The caliber also incorporates Seiko's unique Kinetic Auto-Relay
technology. It is powered by the movement of your body with
Kinetic Perpetual quartz accuracy and reliability. With Auto-
Relay, the watch will, when not worn, operate normally for 6
months on a full charge, after which it goes into "sleep" mode
for up to four years. The accuracy remains and the calendar
continues to show the correct date, month and year, but the hands
stop, conserving energy, until, once the watch is put on again,
the hands automatically reset to the correct time.
Take that 'smart' watch!
The "Perpetual" range is just an automatic watch with a backup battery. You have to wear it daily to get it to run for "free," and it is really only going to last 12 hours on the stored energy before the battery has to kick in.
The batteries won't last forever even if you do wear it daily. They degrade.
I've not been able to fix it in Argentina.
Nowadays you go connect your phone to a charger, connect your laptop to a charger, connect your tablet to a charger, maybe connect your bluetooth headphones or headsets to a charger and now also connect your watch to charger. Quite the odyssey.
Brave new world. It's really time to invest tons in new battery research.
So probably the answer to your question is no, I would not. I have a long lived GPS watch, and I already charge my phone once every few days (Moto X).
Whenever I'm in a context where I could use a smart watch (as opposed to an athletic watch), I have my phone anyway, which is better (for me).
I'm also curious if a smart watch is subject to a voided warranty if the water detector dot inside indicates water got inside, like a phone. My watch is advertised waterproof to 50m, which is much deeper than the odd creek or a toilet.
That's the reason why I haven't been interested in purchasing a Moto 360, Galaxy Gear, Sony Smartwatch, or similar. The Apple Watch is no different.
The Pebble is the only remotely interesting smartwatch around, but I haven't got one simply because the benefit doesn't out-weigh the cost (although if someone gave me one for free I'd give it a fair shake).
The real question for me is: What does a smartwatch do that the cellphone in my pocket does not? The fitness stuff is one answer, but frankly a $350 fitness tracker is a little expensive relative to other products in that category readily available (e.g. Fitbit @ $99).
I think a hassle free smart watch changes a significant portion of a highly connected person's day, lets them be more free, more productive, more organic.
I'm pretty sure it causes a more distracted life just for the reasons you mentioned. Now I cannot even just ignore my phone or put it out of view, it is literally part of me!
Also is taking a phone out of your pocket really the "problem" they're trying to solve? It isn't something, day to day, that I feel causes me hardship. Maybe if I was a cyclist it would be useful, but I'm not sure you could read the watch while riding (or it would be safe if you could).
> I think a hassle free smart watch changes a significant portion of a highly connected person's day, lets them be more free, more productive, more organic.
So many buzz words. I was half expecting you to use "synergy" there. What you said doesn't really MEAN anything. It is just a bunch of fluff.
Many people do not have the option of blanket "ignoring" calls and emails. The change isn't fluff, it gives back the ability to stay present, no more interrupted than the glance at a watch to be aware of the time.
It's a simple question of cost versus benefit. I have to recharge myself every day, but I think it's worth it. Electric cars have to recharge overnight.
> Is this one of this things that I will be doing anyhow, or just a passing fad.
To me, the advantage of having a wristwatch that didn't require recharging was offset by the fact that it didn't do anything except display the time, and not very accurately at that.
If it comes with a nice dock that charges it wirelessly, what's the problem?
Actually, what I don't like is turning watches into phones, meaning we're going to change it every like a year or two, and getting angry because "the watch is old and it got slow".
I've been using the same Casio F-91W for two years and it just works.
Exactly the same argument was presented for this Nokia flip phones versus my iPhone. I mean I used to have a mobile phone that went a week or more between charges - now I often don't make it from lunchtime to bedtime.
But guessed what I typed this on?