Microsoft Working With Suppliers on Designs for Watch-Like Device 260
An anonymous reader writes with news that Microsoft may be working on a smartwatch. "The modern smartwatch market hardly even exists, and yet it's already starting to feel very crowded. Hot on the heels of plans (official and otherwise) from Apple and Samsung, the Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft has also been shopping around for parts to build a 'watch-style device.' While details are scarce as to what that would entail, unnamed supplier executives tell the newspaper that Microsoft has been asking for 1.5-inch touchscreens. We wouldn't count on seeing an ultra-small Surface anytime soon, however -- these executives say they've visited Microsoft's campus, but they don't know whether the Windows developer is fully committed to its wrist-worn endeavor or just experimenting. If the project exists at all, of course. Still, there's finally a glimmer of hope for anyone who's still mourning the loss of their beloved SPOT watches."
Re:A smart watch? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm wearing a very cheap digital watch right now, and you're probably going to buy two new smartphones before its battery has run out.
That's no argument for a smart watch, but it does demolish your "watches are useless" argument pretty thoroughly.
Re:A smart watch? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:A smart watch? (Score:5, Insightful)
Arguably, the problem isn't so much that 'nobody wears watches anymore'(though cellphones certainly haven't done them any favors); but nobody wears watches in the market range amenable to technology companies.
You've got your $2 digitals, unexciting but pretty solid at telling time for ages on a teeny little battery, fairly durable, and cheap enough that nobody cries if 'fairly' turns out not to be durable enough. Unless your 'smart watch' plan involves almost no money and almost no power, it'd better do something really cool if it is going to sway people away from these; because these things are cheaper and longer-running than anything 'smart' is going to be.
Then you've got the watches-as-jewelry segment, which spans a wide variety of tastes and price points; but jewelry-style luxury markets are more or less the opposite of what tech companies are good at. It will be a lot easier to sneak in here on price and care-and-feeding; but interest in 'this watch looks exactly like the other 10 million we paid foxconn to stamp out; because that's how economies of scale work, m'kay?' may be a problem.
If you had a 'smart watch' concept that was compelling enough to get the cheap seats to pay more and recharge more, or the jewelry section to embrace a disposable widget instead of some ostensibly 'timeless' fashion item, you'd have something that people would wear watches for, if necessary. That, though, is the tricky bit.
Re:A smart watch? (Score:4, Insightful)
Lots of people wear watches, either to tell time or for fashion, or both.
The big problem with a smart watch is that 1.5" isn't enough space to display any meaningful amount of data, and worse, the context that it's in. I can think of a few situations where reading a ticker tape on my wrist of a short email or text message might be useful, but 200x200 pixels is really only useful for animated GIFs of cats and telling the time.
Re:A smart watch? (Score:3, Insightful)
Microsoft is scared of missing the next bubble? (Score:4, Insightful)
I am quite sure if Apple, Google and Samsung are working on developing a flying turd, Microsoft also wants one. I don't see a lot of innovative development lately. These tech giants only want to keep on par with eachother without really developing their own identity. So much for progress.
Re:Copy, Copy, Copy.... (Score:2, Insightful)
Microsoft doesn't just copy Apple, they can also copy what Apple is copying.
Re:A smart watch? (Score:4, Insightful)
A few have criticized me that with my age and position it is not fit for me.
Have you noted that those people should not be trusted with anything important?
Shoes are next! (Score:4, Insightful)
Does anyone get the feeling that if Apple was rumoured to be working on a shoe phone, Microsoft would immediately start doing the same?
Re:A smart watch? (Score:3, Insightful)
The Beast has 80,000 people working for them and they encourage them to be active in social media like /. They are, however, cautioned against replying to or moderating me specifically. Downmodding me can lose you moderation privileges here if the metamods don't agree with your modding - which they usually don't when the downmods are corporate biased.
Oh man that is the most hilariously self-absorbed thing i have *ever* read on this site! :D The fact that you think microsoft would give 2 shits about the opinions in the comments on the stories on slashdot is funny enough but that you actually believe they give a shit about your comments specifically is absolute gold!
The fact is this site started out as a pro-linux and pro-OSS site - and we all know how microsoft is regarded in those circles - so any positive ms comments were met with a barrage of abuse, even legitimate ones. Then trolls started to realize how easy it is to get a massive response by trolling /. with pro-ms comments.
I know you actually believe it is some big conspiracy and you're near the center of it, that's cute and i'm sure the fantasy that microsoft employs an army of astroturfers that fear you must feel pretty cool for you.
Finally (Score:1, Insightful)
Yeah, finally my portable BSoD on my wrist to show all my friends how blue my watch is. Literally. Hope they add Ctrl-Alt-Del buttons. Oh, and a loupe. In case the obligatory Windows behind it pops up and the a mouse cursor appears.
I just hope they include Norton Antivirus for MS Watch.
Re:A smart watch? (Score:4, Insightful)
Make it pink and you'll sell millions.
Re:Sad... (Score:4, Insightful)
Not trying to step on your shoes but the world most certainly doesn't need them as a Software Company anymore. In fact we are all better off with out them. Times are changing, like it or not the world is moving towards Open Source and Microsoft is just a pimple of what it use to be, no matter what the Fanbois at Neowin tell you.
What Microsoft needs to do is reorganize and reinvent itself if it is going to survive, perhaps in the Hardware field, although even that's not looking so good; but that's due to the Software which operates on said Hardware. Office and Windows aren't going to cut it in the next few years, and it seems as if the Windows platform and other Software of theirs, has turned into surveillance platforms for Law Enforcement.
I know it's hard to take and hard to swallow, especially if you have some sort of emotional connection to them; but facts are facts. Hating on the truth isn't going to hurt my feelings or change anything, a virtual -1 or 0 has no effect on me, I have nothing to lose like they do. Change is the only place to find answers.
Re:A smart watch? (Score:2, Insightful)
I wear a $25 Casio metal body watch. It has worked for 3 years (with no battery change) and it is still like new.
A few have criticized me that with my age and position it is not fit for me. I said as a CS scientist, I prefer digits to bars!
And that's where the market is.. People don't buy watches because they want to know the time, people buy them for bragging rights and because it's one of the few pieces of jewelry that men are allowed to wear in just about any situation.
I've not worm a watch for years but plenty of the people I work with do. In some cases they wear very expensive watches.