Excuse my ignorance, how exactly does it actually work for all the data it's gathering and such? It's piggy-backing off whatever phone it's "paired" with? Meaning it wont work at all unless it's within X number of feet from my phone using additional data?
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Handcuffed to Phone for Data?
- Thread starter Cabby
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That's what it seems like.
We need confirmation on this as it will make a big difference on useabillity to people that want to use it for sports.
That's extremely disappointing. So if I walk down the hall at work to use the bathroom or run to the store, my watch essentially stops working (outside of being a watch) unless I have my phone with me?
Is it possible they integrate cellular data and you pay an additional $50 (or whatever) to buy a watch with data added as a device on your existing plan? Like the IPAD model for data?
Is it possible they integrate cellular data and you pay an additional $50 (or whatever) to buy a watch with data added as a device on your existing plan? Like the IPAD model for data?
Probably in 2-3 years. The technology isn't there just yet to pull that off and have all the connectivity and power needed in such a little casing.
It can probably store data and then update the phone when in proximity.(Fitness, Reminders, etc.)
BT4.0 range is 200+ feet right, so going down the hall shouldn't be an issue.
Idea: Make an app that alerts you that your phone is out of range. Wish I knew how..
The watch will be a much much better device after 2-3 years of iterations and further technology developments.
So a quick run is going to require you to still take the phone to get additional functionality out of it? It's odd they haven't really described how it actually works.
I would certainly hope not. That really defeats the purpose in my opinion. Might as well have a wire/handcuffs connecting the two or put the sensors in the phone...
Either it will have its own event to discuss hardware and software or it will be discussed at the iPad Mac in the coming weeks.
My assumption would be that as long as you're near your phone (say, 40 feet), you'll get all the live updates to weather, notifications, app updates ETC ETC. However, any information that is stored in the watch itself will go with you. That being said, they DID say music can be stored on the device, so I would GUESS that everything besides GPS data could be stored on the watch (pedometer, elevation, apps, music etc) and usable with out the device around. Only time will tell.
Bluetooth LE is good up to 30 meters distance. That's too long for a wire that won't get tangled. But, basically, the Watch is the sensors on your iPhone, but without having to tape your iPhone to your body or in your underwear all day (hard to make phone calls that way).
My Pebble continues to work when I go to the bathroom. Bluetooth isn't THAT short ranged.
And according to the site, the watch does function as an independent music player. I imagine any apps you load onto it will work too.
You'd be lucky to get a couple hours of battery life on something this small if it had a data connection.
It is amazing that somebody can complain that the watch needs to tether to the phone for data AND complain it is too thick.
This is how the Pebble currently works and I can't imagine the watch to be that much different. In my office I could walk most places with my phone on my desk and it stayed connected. Probably not good enough to do the more data intensive stuff, but I got notifications just fine. When I would go to the bathroom it would lose connection, but reconnect as soon as I left. If I missed a notification it popped up, as soon as I was back in range. If you were in the bathroom long enough for that delay to be a problem, you should probably consult a doctor.
This is how the Pebble currently works and I can't imagine the watch to be that much different. In my office I could walk most places with my phone on my desk and it stayed connected. Probably not good enough to do the more data intensive stuff, but I got notifications just fine. When I would go to the bathroom it would lose connection, but reconnect as soon as I left. If I missed a notification it popped up, as soon as I was back in range. If you were in the bathroom long enough for that delay to be a problem, you should probably consult a doctor.