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Here’s a look at the earliest version of the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown… from IBM

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xjvVbeUn80&channel=grc15r]

If I told you about a touchscreen smartwatch with a crown-driven interface and a UI based on circles (despite the square display) that can allow you to view your contacts, calendars, and more, you’d probably have a pretty good idea what I was referring to: the upcoming Apple Watch.

But actually, you’d be wrong. I’m really referring to the 2001 WatchPad from IBM, seen in the video above. It seems Apple’s latest creation isn’t nearly as original as they’d hoped.

Maybe IBM should take out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal saying “Welcome, Apple. seriously.”

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Comments

  1. sardonick - 10 years ago

    Not much of anything is original in the tech world, no matter what the lemmings on any front would like to believe. It’s all been done, even if it hasn’t all been seen.

  2. rogifan - 10 years ago

    Wow this comparison is really lame. But I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less from an Apple-hating site like this.

    • samuelsnay - 10 years ago

      I’d be willing to bet you’re going to get banned for saying this.

      Meanwhile, trolls like herb continue to make coming to this site a painful (and FAR less frequent) endeavor.

      • rogifan - 10 years ago

        This “news” item is one big troll. What is being implied here? That Watch is just a ripoff of an IBM product? That Watch UI sucks because it has some round UI elements on a non-round display? I could see a site like BGR posting it, that wouldn’t be surprising at all. But one should expect more from 9to5Mac.

      • rogifan - 10 years ago

        Plus the Watchpad never made it to market and was shuttered after 3 years. Watch will ship and I have a hunch it will still be here 3 years from now.

      • 1sugomac - 10 years ago

        @rogifan “what is being implied here?” From the article: “It seems Apple’s latest creation isn’t nearly as original as they’d hoped.” Try some reading comprehension. It’s not as hard as it sounds.

    • herb02135go - 10 years ago

      Apple hating?
      I’ve never seem a site that was bending over so much for a company.

      • herb02135go - 10 years ago

        Rght, Rogi.
        Three years from now the Apple watch will be available – half-full at K-Mart!

  3. stenar - 10 years ago

    IBM needs to join the 21st Century. That watch looks like it was designed in the ’70s.

  4. philboogie - 10 years ago

    That’s an excellent find Mike Beasley. Plus a very clever way with that old ad. Used in a fun way.

  5. Igor (@curious_on_this) - 10 years ago

    Oh, come on – many interfaces are made with a rotating knob and often also with a circle menu/ display. Who thought Apple invented this lives on a different planet – just have a look at all the car entertainment centers which have been out for years. Success is not defined by the originality of the idea, but the quality and usability of the implementation. Ever was. Ever will be.

  6. TechPeeve (@TechPeeve) - 10 years ago

    funny how all the Apple tarts will jump all over anybody with an interface as ‘copying Apple’, but as soon as you show something like this they ‘freak the fk out’ saying “So WHAT!!, it’s NOTHING”. What a bunch of warts you phags are!!

    • herewegoagain7 - 10 years ago

      Funny, funny. This product never made it to market so who cares? Go troll somewhere else. It’s been scientifically shown that people who engage in trolling are characterized by personality traits that fall in the so-called Dark Tetrad: Machiavellianism (willingness to manipulate and deceive others), narcissism (egotism and self-obsession), psychopathy (the lack of remorse and empathy), and sadism (pleasure in the suffering of others). I hope you get some help, TechPeeve…you probably need it. The fact that you frequent a site of a brand you pose to hate is proof of what I just mentioned.

      • herb02135go - 10 years ago

        F-ing funny.

        What does mindlessly buying any POS with an Apple logo mean?

        Aside from having to continually update your software for the multitude of bug fixes.

    • herb02135go - 10 years ago

      Absolutely right.
      There had been no acknowledgement that Apple’s “new” features have been around on Samsung products.

      Pathetic sheep.

  7. moofer1972 - 10 years ago

    They must’ve done it right with all those millions of Watchpads out there.

  8. Long Le - 10 years ago

    I figured the Apple Watch’s short-glance/long-glance was the company’s original UI contribution to the world, not the crown.

  9. herb02153go - 10 years ago

    Apple Watch should be awesome.

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