So, you've decided to take the plunge into the world of wearables with Apple's first smartwatch, the Apple Watch.
It's an investment, right? The cheapest model, the Apple Watch Sport, starts at $499; the most opulent model in the Edition range, in 18 carat gold, is an ostentatious $24,000.
Before you fork over your cash, you might want to think hard about what you're paying for.
Tech repair site iFixit is fond of doing "teardowns" of electronics products — in other words, ripping them apart with a pair of tweezers to see what's going on inside, offering a self-repair guide for tech-savvy readers.
They did this with the Apple Watch and discovered that, while the wrist band, screen and battery were relatively easy to remove, every other component was "essentially impossible" to remove without wrecking the device.
And since screens and batteries for the device aren't exactly being sold separately, your avenues for repair if anything goes awry are restricted to Apple and its official repair affiliates. Unsurprisingly, a repair doesn't come cheap, as one unlucky Apple Watch owner claims to have already discovered.
Despite the super-tough glass exterior, some Apple watchers were already concerned about how vulnerable the watch's exposed glass face would be to breakages.
Every Apple device comes with a limited warranty, but that basic warranty doesn't cover "accidental breakage". So if you want to be insured against accidentally dropping the thing, like Mr Lecomte, you'll have to pay for the premium warranty service, AppleCare+.
For the Watch Sport (the least expensive range), that will cost you $79 and cover you for two accidental breakages over two years, but you'll be paying a $99 fee per service.
That's not so bad, but without the premium warranty the repair is $329 (for Mr Lecomte, or anyone else in the United States, it's $US229). For a $499 watch.
AppleCare+ cover and premiums go up along with the watch price.
For the standard Apple Watch range, which starts at $799, AppleCare+ is $109 with a $119 service fee. If you don't get the warranty, or the warranty expires, it's $479.
Finally, the Edition range, which starts at — *cough* — $17,000, AppleCare+ is a hefty $2300 for two years, plus a $1500 service fee. That's $3800 all up. Yup.
Out of warranty? It's a $4099 service fee.
So how easy is it to break the Apple Watch? Many online stress tests appear to show the device as being extraordinarily hardy, although others indicate an unfortunate drop can shatter the screen. In the test below from CNET, the watch puts up with washing, boiling, grating, dropping and stomping, but finally breaks when hit square with an iron skillet.
While some Google+ users doubted Mr Lecomte's claims that his watch simply slipped off when he pulled his hand out of his pocket, elsewhere on the web people have expressed concern over the "slippery" wrist band on the sport model.
I can verify the "fluoroelastomer" band is not ideal. I tried this band on in an Apple store and I must admit I felt it rather tricky to get on. I think accidentally dropping it on a path is potentially within the realms of everyday use.
