Interesting Highlights of Moto 360 Live Talk: 'we wanted to hit that Whoa! mark'

[dgstorm]

In case there are any of our readers out there who didn't catch the Moto 360 live broadcast (or the YouTube video recording), we thought it prudent to share a few quotes with interesting tidbits regarding the device. We have several comments from Jim Wicks, a designer on the Moto 360 project.

"We're going after mass appeal by making design decisions around round. From a comfort perspective, we're allowing ourselves to get maximum reach, from small wrists all the way to large wrists."

He added,

"Our system design for ACTV is what allowed us to run it with a very small battery; and what we invented there went into the Moto X (with Active Display, touchless control and sensor integration). And a lot of the stuff you saw in the Moto X...ended up going into this watch."

Wicks also said,

"We don't want to make consumers change for this tech. We want to make this tech map to them. With a square concept you might say 'that's interesting,' but you don't hit that 'Whoa!' mark. We wanted to hit that Whoa! mark."

That last part is definitely worth taking note of. Most of us here at HQ were pretty impressed by the aesthetics of the Moto 360. It's a gorgeous device, and has some of us thinking about wearing a watch again, even though we ditched them years ago. What do you think of the above image? Does it hit that "Whoa! mark" for you?

 

[ffarl]

Whoa. That's WAY nicer looking than I was expecting!

 

[johnomaz]

I love the look of the device but I'm still struggling with finding a need or even a want for the device other than I'm a techy and it looks cool. The battery life is too low for a watch. I can go and get a beautiful watch for the same price that will either run for years or self wind itself and never run out of battery life. I've never been much of a self conscious person but I don't want to talk into my watch for the most basic of things. Also, thats what I have that $700 smartphone in my pocket for. A device that is nothing more than a basic extension of your existing smartphone isn't worth it to me. All I imagine myself doing is using the watch for something and then ultimately getting my phone out because what I want to do requires more than a few voice commands or a larger screen than the watch to get the info I need.

 

[DougDroid]

I wasn't a big fan of the previous watches, but this one has me thinking.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

I will be first in line to buy this.

 

[akhenax]

I will be first in line to buy this.

Then I will be the second. :happy3:

Seriously, this watch does have that whoa factor. It's a watch, for all it's looks and tech. When I look at it, I see a time piece. The other stuff it does, is just icing on the cake. I don't see any compromises with this watch, like I saw with other smartwatches, including the Pebble.

 

[B-Unit]

Place me in the camp of 'If I thought I had a use for a smart watch, this would be the smart watch for me.' But I am yet unsold on the smart watch concept.

 

[cereal killer]

Beautiful Smartwatch indeed. If I were to buy one, this would be the one I'd get. I'm really impressed with it.

 

[thc1967]

I definitely want one. But I won't pay anything close to $500 for one. If I'm springing that much cash, it's going to be for a nice classic watch like a Movado. Price it at $100-$150 and I'm in.

 

[Batman8]

No "Whoa" for me! As an owner of the Galaxy Gear I prefer a square smart watch much more than a round one. If it takes picture, they will all have round edges. If it reads messages, all of them would be cut off by round edges. Even thinking of pulling down a notification bar from a round watch doesn't seem right to me.

I will surely pass on this one.

 

[Dusty]

No "Whoa" for me! As an owner of the Galaxy Gear I prefer a square smart watch much more than a round one. If it takes picture, they will all have round edges. If it reads messages, all of them would be cut off by round edges. Even thinking of pulling down a notification bar from a round watch doesn't seem right to me.

I will surely pass on this one.

It comes in square face too.

Check out the SDK interfaces and short demos online before you judge, tho.
It's waaaaaay waaaaaaaay better than the Gear interface IMHO.

 

[akhenax]

I miss Motorola being a Google company. :frown:

 

[StupidGenius]

I miss Motorola being a Google company. :frown:

Well technically it still is, but I know what you mean.

Hopefully, when the sale does complete, Lenovo will basically leave Motorola alone so they can continue on their current path.

 

[jroc]

No "Whoa" for me! As an owner of the Galaxy Gear I prefer a square smart watch much more than a round one. If it takes picture, they will all have round edges. If it reads messages, all of them would be cut off by round edges. Even thinking of pulling down a notification bar from a round watch doesn't seem right to me.

I will surely pass on this one.

It comes in square face too.

Check out the SDK interfaces and short demos online before you judge, tho.
It's waaaaaay waaaaaaaay better than the Gear interface IMHO.

Also.....Android went scalable with apps being able to scale based on screen size and resolution. I'm pretty sure they figured how to make this work with a small, round face. And I dont think it can take pictures. Someone said it best...most of the current smart watches look kinda like the old school calculator watches...this Moto 360 is needed. Something different. And I swore off digital and square watches years ago. This style fits me more. Reminds me of an old Pulsar I had years ago.