Shawn Blanc is dreaming:
>I think the idea of a product like this — a touchscreen watch that plays music and also has phone-like capabilities and an ability to connect to and control our other devices — is a no-brainer.
I see the limited appeal of such a device, but I think it would be a horrible failure. The iPod nano as a watch is poor. The reasons:
1. It is too big.
2. It cannot be operated without looking (yeah, I’ll get to Siri in a moment).
3. Redundant
If you already carry your iPhone in your pocket, what’s the actual benefit to controlling it from an iPod nano? It saves you from pulling out your phone? Your iPhone is likely already in your hand.
Add to this that such a watch would need a loud enough speaker that you could hear the feedback and a directional microphone to cut ambient noise for commands — well I just don’t think it works very well. I don’t think you could create a watch-like device that is more convenient to control the phone that is already in your pocket, than just pulling out your phone to control it.
Besides, the iPhone (in my mind) already has such a controller: bluetooth headsets.
Siri has a place on iPods, but it don’t think using an iPod to control an iPhone when the two are only ~30 inches apart is Siri’s place on iPods. I think Apple would be better served with another go at creating a sleek bluetooth headset, which already can control your iPhone.
Think of it this way, what’s easier: holding a watch close to your mouth to send commands, or just keeping a (tacky) bluetooth headset in your ear?