“Today, it seemed as if every tech journalist in America was crammed into Apple’s auditorium. We were there to see the unveiling of the Apple Watch, the first new product category from Apple since the iPad,” David Pogue reports for Yahoo Tech. “I did get a chance to wear one briefly, use it for a little bit, and learn more about it in a private session. Here’s what I know.”
“The Apple Watch is water resistant. Sweating, wearing it in the rain, washing your hands, or cooking with it is fine,” Pogue reports. “Take it off before you swim or get in the shower, though.”
MacDailyNews Note: This is exactly the same as the Nike+ FuelBand SE.
“Up close, you realize that this watch is much smaller and more beautiful than most previous smartwatches,” Pogue reports. “There’s a speaker and a microphone on the watch. You can, in fact, take and make phone calls from your wrist, Dick Tracy style. That goofy ergonomic position was first made laughable by the Samsung Gear watches, so I’m not sure how many people will use it — but you can do it if you want.”
“That big button below the crown: What’s it for? We know that it summons your friends’ icons or lets you pay for things. But it will have other functions, as yet unannounced,” Pogue reports. “This watch keeps track of your heart rate as you exercise. (And that’s as you exercise — continuously; you don’t have to stop, hold still, and wait for it to take a sample, as on Samsung’s watches.)”
“Many questions remain, but one thing is for sure,” Pogue reports. “By blessing the Apple Watch with great looks, small size, customizability, and reasons for existing on your wrist, Apple has gone farther than any other company — much farther — in helping to launch the Dawn of the Smartwatch Era.”
Much more information in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Pogue reports that “there’s a remarkable ‘Digital Crown’ on the right side (sorry, lefties),” but, according to ZDNet’s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, “there’s even a southpaw mode for all the Apple-loving lefties out there, which flips the user interface around.”
SlashGear’s Chris Burns confirms, “Apple tells us on initial setup, you can choose to have the watch face orient itself for use on the right wrist, making it friendly to lefties. The watch bands are also swappable, so your band isn’t facing the wrong way. Good news for everyone involved, but like most things in life, Lefties will still have to deal with a right-handed design — the crown will be on the bottom of the left side of the watch when on the right wrist.”
So, take heart, lefties (about 10% of the population), Apple hasn’t abandoned you.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]
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