Apple Watch?

Originally posted by MN_Mike Waaaaaay overpriced for what it does (which is not much). Just my opinion though.

Yeah, it's really weird.  I bought an $800 watch that was just a standard watch about 15 years ago.  I never thought anything about spending that kind of money on my old watch, but now I'm sitting here going back and forth on a smart watch.

I honestly think it boils down to it being a piece of technology that goes down in value and wears out.  A good traditional watch will run for decades, but the 1st Gen Apple watch will likely be obsolete in 2-3 years.

I'll probably want one, but not in the very near future. Couldn't use it right now anyway, as it will require an update to iOS and there is no Jailbreak on a version that will support the watch. Deal-breaker without the JB, there's too many tweaks I'd have to give up. $350 is way more than I can swing too.

I'm hotter for a Garmin upgrade right now anyway. Probably going to sell my 910 as soon as I get a fresh one from Garmin and put a few more bucks toward a 920. (Had the barometer go out and it's out for exchange as I'm typing this.)

Starva came out with their Apple Watch app today.  So, you're golden.  

Have fun with it.  I'm happy with my Ambit 2.  I'd get a Fenix 3 (looks great, amazing features), but based on the reviews, Garmin is still working out the bugs.

I'll be honest and say that I've cooled a little.  I was in the "definitely getting one" camp but now I'm shifting to the "i'm not sure" camp.

I wasn't too worked up about it needing the phone, but after watching several reviews online it appears very laggy whenever it needs to interface with the phone.  Fortunately I can't get one for several months even if I wanted to so I'll have a much better feel for them once they start shipping.

I might have to wait for Gen 2.

I don't think that even apple knows how successful this may become.  it's a platform- which a lot can be done with.  I think they're counting on the developer community to come up with things to do with the watch that will make it amazing.  Right now- it's just nicely packaged computer on your wrist, with a nifty interface.

it's not a GPS sports watch... but can double as one if you have your phone.  This will be good for a lot of people that never would consider buying a GPS watch  (i.e. not us)

we shall see-

I thought this was a really good review.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaC00homOiA

lol, that reminds me of when I first saw the iPad.  I thought it was stupidest thing ever and laughed about it.  years later I think between everyone in my family we have 5 of them.  #embarrassed 

Originally posted by tuwood

Originally posted by MN_Mike Waaaaaay overpriced for what it does (which is not much). Just my opinion though.

Yeah, it's really weird.  I bought an $800 watch that was just a standard watch about 15 years ago.  I never thought anything about spending that kind of money on my old watch, but now I'm sitting here going back and forth on a smart watch.

I honestly think it boils down to it being a piece of technology that goes down in value and wears out.  A good traditional watch will run for decades, but the 1st Gen Apple watch will likely be obsolete in 2-3 years.

But a good quality watch may actually increase in value and will last for years.  Any electronic device will probably need to be replaced in a couple of years.  Look at phones.  I have a perfectly good S4, and now 2 years later I want the latest and greatest. So you really can't compare smart vs dumb.

Originally posted by velocomp

Originally posted by tuwood

Originally posted by MN_Mike Waaaaaay overpriced for what it does (which is not much). Just my opinion though.

Yeah, it's really weird.  I bought an $800 watch that was just a standard watch about 15 years ago.  I never thought anything about spending that kind of money on my old watch, but now I'm sitting here going back and forth on a smart watch.

I honestly think it boils down to it being a piece of technology that goes down in value and wears out.  A good traditional watch will run for decades, but the 1st Gen Apple watch will likely be obsolete in 2-3 years.

But a good quality watch may actually increase in value and will last for years.  Any electronic device will probably need to be replaced in a couple of years.  Look at phones.  I have a perfectly good S4, and now 2 years later I want the latest and greatest. So you really can't compare smart vs dumb.

yeah, that's very true.  I think looking at this as a "watch purchase" isn't really what it is.  It's a technology purchase decision.

So- I was by an Apple store last night and spent 20min playing with the watch.

My first impressions:

1.  very nice packaging.  it's beautiful.

2.  smaller than I thought.  the larger 42mm version, does not look big on my (pretty small) wrist.  way smaller than my Suunto ambit 2S.

3.  the screen is beautiful.  bright, clear, vibrant.

4.  the user interface is really slick.  apple-slick.  this is truly where the watch shines.  Did I say it was slick?

5.  the $600 stainless steel/sapphire version with the polished bezel does really feel nicer and more luxurious than the $400 sport model.  The weight of the case (sans band) is 50g instead of 30g for the Sport version.  Not 'heavy' on your wrist- but definitely a different, stronger feel to it.  Guess it's more scratch resistant as well.  The silicon/rubber? sport watch bands are comfortable.  As are the leather bands.  Good product design.  Oh- they come in different sizes (the bands, that is).

everything is intuitive.  you swipe the screen and other choices come up for what you want to display, you push the crown to get back to the home area with all of your apps, displayed little icons which are easy to find and arrange.  Truly a brilliant user interface.  The few apple apps that were on the demo modes- such as the training one, are also clean and slick.  For a geek like me, I'm not giving up my GPS watch- which is a highly specialized training and racing tool.  But most people aren't like us.  It will make a great activity/training device- and hopefully motivate more people to stay active.  It's just hard to overstate the value of the apple interface.  I can't imagine how many design and software hours went into this.  Only apple could afford to develop such a thing.  I felt like I was using a macintosh for the 1st time in 1984.  'wow- this is fun, and obvious how to do everything!'

Really- for most of the things it 'does' right now, you're better off just using your phone.  I have no idea how practical or useful it is, or will be.  However, they've created a great little platform.

one downside:  one of the watches I tried on, that was running the demo program... froze on me.  yup- it crashed!  the employee tried to hold down the buttons or something to reset it... and even that didn't work.  So, apparently they hired someone from Garmin for their software team (ouch!   ).  This issue may be unique to the demo software, but if it isn't, you'll be hearing about it all over the internet.

I won't be an early adopter. 

Thought this was interesting on the battery:

http://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/24/apple-watch-battery-1000-cycles/?utm_source=osx&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=ios

The article says- the battery in the Apple Watch... is like all the other batteries that represent the latest in small high density battery technology.  1000 full cycles and it will still retain 80% capacity.

which part of that was 'interesting'?  it's the same kinda' battery that's in everything.  

lol, thought it was interesting in regards to the lifespan of the watch.

Thought I'd chime in on this. You were instrumental in convincing me to go with the Ambit over the Fenix 2 and I was very glad that I did!

however...

I have since moved to the Fenix 3 and it is flat out awesome! Tons more features than the Ambit, looks better, fits better for an everday watch, and I haven't had any issues with it whatsoever. It's great to not have to plug it into the computer to download a workout. I just hit stop and 30 seconds later I am getting kudos on Strava. The widgets and notifications from my phone are great. My wife is really liking the tracking feature when I am out riding by myself. Software has been very stable and battery life is excellent. 

Just thought I would nudge you toward the Fenix if you end up looking for a new watch. The feature list blows the Ambit 3 out of the water, and since they started this Fenix with the 920 software, it was been much, much better than the launch of the Fenux 2. 

cool.  I really hope that Garmin is getting the kinks worked out of that watch, because as I've said many times.... I want it!  Glad to hear you're having a solid experience with it so far.  Keep us posted!