Apple Watch: get coding?

[Blue Smartie]

Could the new Apple Watch make a referee watch? Probably not in its off the shelf form but if you could design the rugby referee app what features could it have that the current options don't all get into one:

Stopwatch / timer (obviously - count up count down or whatever your pref)
Elapsed / Stopped time warning (a buzz on the wrist to remind me I haven't restarted)
Scorecard
"Siri, red 10 yellow card" - automatically notes time/score and starts a bin counter.
Heart rate / Distance covered

Maybe more fanciful but automatically records if it hears the words "f**k off ref"

Any other thoughts about a wish list for wearables (rather than having a pop at Apple per se)?

 

[Phil E]

I was thinking this earlier after I had a promo from our mobile providers.

As it records heart rate and GPS you would think it would be an ideal ref's watch. Not sure Siri would work, he /she always gets things wrong, but there is a sports version and I wonder how it differs from the ordinary version?

 

[Blue Smartie]

The sports version has an aluminium (rather than steel) case and tougher glass - plus is presumably paired more with the rubberised bands rather than a bracelet.

 

[Mr.Christopher]

As far as I noticed from the presentation, the Apple Watch doesn't, itself, have a GPS. It uses Bluetooth to connect to your iPhone, which has the GPS.

Further... I have to wonder if the apps will live on the watch itself... or if the watch will simply be a way to connect to the phone and leverage the apps running on the phone.

[LAWS]"

Apple Watch unites the capabilities of an all-day fitness tracker and a highly advanced sports watch in one device you can wear all the time. It can track a wider variety of activities because it’s able to collect more types of data. It uses an accelerometer to measure your total body movement. It has a custom sensor that can measure intensity by tracking your heart rate. And it uses the GPS and Wi‑Fi in your iPhone to track how far you’ve moved.​

"[/LAWS] http://www.apple.com/watch/features/

So, from a fitness tracking perspective... it does the heart rate monitor thing, but if you want GPS, you'll need to have your phone on your person...

All in all... it seems like many features require connection with the phone and won't support stand-alone watch usefulness... and at $350 USD (probably $400 canadian), that seems like a very expensive iPhone accessory...

 

[Phil E]

What's the working distance of the bluetooth?

Watch on my wrist.......Phone locked away in my car!

 

[Mr.Christopher]

What's the working distance of the bluetooth?

Watch on my wrist.......Phone locked away in my car!

Google says that bluetooth range, under perfectly ideal conditions, is up to 100m:

Among different bluetooth specifications, there are 2 most popular classes (types) of devices:

• 
  [*=left]Class 1: range up to 100 meters (in most cases 20-30 meters)
  [*=left]Class 2: range up to 30 meters (in most cases 5-10 meters)

Unless you're parked directly next to the pitch, you'd probably we well outside even the most optimistic estimated range.