Hmmm… …Dick Tracy should have been so fortunate! -russ
> On Aug 27, 2015, at 11:43 AM, John Robinson <[email protected]> wrote: > > > A couple weeks ago I took the plunge and went for an Apple Watch…now my last > watch purchase was possibly 2 decades ago, my cousin and I both had purchased > the same watch, fancy thing, slick lines and highly polished…it was > fantastic…it told time! Cost over $200 if I remember right and that was with > 1980’s dollars. > > No need for a watch now with the iPhone, the watch was a relic of the past, > similar to the 8 track…..until now. > > Already within a couple weeks I don’t want to be without it….strange as it > seems it’s so handy to have all this technology on the wrist. > > Text comes in, shows up on the watch, hit the reply and “dictate” the reply. > Very accurate, more so than the iPhone I believe, and then hit “send” as a > text or choose the voice choice where your words are sent as a verbal > response. > > Want to send a text? Bring the watch up and say “Hey Siri”, the face gets > blurry, then say “Send A Text To ?????” and then dictate the text…one > caveat, don’t delay, say it all at once. Then it’s ready to go. > > Want to read your emails, very easy to do on the watch, other than those that > have graphics, but the text is included. > > One of the coolest things is the maps. On our way back from a small trip, > used the GPS in the Jeep for the drive but as we approached Lexington, KY we > wanted to eat at a Panera Bread so I ask Siri on the iPhone to find the > nearest restaurant. She did so, then I hit the maps and the phone began the > turn by turn…what is all this vibration on my wrist??? > > The Watch was now giving me the directions…two vibrations to turn left, more > than two to turn right. Hold the watch up and the directions are on the > screen, hit the map icon and now it shows the route you are driving in real > time….are you kidding me!! When you arrive it does a little dance and seems > to get very excited. > > I finally set up the exercise/health portion and now I am challenged all day > to meet the goals it sets (which I can adjust). It also has me on a leash. > Driving my grandson to school in Borden, on my way back it vibrates and tells > me I need to get up and move..I am in the car but so wanted to obey. Found a > Marathon station and got out and walked….I don’t want to be truant as a new > student. All day I will be told when to get up and move and as a person that > is glued to a computer this is a great thing….now I have to begin an exercise > program as that is one area I am not completing and I don’t like my test > scores. At the end of the week I get a summary of what my week has been > like, I have got to get with it. > > Apple Pay, the real reason I wanted the watch. I have been waiting for my > bank to get on board, I have been waiting for State Farm to get on board, > both are dragging their feet so I am going to open an account with Chase as > they helped Apple develop Apple Pay and they are very Apple savvy. I read > where the Apple Pay is being used by Watch owners something over 90% of the > time while the iPhone is in the 70% category…why, convenience , it’s another > way to process your day with as little effort as possible…hit the button > twice, choose which card and lean the watch face to the machine and your > done….no information of yours at all left with the vendor, no possibly way a > hacker can get into their system and steal your credit card info, your email, > your phone number, etc. etc…it’s not there. > > So, the watch has had a bit of a rebirth, and when Apple brings out it’s next > version of the software in Sept. it’s going to drastically improve, many of > the Apps will be native from oh so many companies and it’s my understanding > the Watch will be untethered from the iPhone… > > One last note, my wife, who never likes technology will not part with her > iPad BUT she said she would never want the watch, didn’t have the least > interest of having something on here wrist…now she says she wants one, now > she says she has to have one…oh my… > > > > The numbers are in: Apple is No. 2 in wearables > > And the worldwide wearables market grew 223.2% in the second quarter of 2015, > according to a new study. > > The term “wearables”—as in wearable technology, the next evolution of mobile > electronics—has been on the lips of technologists for some time. It’s > supposed to be the future—an $80 billion market > <http://fortune.com/2015/02/24/invisible-wearables-market/>, some estimate. > > The potential of this nascent market has been rather hard to quantify. (So > has the definition. Smart watches? Sure. Glasses? Perhaps. “Hearables > <http://fortune.com/2014/05/14/a-beats-acquisition-could-be-big-for-apple-hearables/>“? > Sure. Clothing? Well…) But a new IDC report > <http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS25872215> shows that a trend > line is emerging. > > According to the market researcher, the worldwide wearables market grew > 223.2% in the second quarter of 2015, as measured by total shipment volume > across all vendors. (That figure: 18.1 million units, up from 5.6 million > unit in Q2 2014.) > > Bigger news: Apple AAPL 1.57% <http://fortune.com/company/aapl/>is now the > number-two vendor behind Fitbit. > > The Cupertino, Calif.-based company shipped 3.6 million units in the second > quarter of 2015, “just 0.8 million units behind Fitbit’s 4.4 million units.” > Apple has been mum on its Apple Watch sales, so this is rather interesting. > > To give you a sense of Apple’s impact on the category, consider that two of > every three “smart wearables,” in IDC parlance, shipped this quarter were > Apple Watches. That’s both affirming for Apple, which has a lot riding on its > latest major device, and Fitbit FIT 1.51% <http://fortune.com/company/fit/>, > which has managed to beat back Cupertino’s competition despite only selling > wearable devices with more basic functionality. > > IDC believes Apple will eventually be the wearables market leader. That’s not > a surprise, though the dark horse in all this is Samsung, which has > demonstrated in smartphones that a quick follow can be just as competitive as > a category-defining product. (Even though, it should be noted, Samsung has > been selling such devices for far longer than Apple. Lenovo-owned Motorola, > too.) > > The breakdown: > > 1.) Fitbit. 4.4 million units shipped in 2Q15. 24.3% global market share. Up > 159% from the same quarter a year ago. > > 2.) Apple. 3.6 million units shipped in 2Q15. 19.9% global market share. No > YoY growth figures available because it wasn’t selling wearables a year ago. > > 3.) Xiaomi. 3.1 million units shipped in 2Q15. 17.1% global market share. No > YoY growth figures available because it wasn’t selling wearables a year ago. > > 4.) Garmin. 700,000 units shipped in 2Q15. 3.9% global market share. Up 40% > from the same quarter a year ago. > > 5.) Samsung. 600,000 units shipped in 2Q15. 3.3% global market share. Up 119% > from the same quarter a year ago. > > > The Apple Watch is already crushing the competition, according to new study > > > > The Apple Watch officially went on sale less than six months ago, and it's > already the second most popular wearable device on the market. > > > Apple Poised to Lead Wearables as FitBit Wanes, Says IDC > > Research firm IDC this morning declares > <http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS25872215> FitBit (FIT > <http://online.barrons.com/public/quotes/main.html?symbol=FIT>) the leader in > wearable technology in Q2 of this year, shipping 4.4 million units of its > fitness trackers, just ahead of Apple’s (AAPL > <http://online.barrons.com/public/quotes/main.html?symbol=AAPL>) 3.6 million > units of its Apple Watch. > > That’s out of a total of 18.1 million units of wearable gadgets sold by all > companies in the market. > However, the firm predicts ultimate victory for Apple. > > IDC credits Apple with two thirds of all shipments of “smart wearables,” with > analyst Jitesh Ubrani declaring “Apple has clearly garnered an impressive > lead in this space and its dominance is expected to continue.” > > What’s more, Ubrani concludes, “Although Fitbit outshipped Apple, it’s worth > noting that Fitbit only sells basic wearables – a category that is expected > to lose share over the next few years, leaving Apple poised to become the > next market leader for all wearables.” > > > Best Buy deepens links to Apple, says watch has been a smash hit > by Phil Wahba > <http://fortune.com/author/phil-wahba/>@philwahba > <https://twitter.com/philwahba> AUGUST 25, 2015, 10:14 AM EDT > > > > Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly said Apple Watch is off to a strong start and > announced steps to deepen the tech giant’s presence in the retailer’s stores. > > Best Buy BBY 3.26% <http://fortune.com/company/bby/>continued its remarkable > turnaround last quarter, with a big assist from Apple AAPL 2.03% > <http://fortune.com/company/aapl/>. > > The largest U.S. electronics retailer reported a rise in domestic comparable > sales of 3.8% for the second quarter > <http://investors.bestbuy.com/investor-relations/news-and-events/financial-releases/news-details/2015/Best-Buy-Reports-Second-Quarter-Results/default.aspx>, > > it has also been getting a lot of help from Apple and its roster of red-hot > products. > > “Demand for Apple Watch has been so strong in the stores and online,” Best > Buy CEO Hubert Joly told Wall Street analysts on a conference call. The > retailer expects to be selling the device, which hit the market in June, at > all of its 1,050 big-box stores by the end of September, he added. > > Initially, Best Buy had planned to have > <http://fortune.com/2015/07/27/apple-watch-best-buy-stores/> watches in 300 > stores by the holiday season. (It started selling the watches in early > August.) Apple did not provide specific sales numbers for the watch in its > second-quarter earnings <http://images.apple.com/pr/pdf/q3fy15datasum_2.pdf> > last month, but Best Buy’s comments provide more evidence of the device’s > success <http://fortune.com/2015/07/07/apple-watch-estimates-analysts/>. > > Joly also announced steps that will deepen Best Buy’s relationship with > Apple. It is currently updating its Apple shop-in-shops at 740 stores, > including new fixtures and more display tables for phones, computers, and > tablets. The work is already complete at 350 stores, and will be finished at > another 170 in time for the key holiday season. He also said that Best Buy > will begin selling AppleCare product service and support this quarter, and > will start testing out being an authorized service provider at 50 stores. > > John
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