 Watch

Looks like the online ordering (much more civilized than waiting in line at a store) exhausted the initial April 24 supply, second batch coming in June:
http://appleinsider.com/articles/15...utes-shipping-times-quickly-jump-to-4-6-weeks

This is one of the better reviews from those who wore/used it for a week, though it appears to have a steep learning curve:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/t...t-only-after-a-steep-learning-curve.html?_r=1

The Watch also has a completely different software design from a smartphone. Though it has a set of apps, interactions are driven more by incoming notifications as well as a summary view of some apps, known as glances. But because there isn’t much room on the watch’s screen for visual cues indicating where you are — in an app, a notification or a glance — in the early days, you’ll often find yourself lost, and something that works in one place won’t work in another.

Finding nirvana with the watch involves adjusting your notification settings on your phone so that your wrist does not constantly buzz with information that doesn’t make sense on the Watch — like Facebook status updates, messages from Snapchat, or every single email about brownies in the office kitchen. Apple’s notification settings have long been unduly laborious; battling them while your hand is buzzing off the hook is an extra level of discomfort.

Other problems: Third-party apps are mostly useless right now. The Uber app didn’t load for me, the Twitter app is confusing and the app for Starwood hotels mysteriously deleted itself and then hung up on loading when I reinstalled it. In the end, though, it did let me open a room at the W Hotel in Manhattan just by touching the watch face to the door.
I also used the Watch to pay for New York cabs and groceries at Whole Foods, and to present my boarding pass to security agents at the airport. When these encounters worked, they were magical, like having a secret key to unlock the world right on my arm. What’s most thrilling about the Apple Watch, unlike other smartwatches I’ve tried, is the way it invests a user with a general sense of empowerment. If Google brought all of the world’s digital information to our computers, and the iPhone brought it to us everywhere, the Watch builds the digital world directly into your skin. It takes some time getting used to, but once it clicks, this is a power you can’t live without.
Click to expand...

I may try one in the store next week.
 
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The new Apple iWatch:

You can pair it with your iPhone to do things.....that you can already do with your iPhone.
 
From what I understand, it's pretty much useless without an iPhone close by, because it even receives it's time info from the iPhone. But I think the biggest shortcoming of the Watch is it's battery life. 18 hours best case scenario. That may be fine for bankers or even typical office dwellers, but how many of us on here have still been going at hour 18 of a shoot day? I imagine that the case is probably packed, but they should have used an automatic mechanical/electrical hybrid power system like the Seiko Kinetic, where you have a pendulum like in an automatic mechanical watch, but it's used to generate electrical power and stored in a capacitor. Who knows, maybe they did look down that avenue and it's not currently feasible for the size limitations and power requirements right now. I just can't see having to remember to 'plug my watch in' every night or more likely at times DURING the day, too. Don't get me wrong because I am a "watch guy", but watches should be pretty much a grab 'n go thing. I take it off at night and put it on when I leave. I don't even really have to worry about my mechanical watch because it will keep going for almost two days without being worn.
 
I don't think I'll be buying one any time soon, but I do see the point...for some people. If you're one of those glued to your phone constantly types, then this can be a less obtrusive way of getting notifications and doing the basic interactions without pulling out your phone. I hate when I'm having lunch with someone and they have to pull out their phone repeatedly. If they're just occasionally glancing at their watch, then I don't think it would be nearly as annoying.
For me, I can live apart from my phone for more than a few minutes so I don't think I really need one of these. I will be keeping an eye on it though to see what the next generation of the Apple watch can do. If you look back at the Palm Pilot you can make the argument that it was the precursor to the iPhone. It did stuff, but not enough to make it essential. The iPhone however has developed to a point where it's justifiably ubiquitous. Maybe the next gen Apple watch or some killer app for it will make it that too.
 
I'll wait for gen2 or three and some more stability in the apps, more variety of apps, etc., and even then, I think I can do with out it. If you are a cutting edge gadget person this might be exciting to get, or maybe you like it as jewelry, but I don't need a lot more than my smart phone right now.
 
Humanity survived without smartphones for a few millennia. I suppose we could survive without them now too. or watches. or computers. or cameras.
 
Actually my G-Shock 9400 is equipped with many useful features should I get lost in the wilderness. It runs on solar power so long after the iWatch have stopped working mine will keep on going. Not to mention it can take a beating and withstand 20bar pressure.
 
I stick with my mechanicals. There's something decidedly non-digital about them that works for me.
The movements remind me of film camera mechanics and are works of art in-and-of themselves.
 
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