G-shock vs. smartwatches?

[BlackNomad]

Hello G-shockers!
While answering to another thread I got this question popped up in my head:
"With all these companies jumping on the smartwatch wagon, how does G-shock stuck-up against competition?"
Not much discussions here, but I found two interesting pieces:
http://phandroid.com/2014/08/04/casi...artwatch-poll/ and
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c2e46...#axzz3LCcKqTtl.
Turns out Casio is quite optimistic about their position on the market, but what I found interesting is this quote from Mr. Masaki Isozaki

“We may find we are able to take advantage of the smartwatch distribution channels, for example. People may decide to wear something like a Nike activity tracker on one wrist and a G-Shock on the other – two devices serving two different purposes,” he says.

So they are not going to stick everything into smart G?
With current G's capable of trucking weather, ABC, STW, CDT, laps/split, e-mail and your music player do you think a bunch of G's lines might become "dinosaurs" in a matter of a few months?

[d2mac]

I dont know if the watch is going the way of the cellphone:
From a maintenance and care-free tool to a fragile maintenance headache with requires (and gets) attention of the user all the day.

I woulnd had believed that the smart phone with its size and battery life would be accepted by the masses 10 years ago and i was wrong.
The same might be true for watches if people find the media features of their watches worth the daily care for charging and upgrades.

Anyhow, casio is more developing in my "common sense interpretation" that a watch have to be trouble free first an then put in as much gadgets as possible.
We will see if there are right.

[Greg]

Ive been wearing simple gshocks since 1985. I dont have a smartphone, I have a dumb flip-phone. But I do see the day in a few years that tech will advance the smartwatch to the point of replacing the smartphone. I would be happy with one gadget that serves as a watch, phone; has awesome apps, and has good battery life. I dont see myself wearing a device on each wrist so I guess I will sadly be retiring my gshocks to yardwork or tasks when I dont need my smartwatch.

It's still years away but this technology is coming.

[iyonk]

Nah... I want my G to be dependable watch and so far it never let me down... It is a great wristwatch will all the feature that i essentially need to time things..

i pocket 2 phones and by today standard they are considered smartphones.. i dont need a third that i strapped on the wrist.

[nelamvr6]

I'm a died in the wool technophile, I love gadgets. For example, I have to have the latest smart phone I can possibly have, right now I have a Samsung Galaxy S5, and I really love it.

But for some reason, and I can't explain what it is, the smart watch trend simply hasn't inspired any desire in me.

Perhaps it's the fact that these are not devices that can stand on their own, they must be tethered to my phone to achieve their full functionality. Plus the fact that they have to frequently be recharged doesn't help.

For now at least I'm quite happy to enjoy my growing collection of G-Shocks. They are superbly designed devices that not only are completely autonomous, requiring neither tethering nor intervention to recharge, but are also tough as nails.

[Greg]

Perhaps it's the fact that these are not devices that can stand on their own, they must be tethered to my phone to achieve their full functionality. Plus the fact that they have to be frequently be recharged doesn't help.

When they have the same functionality but arent tethered to a smartphone and hold a decent charge I think people will like the idea of not keeping a device in their pocket or purse. That's when I think the market will really take off. I like the idea of having the device strapped to my wrist and not something I have to keep up with or dig out of my pocket.

[nelamvr6]

When they have the same functionality but arent tethered to a smartphone and hold a decent charge I think people will like the idea of not keeping a device in their pocket or purse. That's when I think the market will really take off. I like the idea of having the device strapped to my wrist and not something I have to keep up with or dig out of my pocket.

I think you're right.

But I'm not sure I'll be interested even then. I guess I'll have to wait and see...

[BlackNomad]

BlackNomad wrote: and now with all phone companies jumping on the wagon of smart watches (just wait and see) is it possible that in a short time G-shock will be left in the dust behind all bunch of "smarties" that could tell you the weather for a month ahead, along with the birthdays of 80 people on your contact list? just thinking...

Sedi wrote: In fact it looks to me like smartwatches are not the "next big thing". I'd speculate that it might have something to do with the fact that people got used to the big displays of their smartphones and see no need to wear some kind of remote control for a device they carry in their pocket. Charging and updates are another problem. A smartwatch is the exact opposite of a G-Shock.
I think I'd rather buy a Bluetooth G-Shock than a smartwatch.

I think this "smartwatch thing" is the thing and it's gonna blow like... everybody will be covered. You are right Sedi, for now smartwatch is kinda remote+screen for the phone with somewhat limited capability, but it will change quickly with the development of OS for smartwatches and this thing is already here. Samsung, LG, Sony, Motorolla, Asus, Pebble, Apple, Google, Fossil + bunch of sports watches that will be made compatible with major phones brands. They will come in all shapes and sizes! OK, Casio is ready for that, it will not be left in the dust, but what about like what 85% of their current lines: those alarm/STW/CDT and ABC watches? They will become thing of the past, well not overnight, but pretty fast, like those "dumb flip-phones" one of which I had until just 2 years ago (it worked perfectly for me, I just kinda felt embarrassed pulling it out in front of my children)...
It's sad that G-shocks will become just a "funny thing"...
If you think otherwise - share your thoughts...

[Sedi]

I don't know - I don't have a crystal ball. I still think that the screen size is a problem and will also be in the future - there's not much room to make the display any bigger. The younger people that grew up without a watch and are already used to using their phone for everything won't be easily convinced to wear a watch, no matter how smart - why should they? I also don't see much improvement in the battery technology in the last years - I wonder if we will really ever see a smartwatch that can run for a year or longer without charging. And as long as I have to recharge it on a regular basis it just isn't for me. I switched from mechanical watches to digitals also because they require much less maintenance.
My ABC watches will still work even when I have no cellphone reception - a smartwatch won't unless you put all the sensors in it that a regular ABC-watch has - in which case it will use even more power. I remember one time when I was hiking with my wife and kid and some friends who also brought their kids and we lost GPS-connection in the woods - I was really happy I wore my PRG-270 that day as I used the compass to get out of the forest (some of the kids already started crying as they were afraid and tired).
And there is also one problem that is not mentioned very often - wearing a computer on your wrist instead of a watch has some consequences - mainly the fact that a computer can "freeze" and there's no way to prevent that. A Casio has everything hard-wired and cannot "freeze". Flexible computing capabilities come at a prize - energy consumption and heat development that cannot really be completely controlled.
Some people thought that quartz watches will be the death of mechanicals and it didn't happen. So I doubt that smartwatches will be the death of regular multi-function quartz watches.
I use my phone for making calls and surfing the web - I wonder how I can type on the 2 inch screen of a smartwatch. I use a watch for all the "time-related" features like timer, alarm and stopwatch - I do use my phone as backup alarm however in case the watch fails to wake me up. That's basically all I need. I don't jog so I don't need HRM, GPS, etc. in my watch. I also need no bluetooth connectivity. I know some people want all that but to me it looks like smartwatches will stay a niché product - maybe cutting into sales of other watches but not eliminating them. Time could prove me wrong of course.

cheers, Sedi

[Sedi]

Ooops - looks like I hit a wrong button somewhere and accidentally closed the thread. And all the time I was wondering why nobody posts in it - d'oh!