How would a SailfishOS wearable look to you?

answered 2014-10-21 04:40:06 +0300

Toxip
3363 ●39 ●61 ●56

updated 2014-11-19 22:45:51 +0300

SailfishOS could work really well on a smartwatch thanks to its gesture based navigation and light weight.

The smartwatch should give the user at-a-glance information and that's what the homescreen is able to deliver but the wearable version of the OS should not try to mimic the smartphone experience.

The SailfishOS smartwatch should be like a companion for your smartphone. It would show and open the equivalent companion apps for the apps you open on SailfishOS smartphone. For example if you're looking for bus routes, it would show the app cover on your smartwatch automatically and when you put your phone back to your pocket, you can see the next stop or the next transport you need to hop on. This would make the experience seamless.

The smartwatch could function on its own, but when tethered to a SailfishOS smartphone, it would become an extension of your smartphone.

Here's a quick mockup I made with Balsamiq. Sailfish on a smartwatch could look something like this:

answered 2014-04-10 21:29:03 +0300

mariano
286 ●3 ●5 ●9

You can say i like retro stuff

answered 2014-04-10 22:54:16 +0300

Wizah
6983 ●97 ●125 ●121

Would be something really simple like Suunto watches. I also don't want to recharge my watch all the time because I don't remove it even while sleeping :)

answered 2014-04-10 22:35:52 +0300

ApB
27604 ●302 ●421 ●409

If it is supposed to work complementary to a phone then we have done something really really wrong with the design of our phones.

Yes i am not yet convinced that wearables are the "future" and i believe this craze will somehow fade away until the technology is there. With what is currently available i don't believe that we can have something really groundbreaking and useful.

As a standalone device -and assuming the tech is there- it should be able to do what your phone/pc (those have converged and will continue to do so) does. Communicate (voice, camera), be able to provide you with all the info you need, entertain you, and more importantly NOT GET IN YOUR WAY.

The way i imagine it -we are talking future tech here- is something like the violently ugly mockup bellow. A small band around your wrist with a small screen for the basic stuff and a retractable screen for when you need more real estate. Battery life for days. No need for huge storage. Just all the connectivity you need to be connected with your private cloud all the time (this is PC everywhere era remember).

Things like google glass make you look like an idiot (prime example -> http://laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130502-10090613-6.jpg and more of it http://whitemenwearinggoogleglass.tumblr.com/ ) and also having things hanging from your ear (headsets) are equally horrid.

As i said the tech for something like that is not there yet. Anything else will more likely end up in a drawer as soon as the novelty wears off.

answered 2014-04-12 15:08:21 +0300

ossi1967
15990 ●198 ●253 ●259

I'd certainly not want a watch type of thing. The thought of having anything touch my skin makes me feel the sweet building up beneath it on a hot summer day here in the city. :( I'd leave it at home more often than not.

Wearable could also mean that you clip something onto your clothes (your sleeves, key ring, the inner pocket of a jacket,...) or alternatively onto something you already wear around your wrist right now (which could be anything from your leather wrist cuff to your Hello Kitty watch).

What should it do? The poor display and the lack of proper text input are my main concern. I'd expect it to be a source of information, some type of window that I can move around a scene of multitasking applications. Nothing fancy, just time, RSS-headlines, weather, traffic info, calendar events, mail notifications...

I'd also expect there'd be a mode that circles through the most interesting sources of information which I have previously selected. In this mode, personalisation would be key: Certain items (like time) I would want to be shown for a few moments, then be replaced be the next ones. Others (like mail notifications) I'd prefer to stay on the screen until I tap to confirm I've seen them. For some RSS-feeds, all unread items should be part of the circle. For others, I want to see only items updated during the last 2 hours or so. Etc.

The wearable gadget must act as an audio player, of course. The size of the display may not be ideal for video playback, but still... watching the live stream with news from my local TV station in low quality is better than nothing.

It should also interact with a main phone, but must not depend on it for proper operation. So you'd mute and reject calls (or redirect to the wearable device for awkward social situations), read text messages etc on the wearable device. Applications that run on the phone may also "drop" information to the wearable device that allows me to consume them when the phone's not in reach. Like: An application on the phone informs me in real time about various data from my city's public transport system. No matter where I am, all I really need is departure information from two underground stations. So I select these snippets of information on the phone, "drop" them to the wearable device... and will be informed about those two stations whenever I swipe to the corresponding frame, even if my phone's at home and turned off.

The device should be a versatile remote control and use various channels for that: bluetooth, wifi and yes, infrared.

answered 2014-04-10 21:33:17 +0300

arjwright
3038 ●20 ●30 ●36

http://antoinerjwright.co...

updated 2014-04-15 19:03:52 +0300

It would look like the Nokia Luna.

No screen. User configurable web services. Kinetic charging.

EDIT #1: hehehe, no responses to this. Let's expand a bit.

EDIT #2: expanded on the kinetic/motion charging idea

The ideal wearable doesn't need a smartphone or an other device to be its parent. It has to be able to perform all the functions of on-demand and context-aware computing while also supplanting functions that mobiles do which they are a kludge at.

Since SailfishOS is a an operating system first, it should espouse to work with any open web services. Therefore, the wearable can pull a "use any one or a combination of web services" in order to serve the wearer (not consumer, wearer). Once those services are configured, then the wearable only needs to live in its shell when its charging, or when its driving another screen. The Nokia Luna, being a 2-part device fits this well.

• The ear piece is the main unit having the voice recognition and biometrics components within it
• (see the newly added image) the cradle would be something that could either be wirelessly charged, or attached to a screen so that voice prompts with the ear piece have a visual focus
• additional cradle laynard would have the kinetic/in-motion charging as described below

I don't miss on the idea of kinetic charging because we also know that the ear is one of the better places to do things like stay out of sight, get vitals, and even be responsive. Using the body-movement factor as a means to push the right wearable cases.

• The straightforward design case for this is that the cradle/layard piece would be an item that either looks like a piece of jewelry (a trinket on a purse or something on one's keychain); making it pocketable and still beautiful enough to be put on a desk, countertop, etc.
• Tying the ability for the device to stay functional by having this motion-added feature allows for contexts where its not simply being connected that matters, but being in motion on the way to/from a connected experience
• We know from watches that something like this is possible, but also in recent research that we aren't able to harvest enough energy from motion to make this work efficiently - so some R&D needs to be pushed here
• Original thoughts on kinetic charging accessories, refined thoughts on kinetic charging accessories

If SailfishOS wants to swim... let's make our own currents.

answered 2014-10-21 13:04:39 +0300

r0kk3rz
10112 ●108 ●186 ●181

Smartwatch style functionality is already baked into SailfishOS via the app covers and cover actions functionality.

Swipe up and down to cycle through open apps, swipe left and right for cover actions.

answered 2014-04-10 21:49:10 +0300

Slavov Welsinksi
966 ●13 ●19 ●25

The technology to make this happen is finally here.

answered 2014-04-10 21:18:13 +0300

Yaniel
910 ●23 ●29 ●33

updated 2014-04-10 21:19:19 +0300

I could imagine using it as a generic remote for things and for notifications. Sysadmins might like to wire it up to show system/network stats.

Also as a pseeudo-remote NFC tag: NFC for authenticating etc is nice but you have to make contact, ask for user approval and make contact again (or hold contact long enough but this can be tricky for the user) to confirm/authenticate/whatever. A smartwatch could make this easier: make contact with one device -> another (securely paired) asks for approval and submits the result to the first one which proceeds with whatever it asked about.

With 4gb storage I guess it would also be a viable alternative for a USB stick, with the bonus of additional features being easy to implement (encryption for example: it can even be completely transparent to other devices, locking and unlocking done via the touchscreen)

Other than as an indicator, sensor (- base station) or a simple remote I find the watch format a bit problematic from a user perspective. Touchscreen gestures sure do help there but the screen is really small and it kind of ties your hands together since one is wearing it and you need to use the other one to operate it.

answered 2014-04-10 21:19:43 +0300

sevanteri
36 ●1 ●3 ●9

Multitasking has been really important for me always (N810, N900, N9, Jolla). I have to say that I would want multitasking in my smartwatch too, despite the small display. So cover actions should be there too of course. But as it would be a small display, maybe the visible cover count should be limited say, to 4. Covers actions of course too. And tapping the cover would open the app in full screen as you'd expect.

The size of the cover would change dynamically. One app open: cover is full screen. Two apps open: covers would be side by side or one above the other (changeable somehow?). Three apps open: two apps side by side and one below/above them. Four apps open: all covers the same size.

Maybe these groups of covers could be paged? Like swiping from left and right would change the cover group (something I'd like to see in the phone too) as changing the ambience might not be as important in a watch.

Pushing up would show the app list just like in the phone. A lock screen might not be so important.

Otherwise than the side swipe in home screen, the swipes would work just as the phone's. Up to down closes the app and shutsdown the screen. Side swipes let you peek and hide the app. Down to up would show notifications.

Maybe a bit too obvious ideas. Just stuff you'd expect from SailfishOS anyway. :)