Here's What Else You Could Buy For The Price Of An Apple iWatch
Apple employees operate under a policy of secrecy so severe it makes even the most furtive of NSA agents seem like loose-lipped blabbermouths. So although everyone with even the vaguest interest in tech is talking about the semi-mythical iWatch just now, we don't know for sure what it will look like, which neat tricks it will perform and how much it will cost.
That hasn't stopped people speculating, however. Now another tentative answer to one of these questions has emerged, following a report in Re/Code which suggested the iWatch is set to come in at a price of $400. Apple sources also told the website that there are likely to be different models at varying prices, so that people can opt to buy more memory or pay for other options.
That seems pretty expensive, right? Especially when you consider the price of Samsung's Gear 2 Silver smartwatch, which costs about $300, or consider an Android-powered watch, which are priced at about $200.
All of which got me wondering: what else could you buy for the same price as an iWatch?
Six Months Of Gym Membership
According to CNBC, the average price of a gym membership is between $40 and $50 a month, although most fitness centers also whack on a sign-up fee. The iWatch is expected to come with all manner of health-related apps which will allow users to track their activity levels - or lack of activity levels, if necessary - and other vital statistics. But surely spending six months at a gym is going to be more healthy than buying an expensive piece of wearable tech? Spend $400 and you'll get at least six months of membership and perhaps have a few dollars left for a few post-workout McDonalds meals, although that might be missing the point a bit.
A 160 Mile Cab Journey Through New York City
Some Apple watchers have suggested the iWatch will offer sophisticated additions to Apple Maps. Bruce Tognazzini, a former Apple employee, wrote a blog post claiming that 'crowdsourced pressure data from the watch could enable Apple to fix the 3D view in its Maps app'. Not a bad move on Apple's part, especially considering that its map app once steered drivers onto an airport runway. Why take the risk of driving yourself when you can get an NYC cab for $2.50 a mile, according to TaxiFareFinder?
A Genuine Swiss Watch
One thing we can guarantee the iWatch will do is tell the time. Otherwise it wouldn't be a watch. Sadly, $400 isn't going to get you a Tag Heuer, which don't come much cheaper than $1000. But spend $150 and you can buy one of Swatch's new SISTEM51 timepieces, which wind themselves up and also allow the owner to peak at the inner workings as they tick. For the price of an Apple watch, you can almost afford two of Swatches' top of the range products. By the by, the Swiss watchmaker is also said to be planning its own smartwatch in a bid to get a piece of this $93 billion sector.
10 Raspberry Pi Computers
I'm British, so I'm always going to recommend you buy a Raspberry Pi over pretty much anything, even though its performance is left in the dust by even the most basic of smartphones. Still, you can get 10 for the same price as an iWatch. Imagine the fun you can have programming a squad of these flexible machines, if only you can figure out how to work the damned things. Amazon sells them for $40 a piece.
Four Arduino Starter Kits
Apple has been criticized for failing to unveil a new product range throughout the whole reign of Tim Cook. So why wait? Buy four Arduino starter kits at $90 each and you can design your own exciting range of new products and have a few bucks change left to put towards funding a patent application.
A Real Personal Assistant
I've never actually met anyone who uses Siri, Apple's virtual assistant. Yet the iWatch is expected to put Siri in pole position, allowing users to bark orders into their wrist to open apps and perform various hands-free tasks. Of course, the one thing Siri is never going to do is any actual work, so why not hire a real personal assistant?
According to this Business Insider post, it costs about $9 an hour to employ a crowdsourced personal assistant at MobileWorks. What that means is that a number of people do your work for you, so instead of typing out that boring report you can get on with doing something more rewarding. According to its own pricing scheme (which can also be customized upon request), a crowdsourced MobileWorks super assistant costs $900 a month for 40 hours work, so with a bit of haggling I'm sure you could get between 20 and 40 hours of work done instead of spending your money on an iWatch. Which do you think would make your boss happier?
An iPhone
Dare we suggest that everything the iWatch can do, the iPhone can probably do already? Buying one 16gb iPhone 5S would cost $200, although carrier fees would come on top of that. A full unlocked phone is substantially more, starting at about $649. You could also buy two much cheaper iPhone 5Cs, which start at $99 plus carrier charges. But who wants one of them, let alone two?
To get in touch tweet me at @jasperhamill
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