Gadget Report
Texans aren't impressed with new Apple Watch if you believe Twitter
The highly anticipated Apple Watch has finally arrived, but it's receiving mixed reviews from buyers and potential ones — especially in Texas.
A study from data mining website CrowdFlower found that just 37 percent of Texas consumers "love the new gadget," falling well below the national average of 55 percent. To conduct the study, the site analyzed more than 30,000 individual tweets about the Apple Watch since its launch on April 24.
Apple's home state of California tweeted about the new watch more frequently than any other in the country. Those residents also had the most positive opinions: 59 percent were pleased by it.
In other findings, women are more excited about the watch than men: 64 percent of females expressed positive feelings toward the gadget, while only 53 percent of men gave it an overall approval rating. These percentages have dropped since the watch was first announced, when almost 74 percent of women and more than 56 percent of men were excited and intended to purchase it.
Those who expressed negative feelings about the features of the Apple Watch most often cited app bugs (22 percent of the time), technical performance (15 percent) and overall design (14 percent).
One of the problems that has garnered significant media attention is the fact that some wrist tattoos interfere with the watch's functioning, specifically with monitoring heart rate. Following numerous reports from users experiencing problems with the new gadget, Apple updated its support page for the watch with a statement:
Permanent or temporary changes to your skin, such as some tattoos, can also impact heart rate sensor performance. The ink, pattern and saturation of some tattoos can block light from the sensor, making it difficult to get reliable readings.
Apple says the easiest way to fix the problem is to use an external Bluetooth monitor worn on the chest to track heart rate.
The watch ranges from $349 for the sport model to $12,000 for a gold-plated model.