Android Wear hardware boss bails The engineering chief and public face of Google's wearables efforts has bailed. Belfast-born David Singleton was previously described as "the Engineering VP leading the Android Wear, Google Fit, Android Essentials apps and Google Store teams." He's joining digital payments company Stripe. The operation, started by two bright …
I can't see how the "good intentions but no willpower" or "hardcore gym monkey" demographics are fertile territory for wrist tech. innovation, particularly with useless (defined as < week) battery life. I have a watch phone. Useful gadget when I'm out in the field (literally - a field - with cows) checking sensors.
What I would be more likely to upgrade to would be closer to a forearm mounted smartphone[1]. Like the gadget the "Predator" creature uses in the movie of the same name. I can think of quite a few applications for that in vertical markets like logistics, stock control and (my case) agricultural sensor networks where having to actually "hold" a device is a serious limitation. The same goes for the glass of course - lots of vertical potential, not much horizontal.
[1] Ilm sure there are strapons for that (titter), but I'm talking about something way more robust. Forearm fitted Otterbox etc.
my new Ticwatch E arrived last week. It was £100 all in on the kickstarter but now can be got for a shade over £130
https://eu.mobvoi.com/collections/ticwatch-e
It's excellent as an augmentation to my phone which sitis in my pocket most of the day now.
The only slight annoyance is the dumbarsed swipe left/right for watchface change but I hope Google will change that soon.
I've tried out a number of smart watches, but my favorite is still the Pebble. My problem with the more capable ones is that they're more capable -- which means a much shorter battery life, higher cost, etc. For me, the "killer app" for smart watches is to act, essentially, as a remote to my phone. The Pebble reduces the need to take my phone out of my pocket by about 1/3, and getting driving directions on my wrist is a million times better than having to look at the phone.
I think there is a large market for a sub-$50 watch that just does the basics, if it were explained properly to potential customers.
Fitness tracking is an obvious fad that is of minimal use outside of special cases (like people who are really into fitness).
To have a phone in the pocket and remote terminal on the wrist is too much junk for most people. Smart watches will be hot products when they have fancy power storage and displays that can completely replace the everyday features of a pocket phone. Until then, wearables are legit products with real customers but not the swimming-in-money mega product that people keep saying they are.
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