Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Would You Buy, and Wear A Smart-watch Daily?

phonearena.com
I haven't worn a dumb-watch (reads much better than "non-smart-watch") since 2000. The use-cases for smart-watches in general haven't yet been clearly defined.

I carry and use multiple mobile devices and laptops, daily. I own five lovely dumb-watches; one which has served as my alarm clock for years. I still don't wear dumb-watches. I love dumb-watches. I always have. I always will. I just don't like wearing them.

Why? If you have a dumb-watch on your wrist, you're most likely to check the time way more often than you absolutely need to. You can't resist because a different time is always going to be presented to you whenever you check. There's no way to easily stop that habit with a dumb-watch, than to...not wear the dumb-watch. That's fine. That's what dumb-watches do best: present you something different every second of your life.

I will happily wear those rubber bracelets; the likes of which were pioneered by the Livestrong Foundation. The rubber bracelet currently on my wrist is about style and personal branding; a kind of removable tattoo. Still, I'm very interested in the iWatch. Although, any smart-watch would have to have at least these four characteristics, to compel me to wear it daily:

  • A fashion accessory that is customizable to my personal style and branding. If the watch died, I'd still be compelled to wear it until I could get it fixed or could get a replacement
  • A state-of-the-art, customizable, push-notification (alert) system that reduces my time on all other devices and apps I use, including the time and inconvenience of to pulling them out or/and loading them up and connecting to use them
  • It doesn't constantly have to be paired to another device to be useful and enjoyable

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