Should I Get a Smartwatch?

[gamowin]

Recently I have been in need of a new watch, as my old is starting to fall apart and the paint is chipping off. I have been thinking of replacing it with a smartwatch, and I'm not really sure which one to buy. Currently there are two watches I am taking into consideration: The Pebble Steel, and the Motorola 360. Which one do you think I should purchase, if any?

Motorola 360

• Display: Color LED Touchscreen
  
• Battery Life: 8-12 Hours
  
• Microphone: Yes
  
• Waterproofing: Resistant to 3.3 feet
  
• Must be shaken to brighten screen for viewing
  

Pebble Steel

• Display: Black and White E-Paper
  
• Battery Life: ~7 Days
  
• Microphone: No
  
• Waterproofing: Waterproof to 50 meters
  
• Screen is always on
  

[Robotengineer]

You got a smartphone?

[gamowin]

Indeed I do have a smartphone

[tater]

I got an iWatch as a gift. They are ~$400, I think. I'd not buy one for that, it's a phone accessory. That said, for what it does, it's pretty cool, but obviously it needs tight integration with the phone.

What I actually use:

time (obviously)

alarms

texting, though mostly reading them (handy because you can glance at a watch in situations where taking a phone out would be rude)

health stuff (fitbit type stuff)

altimeter (hiking)

camera control (acts as a remote (with preview image) of my phone, which is pretty cool. I can take pics of the whole family on a hike, or I can use it to take dim light images, because I can prop the phone and not jiggle it for longer exposures).

I don't use it D1ck Tracy style for phone conversations.

[LordFerret]

Any watch with a battery life less than 5 years (Lithium) isn't worth spit.

[GoSlash27]

None of the above.

E) Smart watches are pretty much a waste of money and time.

Seriously... what are you going to use it for that justifies the cost and hassle? What convenience does it offer that you can't replace by pulling your phone out of your pocket?

A smart watch is a solution that's in need of a problem. It won't truly be convenient until you can wear it for days on end without recharging it.

[r4pt0r]

I have had this watch for 6-7 years: http://www.amazon.com/Casio-MTP3050D-2AV-Classic-10-Year-Stainless/dp/B00134L90C

I love silver band watches with Blue faces, so I would recomend that one. Its on sale there on Amazon.

My question would be why do you want a smart watch? what features would it have that your cell phone wouldnt, and of those features, are there any that you even want?

If you want a smart watch, by all means get one.

But I really like normal watches, and my advice would be to replace your trusty old favorite with a more normal watch, and use your extra money you saved not getting a $140 smartwatch to get something else for yourself, like something nice for one of your hobbies?

This is my second suggestion for a watch, but I cannot tell you if its high quality or not, just that I want one. http://www.amazon.com/Design-GoldenEye-James-Custom-Metal/dp/B00U8WKXLQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442019696&sr=8-1&keywords=007+goldeneye+watch

I am midway through a game online here, and so I got ninja'd by 5 posters

Edited September 12, 2015 by r4pt0r

[cantab]

Well I'd think about, what can X smartwatch do that your phone either doesn't do or doesn't do nearly as well? For starters, can it work when your phone is nowhere remotely near? Because seriously, what's the point of a gadget that needs to be within six feet of another gadget to be any use? Yet that's what I hear about a lot of these "smart" watches.

One other problem. If I spend money on a high-quality watch that will remain a high-quality watch for decades to come. If I spend money on an expensive smartwatch that will be obsolete junk in a few years.

[Camacha]

You could buy a smart watch, though I think it is a completely different device from a regular watch. The latter is intended to be reliable and accurate, while the former is much less reliable (more complex and less power efficient) while adding all sorts of other bells and whistles. A nice, normal watch will still be a nice watch in 10 years, any smart watch will be old (and probably useless) junk by then.

One other problem. If I spend money on a high-quality watch that will remain a high-quality watch for decades to come. If I spend money on an expensive smartwatch that will be obsolete junk in a few years.

They be stealin' mah thunder!

[Lord Aurelius]

Disclaimer: I don't own a smartwatch and haven't really played with one so take that into consideration when reading my post.

First off, be aware that new versions of both watches have been announced and will be coming out in the near future. Were you planning on getting one of the old models to save money?

As far as which watch to get, it probably comes down to what you want out of a smartwatch. What is the main purpose in your mind for a smartwatch? If mainly what you want is a watch first that can also provide notifications and run simple apps, it seems like the Pebble is a better bet (more durable/water resistant, e-ink is always on, much better battery life, cheaper). If you want more of a full-blown wrist computer (or just to show off all the crazy stuff you can do on your watch) the Moto 360 fits that bill.

I personally lean towards the minimalist idea of the Pebble. You'll always have your smartphone with you anyways so the main use case I can see is to let you know if the most recent email/text that buzzed your phone is actually worth digging your phone out for, which the Pebble does just fine. It still runs simple apps so you can still use it for things like a music player remote. Plus, since it's a third party watch, it will work with any smartphone OS (including windows phone).

Edited September 12, 2015 by Lord Aurelius

[legoclone09]

Well, Apple Watches seem to be for people who are WAY to lazy to get their phone out of their pockets. I don't like the concepts, I think a normal watch is fine.

[Lord Aurelius]

Well, Apple Watches seem to be for people who are WAY to lazy to get their phone out of their pockets. I don't like the concepts, I think a normal watch is fine.

I can think of a few cases where digging out a smartphone would be difficult/awkward (crowded bus/subway where you barely have enough room to stand, athletic activities, meetings or similar events) where it would be nice to quickly see if it's worth the hassle to deal with an incoming call/text/email and also have the option of sending a quick canned response. But you're right, most people don't really need this functionality, especially at the ridiculous prices being asked for smartwatches currently. That, and most smartwatches are pretty terrible at actually being watches (poor battery life, screen has to wake up so you can even see the time).

[gamowin]

I'm leaning towards a Pebble at this point, it currently has hundreds of watch faces available for free, and the battery lasts about 7 days, which is much better than any other smartwatch. It also has the functionality of a Fitbit and I can use it as a music remote while jogging or cycling, not to mention notifications without having to pull my phone out of my backpack every time. But who knows, I might change my mind and get a normal watch. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Camacha]

That, and most smartwatches are pretty terrible at actually being watches (poor battery life, screen has to wake up so you can even see the time).

This is pretty much what I wanted to say earlier.

[Robotengineer]

Indeed I do have a smartphone

Are you intending on the watch being compatible with the phone?

[GDJ]

Have you seen this website yet? For the same amount of money for a smartwatch you can get yourself a really REALLY nice standard watch that can take a real beating, runs 3 or more years on a cheap zinc oxide battery, and they are far classier than a iWatch.

http://www.electriccalifornia.com/ca/

[Shpaget]

[*]Battery Life: 8-12 Hours

Is that the time keeping mechanism?

"Hey, what time is it?"

"Oh, it's third charge o'clock."

[legoclone09]

Yeah, that's what I mean. From what I have hear about the Pebble it seems to be a cheaper? phone accessory, but the Apple Watch is just a status symbol.

[tater]

Smartwatches have some utility. I'm a decent control, as I am not invested in my iWatch at all. Not financially, not intellectually, and not emotionally. Just checked the cost of the Pebble Steel, and it's about what I think I would be personally be willing to pay for an iWatch (which is basically 2x more). So if my iWatch was $200, knowing what I do now having owned one for a while, I'd buy it. Before I was given one as a gift, I actually got in a conversation with a friend (a lawyer who likes expensive watches), and I said I couldn't see any possible utility in a smartwatch, they were just dumb.

So actually using one changed my mind on their utility, but I think the Apple watch is overpriced.

That said, it's odd what we concentrate on price wise sometimes. I spend more time comparing TVs or other relatively cheap tech than I spent buying my last car.

Edited September 12, 2015 by tater

[bigdad84]

Is there any specific reason you want to go to with the Pebble Steel? Why not the Pebble Time Steel? Personally, I have an Apple Watch and I love it! I couldn't imagine going back to anything else whatsoever! But that's just me!

[gamowin]

I'd rather get the regular Steel instead of the Time Steel due to the $100 price difference.

[Camacha]

Today in the news: smartwatches are a potential security risk. When typing with the hand that you are wearing it on, it is possible to deduct letters and words. It is more of a proof of concept at this stage, but it is certainly something to be mindful of in the future.

[Lord Aurelius]

Today in the news: smartwatches are a potential security risk. When typing with the hand that you are wearing it on, it is possible to deduct letters and words. It is more of a proof of concept at this stage, but it is certainly something to be mindful of in the future.

Without seeing the original article, it's hard to guess how big of a risk that might be. If it's some kind of visual thing observing the watch movement, then it's not really a new risk and would be relevant to all watches/bracelets (and if you simply look at the keyboard while someone is typing you can often get that information anyways). The only way I can think of that being a smartwatch issue is if they've found a way to remotely access the smartwatch and do something like use the accelerometer to deduce the keystrokes.

Also, simply deducing letters and words out of context is minimally useful unless someone is doing a targeted attack and can correlate them with specific usernames/passwords of interest (which could also be done more universally using a keylogger or computer vision system to read the keyboard/screen).

Edited September 13, 2015 by Lord Aurelius

[dharak1]

I've owned a Moto 360 first Gen since around May. It's nice for checking stuff out without taking your phone out. It keeps connection across my house. The only problem I have is that sometimes the plastic where the watch pins meet the body doesn't do it's job well enough and the watch comes apart. It's only happened twice and both times it was easily fixed with a knife to put the pins back. I assume this problem is fixed on the second gen because the watch meets metal and not plastic. I'd recommend it for sure. I've heard the G watch R is a bit of a chore to change brightness on. I personally dislike square watches like the Pebble and the screen really doesn't do it for me. Out of all of them I'd say Moto 360 second gen. But then again the only watch I've had was a Moto.

[Camacha]

The only way I can think of that being a smartwatch issue is if they've found a way to remotely access the smartwatch and do something like use the accelerometer to deduce the keystrokes.

That is pretty much how it happens, through some fancy algorithm trickery. Combined with things like Stagefright, it is not fictive.

Also, simply deducing letters and words out of context is minimally useful unless someone is doing a targeted attack and can correlate them with specific usernames/passwords of interest (which could also be done more universally using a keylogger or computer vision system to read the keyboard/screen).

Usernames are also often typed in, so you got that covered. Remember that large datasets are often secured with small ones. There are other ways, but this is a new vector. Added bonus of a watch is that if can intercept passwords on all platforms and regardless of other security measures. People are aware that computers and smartphones can be vulnerable, smartwatches are not on people's radar screen yet.

Reading the screen generally yields little to no result when it comes to passwords, unless people are daft enough to expose important passwords in plain text.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Camacha