smartwatch to beat off Apple
Swift one of the wrist?
Swiss watchmaker Swatch simply isn't going to roll over and give up in the face of Apple's upstart wrist-puter challenger. Biel-based Swatch is apparently working on a new smartwatch that will talk to Microsoft Windows computers and Google Android. In an an interview with Bloomberg, CEO Nick Hayek said his company will build …
I got one and secured loads of work through it. I'd call the office as soon as possbile and get booked in, whereas others were waiting on getting home to check their answerphones. Only paid about £30 reduced, from the BT shop at the top of Northumberland Street in Newcastle.
I still have it somewhere, along with my Motorola pager which kind of preceeded it. No good for nothing now i know, but still kinda cool
Forget Apple (in the smartwatch market). They're charging too much for what is essentially a remote control for your phone and needs to be charged just as much as the phone does*. Even those iPhone owners who only bought it for the bling aspect are unlikely to cough up for this without a much better use case.
Swatch do watches. "Everyman" watches. Low margin, bulk sale watches. Swatch are promising no recharging and, for a change, they can probably deliver. To take a flawed car analogy, this is a similar situation to Google announcing that a self-driving car that looks like an albino minion from Despicable Me will be along in a year's time and then nine months later VW saying they've got one that looks like a Golf and doesn't need servicing.
* far eastern market provisionally excepted. The ability to draw characters on screen might be huge over there. No way to tell yet.
I bet you thought the iPad was just a big iPhone too.
Here's what will happen. The first gen Apple Watch will sell to die-hard Apple nuts but will be lacking a few features and have crap battery life. Developers will come up with compelling apps. Generation 2 of the watch will have a better battery and add missing features and will sell like hot cakes.
You don't have to be Nostra-fucking-damus to see how it will play out because it's what has happened with every Apple product
the single most compelling app for a watch is, er telling the time. There is literally nothing else that even comes close. I have a hard time believing that "developers will create compelling apps" that could possibly add so much value that that Swatch won't still be comparable and cheaper.
it should read "Nein-Non!" The border between the German and French-speaking regions runs exactly down the middle of Biel-Bienne, the town where Swatch has its HQ.
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a sad twat with no life; Am I ashamed of this…? Nope! Haven't had a life for over 4 decades, FAR too late to get one now…
They've got plenty of experience with making 'near-field' watches reliable for years. They've had a 'programmable pass' watch for at least 20 years that's compatible with things like Ski-lift system in resorts.
Shoving in an NFC chip instead of a proprietary one, and programming an associated bit of memory with bank account information would be a p-o-p (essentially taking the chip out of the credit card and making it editable). It's an ideal use case scenario for something like Oyster readers too - no need for a tinfoil wallet - with only 1 NFC 'device' near the reader there's no chance of duplicate-payments. Security is no doubt doable.
Come to think of it.... why ISN'T there an Oyster (S)watch??
(or is there? - swift google : http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/Swatch-In-Talks-To-Make-TFL-Oyster-Watch : I bet the 'talks broke down')