The Gadgets Page

Remember when the CEO of Swatch mocked Apple for being willing to have a heart rate function on their Apple Watch?

• Gadgets Page » Swatch CEO Is Baffled By The Apple Watch

As a watch producer, I cannot accept the responsibility of whether my device warns a customer in time before a heart attack.

He’s probably singing a different tune now that an Apple Watch has saved the life of a teen from Massachusetts:

• WCVB – Apple Watch saves a Cape Cod teen’s life

A 17-year-old Tabor Academy senior was at football practice when something felt off. “I had pain in my chest and my back whenever I took some deep breaths,” said Paul Houle Jr. He would have chalked it up to a hot day on the gridiron. But his Apple Watch alerted him to something serious.

“After practice I went and took a nap, my heart rate was still at 145.” The Apple Watch takes your resting heart rate about every minute or so. Houle knew there was a problem when his resting heart rate was more than double his average. He went to the hospital, where he learned he had heart, liver and kidney failure, which could have been fatal if not for his watch.

“If my Apple Watch hadn’t shown me it was 145, I would have done nothing about it.” Houle’s dad is grateful his son is healthy. His dad didn’t want to buy the Apple Watch, but after his son’s ordeal, he went out Saturday and purchased one for his wife and himself. Houle can’t play football just yet, but he has something else to look forward to – an internship next summer with Apple.

I am so grateful for my Apple Watch because it has made my life easier in so many ways, but this sort of story makes that little piece of technology appear to be miraculous.

Quote in this article, «Die Alleskönner fressen zu viel Strom» – Wirtschaft – tagesanzeiger.ch, Nick Hayek, the CEO of Swatch is baffled by the Apple Watch. I had to rely on this article for the translation:

• The Guardian – Swatch CEO: Apple Watch is ‘interesting toy’ that can’t last more than 24 hours

It’s quite obvious that he doesn’t quite understand what the Apple Watch does and doesn’t do and overestimates the “burden” of charging one every day.

The Apple watch is an interesting toy, but not a revolution. These devices, which all eat so much power that they last no longer than 24 hours without needing to be plugged in. In addition, the user immediately loses control of their data. I personally don’t want my blood pressure and blood sugar values stored in the cloud, or on servers in Silicon Valley.

The Apple Watch doesn’t track blood pressure or blood sugar on its own. He seems to be confused. He also said that he wouldn’t create a fitness watch.

As a watch producer, I cannot accept the responsibility of whether my device warns a customer in time before a heart attack.

It amazes me that this man thinks he has the ability to talk about a product he obviously knows nothing about. If we want to be honest, let’s about we talk about the latest Swatch collection. Let’s talk about how “useful” their watches might be.

There is a Swatch that’s black that tells you the time. There’s one that’s blue that tells you the time. There’s one that is red, green and yellow. Wait! Here’s one that’s a little more useful: it’s pink with flamingos and it tells the time. The most complications you will get are date, day of the week, and stopwatch. If you want to talk about an “interesting toy,” all of Swatch’s watches have been demoted to that status, merely because all they do is tell time. When I have SO much connectivity on my wrist, the fact that I have to charge the watch on my nightstand is insignificant.

The thing that bothers me is that Swatch had a head start. They had a head start on easily changeable bands. They had a head start on watches for fashion instead of lifelong timepieces. They even had a head start on the smartwatch category. Instead of advancing and making their products better, they stagnated and abandoned every good idea.

All of this, coming from a HUGE Swatch fan. I have an immense collection of Swatches:

• Pick Me! – My Life in Swatches

I have been a fan for almost thirty years and I feel betrayed by them. I WANTED a smart watch from Swatch, but what they gave me is laughable, even if the battery lasts six months.

• The Gadgets Page – NO, NO! Bad Swatch!! Try Again!

When I saw that monstrosity, I wanted to swat Nick Hayek on the nose like a dog who has just piddled on the floor. I have been faithful to this company for thirty years and THIS is what they give me?!

It all reminds me of when Steve Ballmer said that Apple had no chance in the smartphone market. Nick Hayek is someone who should know better. He is someone who should have teamed up with Apple TEN years ago. Instead, he is an outsider in his own industry that is changing so quickly that he honestly can’t keep up with it.

I have always worn a watch since I was about six years old, but for those who want the functionality of the Apple Watch without wearing it on their wrist, these Kickstarters are looking to make your Apple Watch a necklace or pocket watch.

• The Pendulum Collection by Bucardo

Here is a video of it in action.

I think they are beautifully designed.

The pocket watch design looks good, too.

Because the band on the Apple Watch is so easily changed, it makes this an accessory you could use for special events when you want to look more elegant.

These start at $100 for the first few investors and the prices go up from there. Personally, I LOVE the look of the Apple Watch, so I have no desire to hide it. Additionally, I have become so dependent upon the silent alarms tapping on my wrist that I would be fearful of not feeling the alarm if I wore it as a necklace.

If you are looking to make your Apple Watch prettier, however, this looks like an interesting option.

Via: Apple Watch Necklace | POPSUGAR Tech

What if an app could tell you which people you should avoid and which people you should see more often? That is the concept behind pplkpr. It’s an app that works with your smart watch (like the Mio) that monitors your heart rate when you are meeting with friends and gives you feedback.

pplkpr from Kyle McDonald on Vimeo.

My biggest objection to this would be if I had to wear an ADDITIONAL bracelet to get this data, but if it works with a smart watch that I already own, then that would be information that would actually HELP me. I don’t already own a Mio, however, so I can’t test with the heart rate functions. I can, however, manually add the information, so I think I’ll give it a try.

• pplkpr on iTunes

I’m interested to see how this works…