iPhone

Apps
Watch companies and
other developers continue to
offer useful applications
iPhone
timing
By Sheldon K. Smith
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07.2011 / international watch / www.iwmagazine.com
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Left: A. Lange & Söhne’s app features real-time animations of the Lange Zeitwerk.
Right: The BaselWorld app gives iPhone users a 3-D show guide that also includes a
horological dictionary and company directory.
T
he ubiquity of the mobile phone
has been perceived as a threat to
horology and the mechanical
watch industry. Too many people will
check the time by looking at a miniature
screen that is in everyone’s pocket, according to many observers.
But despite the advance of all sorts
of battery-powered devices to measure
time, there is growing recognition that
the iPhone and other iPhone-like devices
have the capability of being a valuable tool
for the watch connoisseur. The processing power of the iPhone with an Internet
connection allows software developers to
create watch-specific tools and reference
applications that any watch aficionado
would appreciate in his pocket.
Although the watch industry has
been slow to connect with the Internet and
electronically distributed media, watch
industry marketers have realized that
there are over ten million iPhones in the
world. Utilizing Apple’s iTunes software
distribution platform, Jaeger-LeCoultre,
IWC, A. Lange & Söhne and many other
watch companies today tout their iPhone
applications, known more commonly as
“apps.” These typically show the firm’s
entire watch line as well as provide various tidbits about the company and their
watches. Jaeger-LeCoultre, for instance,
includes simple watchmaking and terminology lessons while A. Lange & Söhne’s
app feature real-time animations of their
Lange Zeitwerk. Panerai has an application that provides information about its
watch line, a listing of boutiques, and a
matching game that any member of the
Paneristi would appreciate.
These applications utilize the connectivity and high-resolution touch
screens that are on mobile devices and
animate a watch company’s catalogs by
adding depth, motion, and animation to
otherwise two-dimensional information.
BaselWorld, the yearly watch industry
trade show held in Switzerland, distributes
an app that gives iPhone users a portable
electronic 3-D guide to the show. Rather
than carrying both a mobile phone and
a show guide, BaselWorld attendees this
year were able to lighten their load by just
carrying a phone with the app installed.
For watch aficionados who travel
frequently, the iPhone’s portability and
connectivity make it a 21st century tool
through which one can stay connected
to the watch world through podcasts
and webcasts. Apple’s iTunes personal
computer software allows for free subscriptions to podcasts, which are then
downloaded to the computer and to the
iPhone each time a new podcast is published. Subscribing to podcasts insures
that the watch fan is not too far away
from the discussion.
Three favorites
As a watch collector, I enjoy several currently available podcasts in particular.
For extended listening on Rolex
history, search for “Rolex Magazine”
in iTunes. Two other programs, “Hour
Time” and “What Time is It” are podcasts
published weekly. Hublot also produces
and publishes a twice-monthly television
TV series that is viewable on the iPhone.
Perhaps the best example of an
iPhone supporting the mechanical watch
world is the utilization of iPhone apps
such as Kello and ClockMaster.
These two timing apps illustrate the
potential of the iPhone and to my mind
www.iwmagazine.com / international watch / 07.2011
135
Apps
Timing Links
Search these titles in iTunes for
Podcasts
HourTime Podcasts
What Time is It
Rolex Magazine
Search for these titles in iTunes
Apps
Kello
ClockMaster
Internet Addresses for
these PodCasts
HourTime Podcasts
http://hourtimeshow.com/
What Time is It
http://www.whattimeradio.com/
Rolex Magazine
http://www.rolexmagazine.com/
Internet Addresses for
these Apps Kello:
http://www.coldflower.com/kello/
The Kello user holds near the watch the
iPhone microphone that is included in
phone’s earbud set. He then adjusts the
listening sensitivity via a simple slidebar
rival some of the traditional tools used
by watchmakers. Watch timing requires
precision listening instruments that are
expensive and are not intended to be
portable, yet these two apps do the trick.
For watch collectors attending watch
shows or Get-Togethers, bringing a timing
machine is impractical on many fronts.
Jon Edwards and J. Kurt Schmidt both
recognized the potential of the iPhone as
a watch timing machine and have utilized
the iPhone’s built-in sound processing
features that are native on the device.
What makes the iPhone appealing to
software developers is the consistent hardware platform and processor. Attempting
to develop timing applications requires a
consistent processor and operating system. Platforms such as Windows Mobile
or Android are more difficult to develop
apps for because of the varied hardware
specifications and operating systems used
by the various phone manufacturers.
Kello
Kello, which is Finnish for clock, clearly
demonstrates the potential of bringing
watch-timing tools for the watch enthusiast. Jon Edwards, a watchmaker by
136
ClockMaster
http://clockmasterapp.com/
training and a computer programmer,
developed Kello because existing watch
timing machines have poor touch-screen
interfaces and their cost is prohibitive for
most people. Developing for the iPhone
was a clean slate for Edwards, whose goal
was to have an electronic watch timer that
is as accurate as professional-grade timing
machines but with an elegant interface.
Using the software is straightforward.
The user holds near the watch the iPhone
microphone that is included in phone’s
earbud set. He then adjusts the listening
sensitivity via a simple slidebar, which allows the app to listen to the watch’s beat.
It automatically calculates the rate.
A progress indicator on the main
screen signifies progress towards measurable signal and data from the watch. The
Beats per Minute (BPM) can be adjusted
manually, but Kello automatically selects
it during the data acquisition portion of
the measurement.
Although the app is not quite ready
for regulating a balance within COSC
standards, it does make for an easy, portable watch timing device that is easy to
carry and easy to use and a great conversation piece.
07.2011 / international watch / www.iwmagazine.com
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Apps
Clockmaster can replace
cumbersome clock timers
for clock hobbyists and
antique clock restorers.
ClockMaster
ClockMaster takes a slightly different
application than Kello, but the two are
conceptually similar. Both utilize the
iPhone’s microphone, which is included
in the earbud set. Clockmaster, as the
name suggests, was written to analyze
clock timing. The concept was devised
by J. Kurt Schmidt, but was developed
by Eugene Klein, who has developed
other iPhone oscilloscope applications.
Schmidt said he wanted an iPhone
app because there was only one professional clock-timing device on the market
that utilized an external microphone and
a personal computer. Similar to Jon Edwards’ experience, carrying clock timers
is cumbersome and expensive for clock
hobbyists and antique clock restorers. Although Clockmaster utilizes the
same iPhone headset microphone as Kello, this app looks much more like a clock
and also utilizes a clock-like wood grain
application skin. Like Kello, ClockMaster has a calibration function to adjust
the microphone sensitivity. Since clock
movements have a slower and louder
beat, ClockMaster is easier to adjust.
There is also a ClockMaster Pro version
that allows the user to save the timing
data files on the PC for further review
and examination.
Accuracy
For both of these applications to accurately read rates they require settings with
little ambient noise (though ClockMaster
did work fine in a field test at a NAWCC
watch and clock event.) But while these
applications are not as accurate as electronic quartz timing machines, they do
provide a general idea whether a watch or
clock is running fast or slow.
Edwards notes that despite the hard-
But while these applications are not as accurate as electronic quartz timing machines,
they do help you determine whether a watch
or clock is running fast or slow.
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07.2011 / international watch / www.iwmagazine.com
ware consistency, the processor is not yet
quite at the required level of precision. Apple Computer is one of the biggest driving
forces for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and is a rapidly developing area for precise timing solutions that is
beginning to rival quartz oscillators. The
dual-core A5 processor Apple uses in its
iPad2—and rumored to be in the iPhone
5—is another leap towards a computer
processor that rivals quartz-timing solutions. Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is
another iPhone feature Edwards utilizes
in the Kello app that helps make the timing measurement more precise.
Yes, despite the technical shortcomings of the iPhone for these timing applications, Kello and ClockMaster feature
several practical advantages. Also, one
of the many qualities that bring people
to mechanical watches is their elegant
combination micro engineering and aesthetics. This same functional elegance
is what draws people to the iPhone. As
new media combines the traditional aspects of watchmaking and the efficiency
of computers, we’ll likely continue to see
watch aficionados carrying a mechanical
marvel on their wrist and a 21st century
tool in their pocket.
C