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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  3212 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Kevin Rose Moves On From Silicon Valley to Watches

I think you answered your own question: how much of it is fashion? because yes - something as high fashion as a Ventura may well look dated in 5 years. Your tastes may change. And there may be something you like better.

But I'm still unsold on wearables. Screens have been cheap enough to put on luggage tags, zipper pulls, belt buckles, you name it for ten years now and they aren't. We like our technology separate from our apparel. Wearable penetration is negligible now and it will likely be negligible until someone comes up with a killer app for wearable tech. The only benefit to having a phone number flash on your wrist instead of your phone comes about solely because phones now are bigger than TI-85s were.





ecib  ·  3212 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    But I'm still unsold on wearables.

Yeah, though I admit I'm tremendously curious to try the Apple Watch (and that's literally it for wearables). After demoing Google Glass for a very short time it was glaringly obvious just how...absurd it was. On so many levels. But a smartwatch seems so much more compelling to me, not least because if it looks very nice and tells the time competently, it can damn near justify its place on your wrist on that alone.

    Wearable penetration is negligible now and it will likely be negligible until someone comes up with a killer app for wearable tech.

A recurring theme I've seen in a lot of the Apple Watch reviews is that the utility is subtle, intimate, but very real...which doesn't take any real suspension of disbelief for me. Notifications in particular are something I think people may misunderstand on a watch. I think the last thing you want is to know when every email or phone call comes in, but that there are certain selective notification in certain selective scenarios that could make the device extremely compelling. I'll tell you right now that if my turn by turn directions were beaming from my phone in my pocket to my wrist while on my motorcycle, that alone would be great to me.

I'm not quite curious enough to buy one because it's so early in the life cycle, but I am definitely going to demo one, and I wouldn't be surprised if I pick one up withing the next three years.

    something as high fashion as a Ventura may well look dated in 5 years.

It's already dated :) That's the cool thing about Atomic Era design...it can look pretty progressive even though it's old. But it can very easily be a bit overwrought too imo. Much better than the hideous modern update to the old design though.

kleinbl00  ·  3211 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Okay, I knew I recognized the watch, but you totally busted me. Perhaps it's because I'm more of a Danish Modern guy and less of a googie guy, but the watch is a statement.

I worry, I think, that there is some compelling marvelousness about wearables but I just can't see it. I had any number of calculator watches for the simple reason that fuck yeah calculator on my wrist. However, that form of technofetishism went out in like '86 and hasn't really come back.

It's interesting that you mention motorcycling. "On my wrist" is the last fucking place I want my info. I keep mine on my tank bag, and it works fine. I just bought an Arai Defiant; I suspect it'll be my last helmet without a HUD.