Great Apple Watch tip for something that I’ve been struggling with.
11th May 2015
Much needed. Looking forward to these.
As I write this I’m waiting for the sound of the UPS truck to roll up in front of my house with my new Apple Watch. I’m excited, and that’s OK. Like all Apple product roll outs, there has been a ton of backlash on the internet. One of the most ridiculous was a Gawker article asking people to sign a plege not to have sex with anyone who wears an Apple Watch. I won’t link to it here so as not to drive traffic to this link bait. In this article, the author calls the Apple Watch dumb, and the iPad dumb, effectivly calling millions of people dumb because they like a peice of technology. Well, I think they’re dumb.
Technology fills different needs to different people. It’s OK to be excited about it. If it excites you, don’t let anyone tell it shouldn’t. I know people who get excited about watching a live PGA event. I could not think of something less exciting, but I’m not about to vow never to have sex with anyone who likes golf. If you like it, enjoy it. Don’t let anyone tell you what you should or should not spend your money on, be excited about or waste your time reading about.
People look to things of interest for a distraction from the bad things life throws at you. It’s a way to relax, unwind. For me, those things are technolgy and card tricks. This weekend I’ll have a new gadget, and go to a magic convention. That’s a pretty great weekend to me. I hope you enjoy your golf.
Button, button, who’s got the button?
The Apple Watch only has two buttons, and both serve as navigation rather than activation (generally speaking). The Pebble watch has four buttons, all of which are for activation and navigation.
I’m a little worried that I will miss the button functionality of the Pebble. I listen to a lot of podcasts and I use the music playback on my pebble to pause/play and skip ad reads. It’s great while driving because I don’t ever have to take my eyes off the road, I can get the right button by feel. The Apple Watch requires at least a quick glance at the screen.
That is one thing the Pebble has going for it over the Apple Watch. It may be the only thing.
I was going to post something about this, but Gruber, as always, does it better.
Bands
The Apple Watch bands are nice. And expensive. Ridiculously expensive. $50 for a rubber, sorry fluoroelastomer, watch band is insane. The cheapest non rubber band is $150. That’s just nuts. It’s the one thing about the Apple Watch that is a disappointment to me.
I’ve tried on several on the bands at the Apple Store. None of the bands I tried on even left me with the slightest urge to spend the money on one. The sport is comfortable. I preordered a silver sport with blue band and an extra black band. Why you couldn’t order a silver sport watch with a black band is a mystery.
Hopefully, third party watch bands aren’t far behind.
Battery life: The reviews have made it clear that the Apple Watch battery lasts as long as advertised. The problem many people have been complaining about is having to charge it every day. I don’t see that as a problem at all, in fact I think it may be a advantage.
My Pebble will last anywhere from 3–6 days on a single charge. But, that also opens it up to not checking its battery level often and finding it dead midday. I’ve gotten better about managing, but the first few months I owned a Pebble, that’s exactly the problem I ran into often.
I’ll just plug my Apple Watch in every night with my iPhone and iPad and not worry about it. However, I’m still debating getting a second charging cable to carry in my bag. I’m sure the first week or two of owning the Apple Watch I’ll be playing around with it enough to drain the battery more than usual. While I understand why it can’t be, I wish it was charged with a lighting cable. I already carry one of those and have them strewn about the house, office and car.
The Apple Watch is a being released in one week. I’ll be posting some quick thoughts everyday about it until I get mine, which I have pre-ordered.
Why do I need a Smartwatch? This seems to be the biggest question for most people. I’ve actually been wearing a Pebble Smartwatch for over 18 months. A Smartwatch is already part of my daily workflow. At work my phone is always on silent. I’m often in a spot where an alert sound is totally unacceptable. I also often miss notifications because I don’t feel my iPhone buzz in my pocket. The Pebble has completely solved this problem for me. The Apple Watch will take this to a new level with the ability to act on certain notifications right from the watch. I’ve been sold on notifications on my wrist for a long time now.
The rest of the Apple Watch functionality over a Pebble is just gravy for me. A delicious exciting gravy.
Boy I hope this scene is in the next X-Men movie.
From Uncanny X-Men 142- Days of Future Past.
Notes: 1
New episode of I Hope This Stays Down. Pat and I discuss the Emmy nominations and the future of TV, Tech they take on vacation, and Aaron’s Pebble Watch.