that doesn't require sight other than physical keys? If so, I'm not aware of any.
  - homarp 10y ago
    morse code ?
    - w8rbt 10y ago
      It's been done. http://www.cultofmac.com/409175/nifty-app-uses-morse-code-to-send-apple-watch-messages/ http://www.cultofmac.com/409175/nifty-app-uses-morse-code-to... Although I think a better input method would be voice (like the GoPro cameras) for most use cases. "Watch, send text to Mom...." Morse Code is just too slow and most humans can no longer send or copy it. It should be the input method of last resort.
  - alexhawdon 10y ago
    Something like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti_(Palm_OS) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti_(Palm_OS) could work on smartwatches?
  - Crespyl 10y ago
    I'd imagine the old Palm Graffiti (or similar) simplified glpyh recognition might be usable with training, but I'd still prefer some kind of physical references. Maybe you could compensate a bit with some haptic feedback.
  - detaro 10y ago
    gesture input doesn't really need sight, especially if it is on a constrained surface (e.g. if the watch has a bezel that sticks out a bit, and a touch surface, you can easily "recalibrate" your absolute position on it every time you hit the borders). With adequate sensors it might be possible to do gestures in the air above it, or on the arm next to it. Downside is that it requires training to learn the symbols, and of course without sight or other feedback you don't notice mistakes while doing it (same with keyboards though).
  - coldtea 10y ago
    Voice recognition obviously?
    - nfriedly 10y ago
      Yeah, seriously. Voice input is the primary way I use my watch. I use it for sending to FB & text messages, looking up the weather, setting reminders, etc.
    - brokenmachine 10y ago
      That's not covert though, actually it's so overt I generally feel like a douche using it...
  - pilom 10y ago
    Maybe I'm weird but I don't look at my phone anymore when using a swype keyboard. I know where the keys are on the screen and can usually get about 90% word accuracy without looking. A quick glance at the final message when I'm done and off it goes.
  - tent 10y ago
    Not that it is perfect, but the Fleksy keyboard is pretty good about guessing what you meant to type, even if you miss several letters. I'm able to use it without looking, but I'd never trust it entirely. edit: I forgot to mention Minuum. It's quite similar, but compresses all the keys into a single row. Consequently, it doesn't seem to be as accurate.
mxuribe 10y ago
My first goal would be to set up a working jasper [https://jasperproject.github.io/ https://jasperproject.github.io/] or "jarvis" type of voice-controlled system. Admittedly, there aren't that many use-cases, more of a "cool to implement" sort of thing. But it would be cool to speak voice commands into my smart watch.
ajford 10y ago
My two killer "apps" are a google authenticator like app (OATH OTP token generator) and notifications. Being able to glance at my wrist and see if I need to get my phone out is pretty nice. I don't try to be inconspicuous in meetings or anything, but when I'm doing something, or walking down the street, etc., it's nice to be able to decide if I need to stop and handle it (like a call from my wife or the daycare), or can ignore it, like an email from a newsletter. And with 2FA everywhere, it's nice to have a standalone token generator that I can wear. The one on my pebble is strictly offline operation (doesn't need the phone connected), which means it's even useful if I break/loose my phone or the battery's dead or something. Music control is pretty cool as well. But mostly for things like when I'm doing the dishes, swimming in the pool/at the beach, or in the shower. My Pebble is fully waterproof, so I only take it off to charge every few days. So I can stream music from my phone to a bluetooth speaker, and control it without needing to handle my phone.
driverdan 10y ago
For me it's notifications. Calendar alerts, texts, app notifications, and alarms are much easier and less disruptive to look at on your wrist than to pull out your phone. It's a much better experience.
fit2rule 10y ago
For me: email. This is the one thing that, if I could do it properly on my watch, I'd get one.

OJFord 10y ago

In a movie, we'd be disabling CCTV cameras from it as we ran through corridors of the Pentagon, y'know, hacking stuff. In reality, I think the author just did it for its own sake: > I ended up with a free LG Watch Urbane ... I realized that smartwatches were just a fad (for me at least), and this was a device I could experiment with.

veli_joza 10y ago

For me, killer application is basic usable text input. I'd love to covertly send text messages, write down some thoughts and TODO items, while still maintaining eye contact and following discussion. For it to be usable, it should not require sight and higher typing speeds should be achievable by training. This rules out virtual querty keyboards and predictive suggestions. I think glyph recognition would be usable, but also other gesture systems would work if they don't demand supervision by sight.

jokr004 10y ago
Does there exist any input method that doesn't require sight other than physical keys? If so, I'm not aware of any.
- homarp 10y ago
  morse code ?
  - w8rbt 10y ago
    It's been done. http://www.cultofmac.com/409175/nifty-app-uses-morse-code-to-send-apple-watch-messages/ http://www.cultofmac.com/409175/nifty-app-uses-morse-code-to... Although I think a better input method would be voice (like the GoPro cameras) for most use cases. "Watch, send text to Mom...." Morse Code is just too slow and most humans can no longer send or copy it. It should be the input method of last resort.
- alexhawdon 10y ago
  Something like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti_(Palm_OS) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti_(Palm_OS) could work on smartwatches?
- Crespyl 10y ago
  I'd imagine the old Palm Graffiti (or similar) simplified glpyh recognition might be usable with training, but I'd still prefer some kind of physical references. Maybe you could compensate a bit with some haptic feedback.
- detaro 10y ago
  gesture input doesn't really need sight, especially if it is on a constrained surface (e.g. if the watch has a bezel that sticks out a bit, and a touch surface, you can easily "recalibrate" your absolute position on it every time you hit the borders). With adequate sensors it might be possible to do gestures in the air above it, or on the arm next to it. Downside is that it requires training to learn the symbols, and of course without sight or other feedback you don't notice mistakes while doing it (same with keyboards though).
- coldtea 10y ago
  Voice recognition obviously?
  - nfriedly 10y ago
    Yeah, seriously. Voice input is the primary way I use my watch. I use it for sending to FB & text messages, looking up the weather, setting reminders, etc.
  - brokenmachine 10y ago
    That's not covert though, actually it's so overt I generally feel like a douche using it...
- pilom 10y ago
  Maybe I'm weird but I don't look at my phone anymore when using a swype keyboard. I know where the keys are on the screen and can usually get about 90% word accuracy without looking. A quick glance at the final message when I'm done and off it goes.
- tent 10y ago
  Not that it is perfect, but the Fleksy keyboard is pretty good about guessing what you meant to type, even if you miss several letters. I'm able to use it without looking, but I'd never trust it entirely. edit: I forgot to mention Minuum. It's quite similar, but compresses all the keys into a single row. Consequently, it doesn't seem to be as accurate.

mxuribe 10y ago

My first goal would be to set up a working jasper [https://jasperproject.github.io/ https://jasperproject.github.io/] or "jarvis" type of voice-controlled system. Admittedly, there aren't that many use-cases, more of a "cool to implement" sort of thing. But it would be cool to speak voice commands into my smart watch.

ajford 10y ago

My two killer "apps" are a google authenticator like app (OATH OTP token generator) and notifications. Being able to glance at my wrist and see if I need to get my phone out is pretty nice. I don't try to be inconspicuous in meetings or anything, but when I'm doing something, or walking down the street, etc., it's nice to be able to decide if I need to stop and handle it (like a call from my wife or the daycare), or can ignore it, like an email from a newsletter. And with 2FA everywhere, it's nice to have a standalone token generator that I can wear. The one on my pebble is strictly offline operation (doesn't need the phone connected), which means it's even useful if I break/loose my phone or the battery's dead or something. Music control is pretty cool as well. But mostly for things like when I'm doing the dishes, swimming in the pool/at the beach, or in the shower. My Pebble is fully waterproof, so I only take it off to charge every few days. So I can stream music from my phone to a bluetooth speaker, and control it without needing to handle my phone.

driverdan 10y ago

For me it's notifications. Calendar alerts, texts, app notifications, and alarms are much easier and less disruptive to look at on your wrist than to pull out your phone. It's a much better experience.

fit2rule 10y ago

For me: email. This is the one thing that, if I could do it properly on my watch, I'd get one.