A year with a smart watch…

Just recently, Apple computer finally introduced their new Apple watch. Typical of the Apple products that we all know and love, they look that they will be beautifully made, incredibly elegant, truly cutting-edge, and a bit on the pricey side.  There are unlike any other watch, in part because of the amazing array of applications that have already been created for them, which allow you to do much of what you might do you want to phone on your wrist. 

But, as is often the case, Apple was not the first. Back in the early summer of 2012, I was introduced to the crowdfunding phenomena through probably the first smart watch.  It was called the pebble, and it promised the ability to be notified that messages were coming through my iPhone, whether they be a phone call, or a text message. Additionally, there would be a wide range of apps that would run on this phone.  

Comparring the Pebble with the Apple watch is a little bit like comparing your first cell phone, with an iPhone. The screen is small and black and white. Though very well-made, the watch is plastic. And though there are a wide range of apps available, they don’t rival the amazing array of capabilities in the Apple phone. But, having this thing has really changed a lot of the way but I use my phone, and the way I get information. Right now, the screen that is being displayed on my watch shows the time, the date, and the weather and temperature. Okay, I can see the weather outside the window of my car. But the temperature is a nice feature. If somebody calls me on my phone, or texts me, or a wide range of other apps that are set on notification, my watch or let me know. Sometime this is very cool when it’s information I want to get immediately. Sometimes it’s kind of a pain in the neck because a watch not only changes the screen it vibrates letting me know I’ve got the message. For some reason, when somebody post something on Facebook that mentions me, it doesn’t just notify me once, it notifies me three times. The same is true for the calendar. This really isn’t the fall, watch, it’s just understanding how to make sure that only one application notifies you at a time.  Also, it’s amazing the array of iPhone apps that have notification built into them.    

The only thing I’m missing is a voice link between the watch and my phone.  Ironically, this is not for phone calls.  I honestly rarefy makes calls on my iPhone.  I’ve got a bluetooch headset and Verizon as a provider so my calls are solid and my voice good.  But, most of my friends are on ATT & their calls are almost always difficult to understand or even dropped because of an iffy connection.  But, I’d love to be able to use Siri without getting out my phone.  In search of this feature, I invested in an Indiegogo supported company, Kreyos, who promised a new watch, the Meteor, that would do allow just this and many other cool features.  Sadly, the watch was a total failure.  It was next to impossible to use, VERY cheap in it’s build, and the audio quality was beyond horrible.  

So, in retrospect, what’s it been like having a smart watch over the past year and so.  Nice.  I can’t say that it’s indespensible, but I’ve been very happy to have the link to my iphone.