A kinda long post but I 'm sitting in a hotel room and not that sleepy

[G+_Marlon Thompson]

A kinda long post but I'm sitting in a hotel room and not that sleepy.

 

Originally shared by Marlon Thompson

 

Reasons why I like having a Smart Watch

(from a pebble and Android Wear user).

 

Before the Apple Watch event I said that Apple really had to sell people on why this piece of jewelry is needed it in their lives and in my opinion they came up a bit short.  The conversation after the event focused mainly on price or how great it is to use instagram on your watch (????). I do think, however,  that they had to go the fashion route (even if I think there are other smart watches that look much better) as the Apple user who would get this watch is the kind for who form triumphs over function. I am also not sold on the way apps are presented on the watch and the emphasis on digging through apps. I prefer to treat the watch as an extension rather than a replacement for my phone. My interactions with my watch are often never more than 2-5 seconds yet with Apple it seemed a lot longer. But one thing I can agree on is that regardless the wearable the true value comes after you use it for sometime and see how it fits into your life in ways you didn't expect. So here is how I use my smart watch.

 

As a trusted device. My number one use for my watch is to keep my phone unlocked with the trusted devices feature in lollipop. I have so come to depend on it and sorely miss it if I leave my watch at home.

 

To control media on my phone. I listen to podcasts and music on my commute and most of the times my phone is my pocket. Using the watch rather than pulling out the phone to pause, skip or raise and lower the volume is so much easier and quicker than pulling out my phone. And Android wear’s implementation of it is top notch as it natively supports all media players once it has the playback features enabled in the notification panel of the phone it will appear on the watch. 

 

To check, reject and respond to notifications. yes I sometimes talk to my watch when I get a message to send a quick reply.. Its not as crazy as it seems.

 

To monitor my exercise. Apple is absolutely on the ball with respect to getting sensors in the watch and I love getting that buzz late in the evening that tells me I have achieved my daily step goal. I also love to use it with runkeeper to quickly glance down while I am running to check my pace and distance.

 

To check in with foursquare. This one was unexpected and its the type of thing that I say will only be relevant once you start using the watch. Once foursquare realises that you are at a particular place for a while it will send a card to your watch with the location and a popular tip, directly from the watch you can read the tip, like the venue and check in. But note the key thing. It was not user initiated, but location initiated. These are the types of experiences that make wearables attractive.

 

For business On those occasions when I have a business trip, having the departure time and  flight number on my watch is very useful as well as the hotel info and I can initiate navigation directly from the watch and never have to pull out my phone.

 

Smartwatches aren’t for everyone but over time it has become a key part of my flow.

 

BTW Google has decided to go the fun route with these commercials and targeting young persons will it work? We will see.

[G+_Luke Meiritz-Reid]

Apple Huge Expence $$$ Total rip off ostentatious piece of junk

[G+_Joseph Cappellino]

I really am liking the way Android Wear is headed, but I wish it would support more than one Wear device at a time.  This is only an issue for me, as I can enable Google Glass as a Wear device, but then my Moto360 is only a watch.

 

Also, I don't trust using my watch as a Trusted Device.  There are too many times I leave my watch at my desk or in my room (coworkers and kids) where it could be exposed.

[G+_Marlon Thompson]

Joseph Cappellino I too wish you could have the more than one pairing or even have the devices talking to one another. Yesterday I used the watch to navigate to my hotel, and I never pulled out my phone and I was thinking what if I had Google glass on and just sent it up there instead

[G+_Joseph Cappellino]

Marlon Thompson - Glass has built-in Nav, so that's not a big deal.  But, for example, I can't get my work email on Glass, because there isn't an Exchange app (though the GMail app might work, it doesn't support conversations).  That goes for any other app on my phone that has notifications, but no corresponding Glass App.