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March 24, 2006 12:03 AM

Broken: USB storage watch

Usbwatch Roman Frenkel points out:

I know there are tons of gadgets out there and the concept of having USB storage on your watch isn't bad.

But if you have to carry around the wire in the picture with you at all times, (or even a retractable usb cord) to upload or download data - what's the point? - especially considering the current miniscule size of usb drives these days.

Comments:

1st to post!

Posted by: Joe at March 24, 2006 12:14 AM

By the way, you unplug the cable...duh!

Posted by: Joe at March 24, 2006 12:15 AM

You can unplug it, but it's not as portable...

Posted by: ian at March 24, 2006 12:27 AM

How does unplugging the cable solve the problem of having to carry around the cable? Always make sure your brain is engaged before ending a post with 'duh!'

Posted by: gmangw at March 24, 2006 12:28 AM

What they really need is one that connects over bluetooth.

Posted by: john russell at March 24, 2006 01:40 AM

Somehow I don't think that the watch would be water-resistant, either. :b

Posted by: randilyn at March 24, 2006 02:40 AM

Yeah but not that many machines use Bluetooth, especially most crappy computers like in libraries that you would use for research or something

Posted by: T-1000 at March 24, 2006 02:40 AM

well its Currently Not In Stock anyway.

And I do believe you unplug it befor you ware it.

Posted by: Oldenise at March 24, 2006 08:25 AM

The product has a "gee whiz" value to it, but from an actual usability standpoint, having to remember to bring a USB cable with you isn't very practical.

Posted by: Carlos Gomez at March 24, 2006 08:36 AM

Or, ahem, you could simply have a spare USB cable at work, or wherever you tend to share data. (Like I do for my portable hard drive).

Just a thought.

Posted by: karen at March 24, 2006 08:40 AM

The brokenness is not about the cable being attached to your wrist or not, it's about the inconvenience of having a jump-drive-in-a-watch that needs a cable AT ALL. Jump drives are no bigger than the watch AND they have a built-in USB port, unlike the watch.

This is "form at the expense of function". (Which, for gee-whiz lovers, is OK.)

Posted by: DaveC426913 at March 24, 2006 09:25 AM

I had a boyfriend 6 years ago that had a Timex (I think)that you just had to hold the watch in front of the computer and it would load names, phone numbers, appts, and other stuff directly to the watch. With this watch being not in stock, I think it must be just really old.

Posted by: JAC at March 24, 2006 10:39 AM

Yeah, I don't think the people who say "you can remove the cable" are quite clear on the concept. If you're going to carry around the cable anyway, you might as well carry around a regular USB key, which would actually be less bulky than the cable!

And with all due respect to karen (who proposed having a spare cable on each machine you use), if you only use the drive a small number of machines, do you really need to have it strapped to your wrist all the time?

There are watches on the market with USB storage that have an integrated plug. Seems like a better solution to me, though I've never actually tried one out.

Posted by: E.T. at March 24, 2006 11:39 AM

Having to take your watch off in order to plug it in would be far more broken. This is a gadget, you buy it for fun. You can also get retractable key-chain sized usb cord you know... then you only need to remember your keys.

Posted by: MinkOWar at March 24, 2006 12:37 PM

Also, if you already carry a digital camera, you already have a cord with you.

The watch is also good for long term storage of useful files (Free virus scanner installers, useful applications, pictures or videos you like to show off). You don't have to remember to take a USB drive with you. Combined with the keychain, it's hard to forget.

Posted by: MinkOWar at March 24, 2006 12:53 PM

I had a data watch in the past, and I'm guessing that the advantage over the usb key, is being able to see the data (in my case phone contacts). The down side was with Win2K and higher, you couldn't just flash your upgrade to the monitor anymore - hence the USB cable/connection.

If the data is still visible on the watch's display, I say NOT broken

Posted by: Mark0 at March 24, 2006 01:22 PM

Mark0, I think you're thinking of the wrong type of watch, unless you are responding to other comments, not the original post. If the latter, just ignore this.

Posted by: MinkOWar at March 24, 2006 01:42 PM

Pretty much everyone posting here has assumed you have to carry the cable round with you. A USB to mini-USB is a standard cable you can buy anywhere very cheaply. Get another one, and plug it into the other computer (e.g. if you use the watch to transfer files from work to home, keep one cable plugged into your home computer, and another plugged into your work computer).

For those who complain about that solution on the grounds that some people don't only use flash drives to transfer files between only two computers, they don't have to buy this watch, do they? They're not the ones who this product is aimed at. It's positioned at a particular market and it (probably, I haven't used one) fulfils it well. Not broken.

Posted by: Simon at March 24, 2006 02:53 PM

It is obvius solution to buy extra cable. Keep one @ home and one @ work. Then put one in pocket incase U want to use later on. Very simple. I like to have watch with flash mem like this and it can keep all my MP3. I have dozens. Then I listen all the TIME. (get it, time on watch, hah!) BTW is the watch have battery or is self winder?

Posted by: Abu Singh at March 24, 2006 03:29 PM

ROFLMFAO b/c it has 128MB of storage. Buy an iPod. it tells time, you can synch it w/Outlook for your calendar/contacts, and stores a hell of a lot of data files. I keep installation files for MS Office 2003 on my iPod. And best of all it entertains me with all my music.

Not broken but should be obsolete.

Posted by: Capt. Wafer at March 24, 2006 04:08 PM

Reminds me of the watch with the radio build in. You still had to carry earphones and have them dangling from your watch.

I think I also saw a video watch. The screen was in the watch but you still had to carry the receiver on your waist.

I agree that it is useless when you can carry 1 gig on your keychain with no cord.

Posted by: Dennis at March 24, 2006 04:50 PM

I can't believe there are people here arguing that this product is intelligently designed because you can buy extra cables and/or carry a cable with you. *laugh* Look: it's a watch with data storage. The only possible reason(s) you'd need one are a) to reduce the number of items you have to remember to carry or b) to more stylishly carry your flash device.

In NEITHER event does having to carry a mini-USB cable with you -- retractable or otherwise -- make sense, since it completely obviates point A and minimizes point B (since, if you're carrying something as unstylish as a cable, you might as well carry something as unstylish as a keychain drive.) Buying extra cables and leaving them at the appropriate destinations solves this problem, but increases cost and cable clutter while reducing the number of conditions under which the watch is useful to the number of machines you've pre-equipped with cables.

(And if you're still carrying around a mini-USB cable for your digital camera, I have to ask: why? Buy a machine with an internal card reader, and pop the card out when you need to transfer files. It's faster and less annoying.)

Posted by: Tom Davidson at March 24, 2006 05:28 PM

Here's a thought.

Maybe, like me, you're a forgetful person. You keep forgetting your jump drive at home, and then you don't have your files at work. It's horrible.

So, you buy this watch, and two mini-USB cables. (The connector is a standard connector.) Then, you don't need to carry around a cable, and you can't forget your drive, because it's on your wrist at all times.

Problem solved, all thanks to "broken" technology.

Posted by: Simon at March 25, 2006 12:22 AM

you are all idiots, shut upo

Posted by: jack mehoff at March 25, 2006 10:35 AM

they just want you to buy a mdore portabale wire. also if u use alot of gadgets like digital camaras you should keep a wire on you any ways. not broken

Posted by: confused shoper at March 25, 2006 01:30 PM

they just want you to buy a mdore portabale wire. also if u use alot of gadgets like digital camaras you should keep a wire on you any ways. not broken

Posted by: confused shoper at March 25, 2006 01:30 PM

If you use a digital camera you should buy this baby. No need to tote around an extra USB cable when the camera card converts to a USB drive.

Not broken. They skipped the need for debate b/n IIII or IV. Well played.

confused shoper you better find a better name. maybe "anonymous" or "dumbass" would be more suitable.

Posted by: Confused Shopper at March 25, 2006 03:41 PM

I've seen usb watches in which the cable becomes part of the band when not in use.. that would not be a bad design.. but still.. just get 1 of

these http://www.surpluscomputers.com/store/Main.aspx?p=ItemDetail&item=DRV10475

they come with a carrying sleeve about the size of a credit card you can use to store it in your Wallet or Purse.. also has a adapter with the standard usb connection that has a pocket clip on it but most times you don't need the adapter although it allows you to use the pocket clip and not lose it as much

Posted by: infinity306 at March 25, 2006 11:28 PM

Uh, I forgot to download my porno pictures into the watch to take to work. So having 2 cables doesnt' do any good.

Posted by: Paul at March 26, 2006 04:54 PM

"Maybe, like me, you're a forgetful person. You keep forgetting your jump drive at home, and then you don't have your files at work ... you can't forget your drive, because it's on your wrist at all times.

OK, you didn't forget your drive, you just forgot to load data onto it. Sorry, watch doesn't fix forgetfulness.

Posted by: DaveC426913 at March 27, 2006 09:36 AM

Look at it this way: You should always use an extension cable with your USB drive anyways. Simply bumping the USB drive without an extension can easily bend the USB connection, ruining your drive, and trapping your data. Now, your safety device is built in.

Also, to those people touting the benifits of Watches with the USB built in, did you also notice how ugly those are? This allows a relatively non-ugly watch with your storage gadget.

Things are not broken simply because you would prefer to buy a USB drive instead. Some people would rather not. Evidently, that means it's not marketed to you.

This whole "broken" arguement is like a bunch of guys arguing that tampons are broken, because they are only useful to women.

Posted by: MinkOWar at March 27, 2006 04:21 PM

Reminds me of an very old Saturday Night Live commercial parody with Father Guido Sarducci (remember him?) selling his "Mr. Tea Maker" machines ...

"Its really easy to use! Just put a tea bag in your cup, place the cup in the machine, then pour a cup of hot water in the top of the machine, and turn it on. Wait a couple a minutes and Presto, you got yourself a hot cup of tea! And for only $29.99! Order yours now!"

Actually, I relate this parody at work whenever someone proposes a pointless feature or process. It gets my point across.

While this watch may not be as pointless as the tea maker or even broken, it's definitely obsolete. What's the point in introducing a new product that inferior to what's already standard in the market (keychain USB drives) and probably costs more?

Posted by: h2o at March 28, 2006 11:01 PM

I also wonder whether the drive is truly "microscopic," as is claimed on the website.

Microscopic: Too small to be seen with the unaided eye, but large enough to be studied under a microscope.

Posted by: asdfjkl; at April 9, 2006 07:08 PM

Well, I always have a sub notebook stuck in the back of my coat (in the middle of my back and the coat's fabric) and I wear watches on my left hand so i'd have that USB cable leading up my sleeve into the computer. Then whenever I come close to a wi-fi hotspot my watch automatically synchronizes with the nearest NTP server.

Posted by: Trent Chernecki at April 10, 2006 12:36 AM

Follow-up product (see link)

It's a bit of an upgrade with the USB cord tucked into the watch strap. though you still have to take it off to up/download data.

Posted by: RomanGod at May 10, 2006 12:34 PM

I Just thought all of you should know that there is a watch similar to this with the cable built in with 512MB. Seems like for my husband who has lost two USB portable keys, that the watch might be a good solution. A coworker of mine has it and it's much to big for a woman's wrist. I'm hoping they come out with a smaller female version.

http://cgi.ebay.com/512MB-FLASH-MEMORY-DATA-STORAGE-WATCH-B-I-USB-PEN-DRIVE_W0QQitemZ8812900907QQcategoryZ51074QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

Cheers!

Posted by: michelle at May 19, 2006 12:58 PM

The website for the watch is broken. It says that no software is needed, then offers a link to download the software.

Posted by: Spud at May 25, 2006 02:59 AM

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