Review roundup: Motorola's Moto 360 is the best smartwatch yet, but poor battery life is unacceptabl

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  • Reply 61 of 97
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by THT View Post

     

     

    You are talking about far-field wireless power transmission, right? That sort of thing just isn't going to work as long as the device has a display to power. You are talking micro watts and pico watts with incredibly bad efficiency rates. I can't imagine this thing working in any scenario whatsoever.

     

    If Apple has a secret sauce, it's going to be a super low power display, super low power wireless radios and super low power sensors and SoCs.


     

    I saw someone mention the other day the possibility of a wireless charging pad you can just plug in and slip under your mattress or seat cushion. Since those are supposed to have a range of several feet, you would then be charging while sitting or sleeping.

  • Reply 62 of 97
    blackbookblackbook Posts: 1,361member
    tht wrote: »
    You are talking about far-field wireless power transmission, right? That sort of thing just isn't going to work as long as the device has a display to power. You are talking micro watts and pico watts with incredibly bad efficiency rates. I can't imagine this thing working in any scenario whatsoever.

    If Apple has a secret sauce, it's going to be a super low power display, super low power wireless radios and super low power sensors and SoCs.

    Apple already has a patent for wireless charging in the way I described.

    http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2013/09/apple-reveals-master-details-of-wireless-charging-system.html
  • Reply 63 of 97

    I must say, I love the design of this watch. I really, really, really hope that Apple has outdone this with something that we could not expect. With all of this amazing competition, that's a very high bar to reach for, though.

  • Reply 64 of 97
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Disturbia View Post

     

    I have a dream ....

     

    One day I don't hear the name google and android crap!! AMEN! :smokey:

     

    People, google is just a lousy search engine which sells Ads to make a living! WTF they can possibly do with technology to change our lives in better ways?!!

     

    P.S. Yeah I know ... OFF TOPIC!




    How's Apple's Street View doing it for you?

  • Reply 65 of 97
    pdq2pdq2 Posts: 270member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Macky the Macky View Post





    I think Apple's gonna be hard to copy this time... Lots of leading edge hardware and software melded together to make something never before imagined.

     

    Well, to be fair, I think ever since word slipped that Apple was working on a smartwatch, all these wanabees are imagining smartwatches like crazy, and throwing everything they can think of at the wall to see if any of it sticks.

     

    What I expect, though, is despite all that imagining, Apple's will be the one that finally looks good enough and does enough useful things that people will buy it. And henceforth everyone will say "well of course that's what a smartwatch is supposed to look/operate like; it's just obvious".

  • Reply 66 of 97
    blackbookblackbook Posts: 1,361member
    coolfactor wrote: »
    I must say, I love the design of this watch. I really, really, really hope that Apple has outdone this with something that we could not expect. With all of this amazing competition, that's a very high bar to reach for, though.

    I have a feeling this is going to look like shit in person. It's way too big and thick to look good on most people. Conceptually the round face and style is nice but this particular adaption looks bloated and disgusting.
  • Reply 67 of 97
    A round smart watch is slavish skeuomorphism - something Jony Ive would be expected to despise. A round shape is for a device where a mechanical hand rotates around a dial: it is pointless for a smart watch.

    The Moto 360 reminds me of all those 2006 era "smartphones" which Apple trumped with a dramatic new design. I would expect the same thing to happen when Apple announces its offering.
  • Reply 68 of 97

    I'm also an Android user, and I've got an LG G watch connected to my Nexus 5. I've had it just over a month now.

     

    With the G watch, I get a full 24 hours of run time on an typical day; a bit less if I'm using it for long periods of time to display navigation directions. But so far, I've never left for work in the morning and had the watch die on me before I got home. This is with screen set to always-on at 50% brightness (brightness setting 3 of 6, for those of you familiar with the G watch). If I set the screen to only come on when I'm actively using the watch, the run time goes up way over 24 hours.

     

    In case you're unfamiliar, when the watch is at rest, the backlight dims and the watch face animations stop, displaying only a black and white image updated once per minute when the time changes). When using the watch by touching its face or turning one's wrist to see the watch, or when it's actively displaying a notification, the backlight brightens and the color + animations return.

     

    If I want a brighter image, I set the brightness to 4, which cuts the run time down by a few hours -- but still plenty to get me from when I take it off the charger to when I go to bed.

     

    Yes, I do have to charge it nightly. No, it does not last anywhere near as long as my Pebble Steel does (3-5 days of full usage).

     

    But it does get me though a typical day & evening out.

     

    If the Moto 360 demonstrates worse battery life, something is really wrong. But if, like I suspect, the "reviewers" killed the battery in no time flat by playing with it constantly in an unrealistic manner -- just like when people get new phones and lament the poor battery life -- then that's really not Motorola's fault, now is it.

     

    Guess we'll see.

  • Reply 69 of 97

    Hows about we wait to see what the iWatch's battery life is before declaring Motorola's to be "unacceptable" ?

  • Reply 70 of 97
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dasanman69 View Post





    When's the last time you had to look for a yellow pages?

     

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cnocbui View Post

     



    How's Apple's Street View doing it for you?


     

     

    Yep ... you both reminded me this gentleman! :smokey:

     

  • Reply 71 of 97
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    A round smart watch is slavish skeuomorphism - something Jony Ive would be expected to despise. A round shape is for a device where a mechanical hand rotates around a dial: it is pointless for a smart watch.

    The Moto 360 reminds me of all those 2006 era "smartphones" which Apple trumped with a dramatic new design. I would expect the same thing to happen when Apple announces its offering.

    I see your point but feel it's superficial and shortsighted.

    You are correct that the round face was when there was hands rotating around them but you're ignoring how much style plays a part in anything we wear. Even digital watches are very often using a round face despite having no reason to (and analog watches having rectangular faces for the sake of style).
  • Reply 72 of 97
    I truly wonder how many of Motorola's, Google's, and Samsung's engineers are going to be walking around with tissues up their noses due to nosebleeds from repeated face-palms during the Apple presentation?

    Bingo bets are off because a) we'll never know; b) they'll never admit it c) [S]we'll feel sorry for them[/S]... anybody care to add?
  • Reply 73 of 97
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Disturbia View Post

     

     

     

     

     

    Yep ... you both reminded me this gentleman! :smokey:

     

     


     

  • Reply 74 of 97

    Tim will show the current lineup of Android watches and end with how even the nice-looking Moto 270 can't even make it through the afternoon without a charge. Then he'll reveal the iWatch runs on a tiny nuclear fusion core that never needs recharging, and can wirelessly charge your new iPhone while in your pocket all day long. 

     

    Then they'll play this song and Phil will throw in a "Can't innovate anymore, my wrist!"

     

     

    Mark my words.

  • Reply 75 of 97
    Originally Posted by fastasleep View Post

    Then he'll reveal the iWatch runs on a tiny nuclear fusion core that never needs recharging, and can wirelessly charge your new iPhone while in your pocket all day long. 

     

    Tony Stark shows up in the commercial for it.

  • Reply 76 of 97
    OMG a smart watch I could of never thought of that, who are the geniuses who could of thoguth of that. combing a half baked smart phone into a half backed watch. what will they come of with next
    white bread?
  • Reply 77 of 97
    OMG a smart watch I could of never thought of that, who are the geniuses who could of thoguth of that. combing a half baked smart phone into a half backed watch. what will they come of with next
    white bread?

    Please tell us that Siri didn't write that and you've just had one too many!

    But I do agree with the sentiment... :smokey:
  • Reply 78 of 97
    $249 and 12-hour charge so you can keep that gigantic screen android phone you keep bragging about in your pocket? Talk about first world geek problems.
  • Reply 79 of 97
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,335member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleSince86 View Post



    A round smart watch is slavish - something Jony Ive would be expected to despise. A round shape is for a device where a mechanical hand rotates around a dial: it is pointless for a smart watch.



    The Moto 360 reminds me of all those 2006 era "smartphones" which Apple trumped with a dramatic new design. I would expect the same thing to happen when Apple announces its offering.



    Skeuomorphism is about a thing imitating something that it is not. Imitating the moving hands and clock face of a mechanical watch on an electronic display is skeuomorphism. The Hanx Writer app is skeuomorphism of a typewriter. I'd imagine that Jony Ive's views on skeuomorphism are based on several factors including whether it is essential and necessary for the function of the task at hand, whether it impedes, constrains, or obscures what can be done using the new form and media, and whether it adds real value versus being gratuitous. Is a physical computer keyboard skeuomorphic because it is the same basic shape and layout of a physical typewriter keyboard? Could be argued either way. One could argue that the original mechanical typewriter keyboard is an archetype for a certain class of human-machine interaction since all attempts to replace it with something different on a broad scale have failed. Why? Maybe because human hands have not changed and while not optimal, a typewriter style UI is still effective and in no way gratuitous. 

     

    Is housing a smart watch in a round enclosure gratuitous? Does it introduce non-essential, unnecessary, or constraining influences over how the thing can be used? I don't think so. Plus, last time I looked at the human body form I didn't see a lot of sharp edges, straight lines, and perpendicular corners. If a watch is a product that is intended to blend harmoniously with the wearer why would you want it to have the stark contrast that a square or rectangular "mini rendition of a smartphone strapped to a wrist" that we've seen? I think you'll see that wrist worn jewelry for the most part complements rather that contrasts the curves and natural forms of the wearer. I expect Apple to be looking to the thousands of years of wrist worn embellishments and tools, like fine real watches, for inspiration rather than looking at devices that are intended to be hidden in your pocket - like smart phones and calculators.

     

    Motorola's attempt at a smart watch is clearly better and more thoughtful than nearly all of the other current misses. What makes it nearly useless as a watch is its lack of utility and function - not its shape. 

  • Reply 80 of 97

    I think Moto 360 is definitely the best "Smart watch" right now. Battery backup is abysmal, but for a first attempt (for a non-Apple company), it's rather impressive and handsome.

     

    I'd like to see Apple's shot at it (,not that I like the whole concept of smart watches, but) to see how ingeniously they tackle engineering problems like

    a display that's always on,

    interface that pop-us only when you want to see it,

    good battery backup (at least a week on single charge),

    great set of features that can complement the idea of what a smart watch can do,

    a UI that can make good use of a small screen,

    excellent sunlight readability,

    and of course, looks and design.

     

    But again, I have high hopes, because you know, it's Apple we're talking about.

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