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The only thing that is "wrong" so far is the price for the average user, but so was the iPod, the iPhone, and my beloved MacBook Air. Give price a few years and

The only thing that is "wrong" so far is the price for the average user, but so was the iPod, the iPhone, and my beloved MacBook Air. Give price a few years and it will be a mass market $99 (nano) $199 (standard) $299 (pro/luxury). So far there are 2 smart watches that have nailed the design the Moto 360 and the Apple Watch. The rest have a ways to go. A smart watch has to function pretty well as a nice looking fashion accessory before it ever is going to do anything else useful.

nilkn 12y ago
Personally, I think the Moto 360 is simply far too large. It looks fairly good on someone with a very wide risk, but a little ridiculous on someone with a small wrist (like me). This is a problem with circular displays. They naturally have quite a smaller area than the circumscribing square -- they're missing all four corners, every one of which can be used for a UI element. To compensate, the display just needs to be larger -- too large, in the case of the Moto 360, in my humble opinion.
- axaxs 12y ago
  You do realize that, inch for inch, a circle has the highest area/perimeter ratio, right?
  - tzs 12y ago
    There are at least two constraints on wristwatch size. Let the Z axis be in the direction of the thickness of the watch. Let the X axis be in the direction parallel to your arm. Let the Y axis be perpendicular to the X axis and the Z axis. 1. You do not want it to extend along X axis too far toward the fingers, or it will interfere with moving your hand at the wrist. 2. You do not want to extend too far either way along the Y axis, or it will be too easy to accidentally hit things with it. The point of the post above yours is that if a circle with diameter D is an acceptable size--it doesn't extend too far in the X or Y directions to interfere with your wrist or hit things--then a square of side D will generally also be acceptable. The square will give you more face area than the circle.
  - bluthru 12y ago
    Circles are the worst shape if you want to minimize width and height.

nilkn 12y ago

Personally, I think the Moto 360 is simply far too large. It looks fairly good on someone with a very wide risk, but a little ridiculous on someone with a small wrist (like me). This is a problem with circular displays. They naturally have quite a smaller area than the circumscribing square -- they're missing all four corners, every one of which can be used for a UI element. To compensate, the display just needs to be larger -- too large, in the case of the Moto 360, in my humble opinion.

axaxs 12y ago
You do realize that, inch for inch, a circle has the highest area/perimeter ratio, right?
- tzs 12y ago
  There are at least two constraints on wristwatch size. Let the Z axis be in the direction of the thickness of the watch. Let the X axis be in the direction parallel to your arm. Let the Y axis be perpendicular to the X axis and the Z axis. 1. You do not want it to extend along X axis too far toward the fingers, or it will interfere with moving your hand at the wrist. 2. You do not want to extend too far either way along the Y axis, or it will be too easy to accidentally hit things with it. The point of the post above yours is that if a circle with diameter D is an acceptable size--it doesn't extend too far in the X or Y directions to interfere with your wrist or hit things--then a square of side D will generally also be acceptable. The square will give you more face area than the circle.
- bluthru 12y ago
  Circles are the worst shape if you want to minimize width and height.