Ok you guys. Are you on the payroll? :>) On Thu, Aug 27, 2015 at 12:15 PM, R. D. Preston <[email protected]> wrote:
> 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 > > > > > _______________________________________________ > MacGroup mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.math.louisville.edu/mailman/listinfo/macgroup > >
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