[NA] Apple's upcoming Watch

Art VanDelay said:
Especially Amsterdam. You think you're going in a cardinal direction but then the street starts a curve that's so gradual you don't even realize it and boom the INS inside your head is completely discombobulated.
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Actually Amsterdam is easy, you can basically see Our Lady of Prostitutes or Neukerke steeples from anywhere inside the Amstel and north of the trolley. I know Amsterdam well enough now I don't need it for there.;) Finding shops in Genoa and Rome, that's more interesting but I do ok, the biggie is London where there are no street signs.:rofl:
 
I tried one out in the store yesterday. It's a lot cooler than I was expecting (which admittedly was a lot less than I normally expect from Apple), and I definitely want one.

I just want one for maybe $200. It's definitely $200 cool, not $400 or $600 cool. Especially since I don't think the Sport model would look or feel good on me, so it's a $600 thing.

I'll probably be waiting for the 2nd generation on this one. I bought the 1st-gen iPad and iPhone. Never regretted it, but they definitely have a lot of improvements on 2nd-gen equipment and since this device isn't as compelling as the iPhone and iPad were, I wouldn't want to replace it soon. That's going to be the other stumbling block - A $600 had better last a good long time. I don't expect a 1st-gen watch to last more than 2 years without wanting a new one. I'm sure it'd still work, but I'm also sure I'd want to buy the 3rd-gen device in a couple of years.
 
What about replacing the watch battery?

For most watches it is easy. For most Apple products, not so much. Is the Apple watch the same?
 
NoHeat said:
What about replacing the watch battery?

For most watches it is easy. For most Apple products, not so much. Is the Apple watch the same?
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Silly boy, you don't replace the battery! You buy a new one each year, at the March release.
 
It was a gorgeous day in N GA, so Karen and I took a motorcycle ride...

...to the Mall of Georgia!

And the Apple Store, of course.

1) The new MacBook is really nice. With its thinness and light weight, I expected it to feel flimsy. Not so - same "all-in-one" feel and heft that MacBook Pros have had for a while. Brilliant "retina" display. Keys will take a little getting used to, with little travel, but full sized which is nice. Stunning in "Space Gray". My next computer.

2) Karen and I both went hands on with Apple Watches for the first time. Very nice, with a smooth and fairly intuitive interface. Bright display. Solid. If I wanted to wear a watch, I'd probably get the 42mm Sport Edition in black with a black band. But I honestly can't see a use case for yet another gadget. Yet!

Karen (jokingly) pointing to her favorite:

17257946276_69c86e8a58.jpg


Fortunately, not the "Edition"!
 
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Mason said:
My Otterbox case has saved my Galaxy Note from total destruction several times.
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I have a minimalist Incipio case for my phone but my son, who supervises a pump crew in the oil & gas industry, uses an Otterbox and his case bears the scars as testimony of the times it has saved his phone.
 
I'm what some would consider an Apple fan boy. I use a MacPro, an iPad Mini and an iPhone 6. I tend to upgrade when new models come out and I keep the OS X and iOS up on the latest version. But I think I'm gonna pass on the watch. I like my Rolex, IWC, and U-Boat much better.

I did have some time with one at the neighbor's BBQ yesterday. He's a designer at Apple and so got one free the first day they were available.
 
I checked them out yesterday (I had some time to kill). I was going to pass on the Gen 1, but the UI felt really well done. It is tempting, especially with the ForeFlight app.
 
The lowest price for an Apple watch ($349?) was enough to kill any interest in looking at what the watch would actually do.
 
FastEddieB said:
It was a gorgeous day in N GA, so Karen and I took a motorcycle ride...

...to the Mall of Georgia!

And the Apple Store, of course.

1) The new MacBook is really nice. With its thinness and light weight, I expected it to feel flimsy. Not so - same "all-in-one" feel and heft that MacBook Pros have had for a while. Brilliant "retina" display. Keys will take a little getting used to, with little travel, but full sized which is nice. Stunning in "Space Gray". My next computer.
Click to expand...
Did you notice that it only had one external port? And that is the port you use to charge the device so if you want to connect an external monitor, drive or anything else, you can't while you have the charger plugged in. And did you notice that the keys are closer together? Especially the cursor keys? It is almost impossible to use them without looking.

FastEddieB said:
2) Karen and I both went hands on with Apple Watches for the first time. Very nice, with a smooth and fairly intuitive interface. Bright display. Solid. If I wanted to wear a watch, I'd probably get the 42mm Sport Edition in black with a black band. But I honestly can't see a use case for yet another gadget. Yet!

Karen (jokingly) pointing to her favorite:

17257946276_69c86e8a58.jpg


Fortunately, not the "Edition"!
Click to expand...

I read today that the Apple Watch might have the ability to act as a pulse-ox. That would be nice for flying at higher altitudes.
 
I'm not a watch wearer, but it does look interesting. I'll wait for version 2 though so all the bugs get worked out.
 
I watched the MacBook announcement, and stay current with some tech shows, so I'm aware of the single port.

With my purchase, I will have to get a dongle.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter?fnode=51

At my desk now, my MacBook Pro plugs in with multiple cables: power, 2 USB (one to a hub), video out for my monitor and 1/8" plug for my external speakers.

With the adapter, the charger will plug into the dongle, USB hub for my USB accessories and drives and HDMI for my soon-to-be-purchased new monitor.

Will need to travel with the adapter as well, to have access to GoPro videos on microSD cards via an adapter, and anything else USB that comes along.

But I suppose I'll get used to it quickly. My MacBook Pro spends 95%+ of the time docked anyway, only going mobile for trips.

Like when Apple phased out floppy drives and, later, optical drives, I suspect after an initial awkward period and lots of protest we'll all adapt pretty quickly. Certainly easier to plug in one cable at my desk rather than 5 (assuming I use the monitor's speakers) - 2 if I keep my external speakers.

Oh, and spacing on the keyboard felt natural. Less travel on the keys feels a bit weird, but I'm typing this on an iPad Mini with no travel at all and it feels fine, so I suspect I'll adapt. And I still plan to use my Apple keyboard while at my desk, so again not a huge issue.
 
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I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the limitations. I found out about the things I mentioned from a friend that bought one "because it was the new Apple product", but those limitations bothered him so much he tried to return it. No luck there. But if it fits your needs, it is probably a great traveling machine.

FastEddieB said:
I watched the MacBook announcement, and stay current with some tech shows, so I'm aware of the single port.

With my purchase, I will have to get a dongle.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter?fnode=51

At my desk now, my MacBook Pro plugs in with multiple cables: power, 2 USB (one to a hub), video out for my monitor and 1/8" plug for my external speakers.

With the adapter, the charger will plug into the dongle, USB hub for my USB accessories and drives and HDMI for my soon-to-be-purchased new monitor.

Will need to travel with the adapter as well, to have access to GoPro videos on microSD cards via an adapter, and anything else USB that comes along.

But I suppose I'll get used to it quickly. My MacBook Pro spends 95%+ of the time docked anyway, only going mobile for trips.

Like when Apple phased out floppy drives and, later, optical drives, I suspect after an initial awkward period and lots of protest we'll all adapt pretty quickly. Certainly easier to plug in one cable at my desk rather than 5 (assuming I use the monitor's speakers) - 2 if I keep my external speakers.

Oh, and spacing on the keyboard felt natural. Less travel on the keys feels a bit weird, but I'm typing this on an iPad Mini with no travel at all and it feels fine, so I suspect I'll adapt. And I still plan to use my Apple keyboard while at my desk, so again not a huge issue.
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Thanks!

They do have a 14 day return policy - down from 30 days a while back.

Did your friend miss the "window"?

In any case, he might even be able to make money selling it on eBay, since I'm pretty sure there's now a wait for them.
 
Not sure. He per-ordered it but I'm not sure when he received it. He just told me yesterday that he was disappointed. I'm not sure if he couldn't return it, or if he just thought he couldn't return it. Or perhaps he wasn't bothered as much as he said and just didn't feel like returning it. You know how some people like to whine without doing anything about it.

FastEddieB said:
Thanks!

They do have a 14 day return policy - down from 30 days a while back.

Did your friend miss the "window"?

In any case, he might even be able to make money selling it on eBay, since I'm pretty sure there's now a wait for them.
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I'm waiting until August - my birthday month - to let supply catch up, and to see what USB3c accessories begin to come to light.

Only thing that might accelerate it would be if my late-2008 MacBook Pro took a dump - which I'm not expecting.
 
FastEddieB said:
With my purchase, I will have to get a dongle.

At my desk now, my MacBook Pro plugs in with multiple cables: power, 2 USB (one to a hub), video out for my monitor and 1/8" plug for my external speakers.
Click to expand...

You might check this out:

HydraDock
 
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