Yay. It’s a watch. Yay. This is where I tell you I’ve had an Apple Watch for a week and it’s been a life changing event, yadda yadda. Let’s skip the intro.

It’s a watch. I use it mostly as a thermometer and activity affirmation device. When I look at my watch to do something, not because it’s tapped me, it’s usually to see if it’s warm enough to go outside without a jacket. Other times it’s see see how full my activity circles are.

When the watch taps me to get my attention it’s usually to tell me to stand up. Now, I say that’s the normal reason, but honestly, I’m surprised how little it has to remind me of that. Apparently I stand up a lot anyway, even when I’m in a job that I could be a code potato all day. So a couple of times a day the watch tells me it’s time for a break. Honestly, the break better than any of the activity benefits. I don’t have much trouble ‘breaking flow’ or getting back into things after a break. In fact, I need breaks to give my subconscious time to work through problems.

The other times the watch taps me are mostly with sports alerts. Bleacher Report is pretty good at filtering out stuff I’m interested in. It kept me up to date on the Blackhawks/Ducks game over the weekend while I was driving and told me about the Bruins terrible decision to elevate Don Sweeny to GM rather than stealing Mike Babcock from Detroit(1).

Beyond that, I’ve removed most of the glances that were installed with all of the other apps I run on my phone. I use the Yahoo Weather glance, Remote and MacID (more on that in a bit). Anything else is just there getting in the way. I’m not opposed to glances, but the majority that I’ve seen don’t deliver enough utility to justify their place on my wrist.

MacID now… this is slick. Basically it’s an app that will unlock your Mac for you if your phone is in bluetooth range. There’s more fiddly bits with it, but my main use is to unlock my phone after a stand break. I usually walk a bit during those breaks, look out the windows at eagles and such. When I get back to my desk, and sit down the watch has tapped me and I press a button to unlock it. Slick. In a similar vein the Duo Two-Factor Auth app is slick as well. I log into a fair number of secure sites in the course of the day, rather than fumbling with my phone to provide the second factor I just hit a button on my watch.

I’ve come to think of the watch as a latter day Casio Calculator watch. I’ve got a hang-up about presenting the trappings of a geek. I hate people who hang their tech on their belts like some Apple (or more frequently Android) infused Mall Cop. I got the 38mm Apple Watch thinking it would be less obtrusive as a geek badge. It’s not. Jony Ive went to a lot of trouble trying to convince you how stylish these watches are. They aren’t. They’re Lilliputian first generation iPhones that fit on your wrist. Why people would buy even the stainless steal version of this as a fashion statement flabbergasts me.

The great

* Apple Watch reduces notification bleep and buzz to a tap. Triple plus good.
* Two-Factor Auth that is easy. Double plus good.
* Apple watch keeps me up to date on hockey with a glance.
* I can see the temperature without pulling my phone and waiting for Dark Sky.
* I’m reminded to take a break every hour.
* I get activity metrics at a glance.

The Not Great

* It looks like a geek badge.
* There aren’t platform defining apps yet.
* Apps that do exist mostly don’t do the right thing at the right time.
* Turn by turn directions don’t hand off to the phone when it’s connected to your car stereo system. Looking at your tiny watch is worse than listening to Siri on your stereo.

(1) Yes, I know Mike Babcock is a coach, but there was talk that he wanted to be a hybrid GM/Coach. In my opinion Boston should have done that (sorry Claude) and kicked Cam to the curb.