5 ms·

Looks really neat, but I won't buy it, because: * It requires regular charging -- at least once a week, according to the kickstart page. Who wants more cables

by cs702 15y ago

Looks really neat, but I won't buy it, because: * It requires regular charging -- at least once a week, according to the kickstart page. Who wants more cables dangling from the desk or night table? Who wants to keep remembering to charge one more device? * Apps for this watch are necessarily inferior to those already available for smartphones. (Indeed, the whole point of modern smartphones is that they 'appify' specialized devices like this watch.) Who wants to carry an extra device? Instead of simplifying my life, this watch would make it more complex!

ckrailo 15y ago
You won't buy it because it requires charging and because it displays things from your smartphone? I'm... not really sure what to say.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- jrockway 15y ago
  When people are bored at work they re-engage their minds by posting the most negative comment they can think of. A lot of people that read HN are bored at work.
  - guylhem 15y ago
    Sorry but the OP stated valid points, which I fully agree with, yet did not take time to post because they were not very constructive and would not add to the discussion. I guess there are more than 2 of us. The charging part is the #1 problem for me. I would buy a device which could be extracted from the wristband (ala ipod mini) and would not require cables (ie with a charging mat). I would even pay a premium for a device which would not have me remove it from my wrist for charging (don't know how it can be done, but it should!) Having to care about battery life is just adding complexity for minor advantages compared to a standard dumb watch, therefore I'm not buying it, but please do not discard such arguments just because of some "negativity at work" theory.
    - jrockway 15y ago
      I guess this doesn't faze me since I use a Garmin GPS watch for running, and it obviously needs to be charged regularly. Complex electronic devices need energy, most cheaply obtained from your wall. Radios specifically use a lot of energy, making regular watch batteries a poor value proposition. I guess I've accepted that Kickstarter projects aren't going to change the fundamental laws of physics or invent something like a battery-size nuclear reactor for their project, so I don't get upset when an electronic gadget needs to be powered. That's all.
      - guylhem 15y ago
        I also purchased a Garmin forerunner - now catching dust. Without changing the law of physics, an eink device whose main function is to display time should be designed to work between 6 to 12 months on a single charge or battery (CR2025 and the likes) to get my money. If it can't do that and have a fancy CPU and a fancy radio, remove the radio, use an AVR, whatever it takes. Alternatively, an inductive charging mat were you can lay your wrist while typing or a device that can be removed from the wristband (like an ipod mini) doesn't seem impossible with todays tech.
        bigiain 15y ago
        Why would anyone get particularly excited about a 6-12 month per charge e-ink watch with no "fancy CPU and fancy radio"? That's just a watch. The e-ink adds no real value if you can't do interesting things with it. If this were "just" an e-ink display mimicking a mechanical watch, I'd personally rather an actual mechanical watch. I'm hoping that much like how I don't for a second resent having to charge my smartphone every night in return for all the "extra stuff" it does over my perhaps once a week recharge requirements from my last non-smart phone, that this thing will do "new stuff" that makes it worth charging every night, and also happen to be a perfectly functional watch as well. (Much like my phone isn't so much a "phone" these days, its a "pocket web browser / email client / twitter client / gps mapper / casual game device" which also happens to make phone calls.)
        15y ago
  - cs702 15y ago
    jrockway -- I'm the poster of the comment you criticize as intentionally negative. FWIW, I meant my comment to be constructive: this watch would be a more compelling proposition for me if (1) it had much longer (say, one-year) battery life, and (2) it offered functionality (other than its smaller form factor) not available or difficult to implement on a smartphone. Judging by your and others' reactions, I should have written my comment differently. Thank you for the feedback.
bigiain 15y ago
My grandparents would have thought the idea of a telephone that needed "charging" was stupid. To me, this thing _isn't_ a watch, in the same way a smartphone isn't a phone - they occupy the same space as a cellphone/watch and they replicate all the functionality of what they're displacing, but they do _so_ much more as well. Would I give up my "whole internet in my pocket" that i get with my smartphone in return for going back to only charging my dumb-phone once a week instead of every night? _Hell no!_ Having said that, I do wonder whether I need _another_ smart" device to add at the bottom of the colo/cloudaccounts/homeserver/desktop/laptop/tablet/smartphone device chain. I didn't _think_ I "needed" my iPad when I bought it, I thought it would just be a cute tech-toy, but it's become an indispensable enough part of my life that I'd replace it the same day I lost/damaged it. It _may_ be that this "watch" carves out and fills some new niche in my life that nobody is really sure what shape it is (or even if it exists). It _might_ end up being another gadget gathering dust in the drawer, it might like my Apple Newton be an idea a decade ahead of it's time, but it might also be a game changing new device category. For ~$100 I'll accept those odds. (I've certainly "wasted" that sort of money on far less worthwhile stuff in the past…)

by cs702 15y ago

ckrailo 15y ago

You won't buy it because it requires charging and because it displays things from your smartphone? I'm... not really sure what to say.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
jrockway 15y ago
When people are bored at work they re-engage their minds by posting the most negative comment they can think of. A lot of people that read HN are bored at work.
- guylhem 15y ago
  Sorry but the OP stated valid points, which I fully agree with, yet did not take time to post because they were not very constructive and would not add to the discussion. I guess there are more than 2 of us. The charging part is the #1 problem for me. I would buy a device which could be extracted from the wristband (ala ipod mini) and would not require cables (ie with a charging mat). I would even pay a premium for a device which would not have me remove it from my wrist for charging (don't know how it can be done, but it should!) Having to care about battery life is just adding complexity for minor advantages compared to a standard dumb watch, therefore I'm not buying it, but please do not discard such arguments just because of some "negativity at work" theory.
  - jrockway 15y ago
    I guess this doesn't faze me since I use a Garmin GPS watch for running, and it obviously needs to be charged regularly. Complex electronic devices need energy, most cheaply obtained from your wall. Radios specifically use a lot of energy, making regular watch batteries a poor value proposition. I guess I've accepted that Kickstarter projects aren't going to change the fundamental laws of physics or invent something like a battery-size nuclear reactor for their project, so I don't get upset when an electronic gadget needs to be powered. That's all.
    - guylhem 15y ago
      I also purchased a Garmin forerunner - now catching dust. Without changing the law of physics, an eink device whose main function is to display time should be designed to work between 6 to 12 months on a single charge or battery (CR2025 and the likes) to get my money. If it can't do that and have a fancy CPU and a fancy radio, remove the radio, use an AVR, whatever it takes. Alternatively, an inductive charging mat were you can lay your wrist while typing or a device that can be removed from the wristband (like an ipod mini) doesn't seem impossible with todays tech.
      - bigiain 15y ago
        Why would anyone get particularly excited about a 6-12 month per charge e-ink watch with no "fancy CPU and fancy radio"? That's just a watch. The e-ink adds no real value if you can't do interesting things with it. If this were "just" an e-ink display mimicking a mechanical watch, I'd personally rather an actual mechanical watch. I'm hoping that much like how I don't for a second resent having to charge my smartphone every night in return for all the "extra stuff" it does over my perhaps once a week recharge requirements from my last non-smart phone, that this thing will do "new stuff" that makes it worth charging every night, and also happen to be a perfectly functional watch as well. (Much like my phone isn't so much a "phone" these days, its a "pocket web browser / email client / twitter client / gps mapper / casual game device" which also happens to make phone calls.)
        15y ago
- cs702 15y ago
  jrockway -- I'm the poster of the comment you criticize as intentionally negative. FWIW, I meant my comment to be constructive: this watch would be a more compelling proposition for me if (1) it had much longer (say, one-year) battery life, and (2) it offered functionality (other than its smaller form factor) not available or difficult to implement on a smartphone. Judging by your and others' reactions, I should have written my comment differently. Thank you for the feedback.

bigiain 15y ago

My grandparents would have thought the idea of a telephone that needed "charging" was stupid. To me, this thing _isn't_ a watch, in the same way a smartphone isn't a phone - they occupy the same space as a cellphone/watch and they replicate all the functionality of what they're displacing, but they do _so_ much more as well. Would I give up my "whole internet in my pocket" that i get with my smartphone in return for going back to only charging my dumb-phone once a week instead of every night? _Hell no!_ Having said that, I do wonder whether I need _another_ smart" device to add at the bottom of the colo/cloudaccounts/homeserver/desktop/laptop/tablet/smartphone device chain. I didn't _think_ I "needed" my iPad when I bought it, I thought it would just be a cute tech-toy, but it's become an indispensable enough part of my life that I'd replace it the same day I lost/damaged it. It _may_ be that this "watch" carves out and fills some new niche in my life that nobody is really sure what shape it is (or even if it exists). It _might_ end up being another gadget gathering dust in the drawer, it might like my Apple Newton be an idea a decade ahead of it's time, but it might also be a game changing new device category. For ~$100 I'll accept those odds. (I've certainly "wasted" that sort of money on far less worthwhile stuff in the past…)