Comment by bookwormAT | Hacker News Reader

Comment by bookwormAT | Hacker News Reader

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"Smartphones will fail."

I guess you mean "smartwatch". Phones have been pretty successful so far ;)

Anyway, I think I do not agree with you, since I got the early ugly firstrun Android wear device from I/O, the LG Watch.

My experience is that the watch is by no means the next step in the evolution of personal computers or anything. But it is a very useful accessory for the computer you already have in your pocket.

Once you have it on your wrist you notice that

- phone ringtones are awkward and annoying to anyone around you.

- opening and unlocking your phone 125 times per day (This numbers is from Google) just to check for information and if there is something you need to act on right now is incredible annoying.

- voice commands, as limited as this is right now, is only useful if you can trigger it immediately when you need it. The few voice commands I find useful (set alarm, remind me to...) are much much more convenient if I can just say them.

So my point is that the watch is much more useful than a case, and only slightly less useful than headphones. If they start being equipped with more sensors and the cost falls below $80, they will become even more interesting.

This. I'm also seeing battery improvements on my phone by not switching the screen on to check it/the time. It is by no means a killer device, but useful for glancing (particularly at work, or at the dinner table where it might not be cool to get your phone out and hang up that PPI spam call...)

I gave up on watches when I was a PC service tech. Anything on your hands or wrists was just an invitation for the jagged-edge-fairies to get their claws in.

So I haven't used a watch for about 20 years.

I don't look at my phone anywhere near as often as 120 times per day. I have headphones with play/skip buttons, so that covers about 97% of my interaction with my phone during the day.

The form factor may not be for you however I find my smart watch to be an amazing time saver. That's the joy of diversity... the ability to have products that match our preferences. I never ever wear headphones with play/skip buttons but I understand their appeal for people they work for.

I get the same benefits noted above from my smartwatch, first the Pebble and now the LG. They have become a priceless part of my daily routine.

Out of genuine curiosity, what do you use the watch for that you would associate with time savings? I've been curious about these things, but haven't been sure as to if they're a product in search of a problem for the current implementation and limitations.

I was gifted a Pebble over a year ago and I admit I thought it was a bit of a gimmick at the time. I did however start wear it out of consideration for the person that gave it to me and the novelty of a new toy. :) (note too that I am an old-timer who still wears a watch regularly)

What happened however surprised me. I found the simple change of having notifications pop up on my wrist was saving me from pulling the phone out of its holder over and over during a day every time it chimed with an email or message. I get a ton of communication during the day but 70% of it doesn't require a response from me immediately... the remaining 30% however does. I was now able to filter incoming messages with barely an interruption to what I was doing at the time.

From there I expanded Apps to bringing up my calendar overview, putting navigation directions on my wrist, using silent alarms (wrist vibration) to alert me during meetings, etc. It allows me to be more connected to my phone, without being more connected to my phone, if you know what I mean.

Now I have since moved to an LG watch and I do like it. No more week long battery life but it will go over a day easily. Lots more gimmicky applications like remote camera control, etc. but also useful things, like ticking items off my Keep grocery list as I wander the store... without holding my phone.

Is it perfect for everyone? Nothing is. :) But I will stand corrected for my early mocking of the form factor. I "don't leave home without it" now.

(thanks, fixed) wouldn't smartglasses be even better at all of those?

Smart glasses might be better for some people, but the issue is that no one likes wearing glasses. We developed plastic things you physically press onto your eyeball with your finger because people both (a) need to see, and (b) hate wearing glasses.

Lots of people like wearing a watch. It combines a small bit of practical benefit with the appeal of jewelry/fashion, and it doesn't have the downsides of glasses like pinched noses and ears or the mild social drawbacks (loads of people, my girlfriend for one, hate the way they look in their glasses).

People do wear sunglasses for fashion, but most people would find it uncomfortable and awkward to wear them all the time, indoors and out. Maybe that changes in the future, but right now, I'd bet loads of money on watches over glasses if the contest is between the two.

nice points, I was thinking sunglasses. But my main point was display size: it's a problem for phones, far worse for watches, but no problem for glasses.

Ulimately, yes, smartcontacts or implants, but a long way off. I like eyetracking: only render the bit you're looking at (lower res peripherally). Need super low latency though.

I enjoy wearing my glasses, as it allows me to see :)

Regardless I think smart glasses are much more useful than a smart watch mainly because of how it can overlay things into your field of vision. Word Lens is a really cool example of this feature(realtime ocr/translation/overlay in your language of choosing).

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