back to article Don't PANIC, but these SMARTWATCH-stuffed boxes are going NOWHERE

Santa's sack may be bulging this Chrimbo but it'll be slabs rather than smartwatches weighing the old boy down. Analysts have given the wrist jewellery – described just a few months ago as "the most important new product category in consumer electronics since the iPad defined the market for tablets" – a thumbs-down. They claim …

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  1. Piro Silver badge

    Toq

    Toq doesn't look too bad, but it's expensive, and will be a limited run.

    Make the design of the Toq a bit more attractive, give it the ability to put a decent strap on (oo-err), drop the price a bit, you have something that may interest.

  2. Pete 2 Silver badge

    Stop. Watch.

    When you stop to consider it, a wristwatch is a very poor concept. Half the time it's covered up by sleeves you always need to move your arm to see the watch face and it's often prone to that comedic staple: the cup full of coffee poured over the time-seeker.

    So for a device, placing it on the wrist will always be a poor choice of location.

    As far as the actual functionality of a smartwatch is concerned - did anyone actually THINK before implementing it? For example, the Samsung Gear has an LCD screen, so (like any phone or similar portable device) its display will be virtually invisible in daylight. The need to interact with the touch-screen means that to operate the smartwatch's functions, both hands are required: one attached to the wrist bearing the watch and the other to smear greasy fingers all over its tiny little screen.

    Add to that the paltry capacity of the batteries severely limits the smartwatch's ability to perform useful functions (though why you'd ever want, need or use a camera in a wristwatch is beyond speculation). All I can think of is that these things were designed by people who were, as children, far too impressionable and had somehow imprinted the idea that 1960's TV "spies" devices were both cool and practical.

    How wrong were they? (Ans: not quite as wrong as the technology analysts, who jumped on a bandwagon who's wheels have fallen off.)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Stop. Watch.

      I think one of the main issues is that people my age (i'm 31) and younger have basicaly stopped wearing watches full stop.

      It's difficult to talk someone who doesn't ordinarily wear a watch to chuck an extra near 300 quid so they can have one of these.

      Conversely if you DO wear a watch, like me, you're then being asked to ditch the watch(es) you already own because you like the style, look and feel of the thing and wear one of these instead.

      That leaves your target market (currently) as quite small.

      Only if they become FASHIONABLE to wear will they take off in any big way. Fashion, not functionality, is the "make or break" factor here.

      I can't think of any feature they will be close to adding that will make the majority of non-watch wearers decide they really need a £300ish quid smartwatch in their lives, or any that could persuade someone who already wears a nice watch to drop it in favour of this.

      This will have to change before anyone sells millions and millions of any smartwatch.

      1. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: Stop. Watch.

        "!t's difficult to talk someone who doesn't ordinarily wear a watch to chuck an extra near 300 quid so they can have one of these."

        Nice timepieces cost almost that much anyway. The Titanium Tissot on my wrist isn't anything special to look at, but it cost over 200.

    2. Don Jefe
      Happy

      Re: Stop. Watch.

      A wrist watch is a wonderful design if you live in a society where the time of day is important, but you haven't yet developed another easily portable means of telling time or if you're stuck in a trench for weeks at a time with Germans shooting at you.

      I could give you a thesis on why the wrist watch replaced the pocket watch for non precision needs, but it's esoteric history and hinges largely on societal customs of the early 20th century Europe and US. Suffice it to say, the wrist watch once filled a very important role in society, but society has moved on. I love watches, but they're an anachronism and their most valuable function is as a showcase for the ingenuity of man.

      1. Richard 22

        Re: Stop. Watch.

        I disagree that the wrist is a poor place to put information you want to be easily accessible, but not permanently visible. I can't honestly think of a better place in fact.

        However, I agree with the above posters that the target market is probably not that huge. People who are willing to pay that kind of price (or more) for a watch probably already have one which they're not going to replace with a device which looks awful, and which has additional problems (how many wristwatches need charging weekly?). If you don't wear a watch then you're not likely to be that keen to start.

        I do think that Garmin might be worried about the rise of smartwatches though. Their forerunner sports watches are quite common (and almost universally cursed in my experience) amongst gadget-prone runners/cyclists. One of the biggest issues with their watches seems to be GPS lock time - something which smartphones neatly avoid by having AGPS and wifi positioning to help gain initial lock. A smartwatch worn only during exercise for linking to one of the myriad sports tracking apps does seem to be one of the most compelling usecases - I'd consider one myself, but not until they've come down significantly in price.

        1. Shoot Them Later

          Re: Stop. Watch.

          Garmin are addressing GPS lock time with their next gen of products like the Forerunner 620 (I have one on pre-order and I never preorder technology normally). In this case, they use pre-caching of satellite details over wifi. I'd point anyone interested in DC Rainmaker's in-depth review.

          I haven't been a wristwatch wearer for over a decade - I just don't feel the need to have one and prefer to avoid having something on my wrist most of the time. However, I am a big fan of using my Forerunner 610 for activity recording. It's more convenient than using a phone and the dedicated hardware is (in my experience) still more accurate than phone GPS.

          I agree that the niche that products like Garmin's Forerunner are in is the one compelling case for smart wristwatches. I think Garmin and similar manufacturers are in a better position to compete in it by adding more smartphone integration to their already effective specialised GPS products than the likes of Samsung are by approaching from the other direction. I'll admit that many people still will not be able to justify spending a lot of money on a dedicated GPS watch, but for the still-substantial market of those who are, the dedicated devices are still a better proposition.

          Those who do not want to shell out on a dedicated device still have the free alternative open to them of taking their phone with them and using an app and I suspect many will do so rather than get a watch just for that (although come to think about it, I'm not sure how phondleslab users go about taking those with them when they run etc. - maybe they have to use a rucksack rather than armband).

    3. Alan Brown Silver badge

      Re: Stop. Watch.

      I'll put a big fat AGREE on these comments - and I own a couple of the older wrist devices (mainly for curiosity sake).

      I'll add that most devices have trouble maintaining their bluetooth pairing and so half the time the remote functions don't work properly.

      They're nice toys but once the novelty wears off, they're usually less convenient than simply taking the phone/tab out of the pocket - and let's face it, most of them are about as sylish and svelte as a 1975-era Amstrad LED watch (which had a better battery life!).

    4. Fibbles

      Re: Stop. Watch.

      Called it.

      http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2012/04/13/pebble_kickstarter/#c_1378547

      http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2012/04/13/pebble_kickstarter/#c_1378700

  3. DrXym

    Hardly surprising at all

    I'd like a smart watch but one which last months or years between charges, isn't tied to a particular brand or model of phone, has a display which is always on and provides functionality which justifies buying it over a "dumb" watch.

    None of the current crop of smartwatches comes anywhere close to that.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A smart watch would be of interest to me if...

    They just stick to the basics.

    1. Monitor vitals (pulse and blood pressure etc. Trigger preset alarms as needed.

    2. Keep track of how many miles one walks and/or runs every day..

    3. How many times one tosses and turns at night. (and warn if one was sleep walking)

    4. A panic button that would send alerts, record and/or send audio( maybe a photo or two. The vitals from #1 above would also be helpful. Or even estimated time of death.

    5. Keep world time of course.

    6. Warn of emergencies such as storms, traffic, stock market crash etc.

    7. Any other useful function.

    1. Tony Paulazzo

      Re: A smart watch would be of interest to me if...

      They just stick to the basics

      eink tech and bluetooth with battery lasting weeks, not hours since most info is just text based.

      touch screen so you can scroll thru and read emails, texts etc, and mic & speakers to answer phone still in pocket.

      Price point: £50 (maybe given away free with phones, like bluetooth headsets).

    2. Don Jefe
      Happy

      Re: A smart watch would be of interest to me if...

      Not to try and elbow in on your sense of impending doom, but none of those things are 'basics'. I'm fairly certain that your needs would be much better met by a set of Peril Sensitive Sunglasses. When whatever is chasing you finally catches up at least you'll look cool when they find you.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I hate to say it but..

    ..this feels a lot like the start of tablets. They're a thing.. but they're rubbish, and it's not possible to see why any sane person would want one.

    That is, until someone comes along and makes one which is elegant, well-built, useful and has good battery life. Now I hate myself a bit more, as I suggest that maybe when/if Apple do dip a toe in that water, it might just be them.

    Of course, it remains to see if they can actually build decent new products without the unpleasant but usefully detail focussed Steve "OCD Hitler" Jobs yelling at people. If recent "more of the same, only slightly different" hardware, and the HCI and performance nightmare that is iOS 7 are any indication, then that's a far from foregone conclusion.

    So, yes, it's a thing, but it's really not that useful. No-one has really stepped up and nailed it yet, if they ever will.

    Maybe Google could do it, with a dash of the software sensibility behind the increasingly slick Android (think pure Android on Nexus) and the industrial design chops behind the curiously useless Chromebook Pixel, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

    Go on then, fanboys on both sides, be offended and downvote me, even though I am probably right :)

  6. Arctic fox
    Headmaster

    The problem is I fear that they are fugly as well as expensive.

    The first Android tablets did not do so well (it's different now of course) and they weren't ugly, just expensive.

  7. Stuart Halliday

    Hardly surprising.

    Most young adults carrying smart phones no longer wear watches.

    Or didn't the manufacturers notice this? :)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I got downvoted for suggesting that earlier. It's very true. Out of everyone I interact with a similar age to me (or younger) I can think two other people, myself aside, who wear a watch.

      I don't even wear mine every day and I have a strong streak of "watch nerd" instilled in me by my father. In fact my dressier watch was a 21st birthday present from him.

      I can't see THIS smartwatch changing that, like all those currently and previously available, nor any other until the "it's cool now kids!" box is ticked then they will flock in droves.

      1. Cpt Blue Bear

        I've noticed a trend among the young bucks as they climb the corporate greasy pole: at about thirty and hitting a management level they suddenly decide a watch is something they should be wearing. I think it's seen as the grown up thing rather than fishing for a mobile phone whenever you want to know the time. It's become like getting a good rather than just decent suit.

        The problem for smart watches is that they don't fit this market.

  8. Haku
    Happy

    Smart watch?

    What about the Casio CMD 40 1ZT?

    A universal remote control wrist watch with the ability to directly learn codes from other remotes. Plus you can't lose it down the back of the sofa whilst it's on your wrist.

    Now that's what I call smart ;)

  9. Kazriko Redclaw

    The article mentions the Pebble watch, but it's like the people who wrote it never actually looked into the Pebble at all. It has 5-7 days battery life, so the 1 day battery life isn't an issue. It's also only $150, rather than $200-300. I find that it's the most useful of the current smart watches because it's just less fiddly, and only provides a bit of information on phone calls, emails, and text messages right when you need them so you don't have to drag the massive phone out of the pocket.

    And for Pete 2, It uses a very nice reflective display, so it's viewable in full sun. It has a tiny vibration motor so you can know to move your sleeve when it's giving you the information that you need.

    For Tony Paulazzo, you should probably look at the Pebble. It's a bit higher than what you're talking about, but it does have something similar to an e-ink display.

  10. Mike Brown

    THe market for these are tiny....

    Not many people wear watches, but of those that do how many are geeky enough to want a smartwatch? Not many id wager.

    As someone mentioned earlier, smart watches need a killer app. Without it the market is limited to geeky 60+ year olds......

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: THe market for these are tiny....

      "Not many people wear watches"

      You must live on a different planet that I do, or you are blind. Sorry, your proposition is false and will come as a great surprise to a very vast industry.

  11. Sir Sham Cad

    Itsa gidgit innit

    So I want one. Only problem is I'm not sure what I'd want it to do. Maybe check emails/SMS messages at a glance. See who is calling me without reaching for my phone and getting it out of the case. Some Twitbook integration so I can see notifications like I do now on my phone. Hey, make a phone call with it either over loudspeaker or headset. So far so pretty generic, just about every smartwatch out there can do this to some extent but beyond that I don't have much ambition about what else I want it to do (and I'm the target market in just about every way) so the manufacturers are going to struggle to work it out as well.

    Oh, hang on, why can't it be like a complete extension of my phone on my wrist, able to run (or stream from the phone anyway) any app I have on my phone? Open multimedia messages in lovely retina-or-better resolution? Why can't I have a watch that means I rarely have to get my phone out of my pocket? And a Pony? A Smart Pony that I can use to update Faceitter? And I want it right now! Unfortunately the tech isn't there yet and won't be for ages, if ever, because we're used to wonderful, mature Smartpony er, phone technology and won't accept another "Smart" device that only does the things that I said I'd want it to do in the first paragraph.

    TL;DR: We tech users are spoiled brats and today's shiniest Smartwatches aren't shiny enough compared to what we're pairing them with.

  12. Tony Martin

    History repeating - as was the case with tablets. They were around for 10 years and no one was interested until Apple got into it and showed how it was done. The same thing happening again.

  13. William Higinbotham

    alternate option

    http://www.ti.com/tool/ez430-chronos&DCMP=Chronos&HQS=Other+OT+chronos

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