I work for a school that has dual-credit courses. The students go to the local community college for those classes. These are not required classes, and the student has to pay for the class and provide their own transportation to the college.
I don't know if I would call it essential, but it is very nice. When I was debating to purchase one, the main argument was I don't wear a watch, and I generally don't like anything on my wrist or hands. The only time I'd wear a watch is camping, since I generally don't have a phone that is powered on on camping trips. This particular watch also has a barometer to help with rapidly changing weather.
I bought a Pebble, and wear it everyday. I don't miss much of anything anymore from my phone. Sometimes I'd put my phone down somewhere and forget it for a couple of hours, or not feel it when I'd vibrate in my pocket. One of the other reasons I didn't really wear a watch is I'd get bored of the watch face and want to purchase another watch. I can change watch faces easily now.
Completely lapsed and left that out. Support is very cavalier. If you submit a web ticket, it can be days before they even look at it. A lot of problems are just brushed off, you're given a curt "its not a problem with our software" and that is that. I understand they are at the mercy of the device vendor when it comes to certain things, for example Apple cutting off device tracking of WiFi-only iPads.
I really dislike the blackbox aspect of AirWatch itself. You prep the servers, but they perform the install and the updates. You have to pay for updates out of a bank of paid hours. For example, you want to go from 5.5 to 5.6. If it takes an hour and a half, it is taken out of your bank. You also pay for every device you have checked into AirWatch. It just reeks of double-charging. You don't get charged if you have a problem stemming from a bug.
I install and maintain much more complicated software. I'd really rather they give me the update and if it goes awry then I'd call support. It runs on Windows server, it isn't rocket science.
The initial install support and training was sub-par, too. The same engineer that performs the install also gives you a basic rundown on the console. Very quick, and sometimes the best technical people shouldn't also train people on its usage.
That all being said, I have about 1200 devices in AirWatch. More or less I am the only person for the deployment and maintenance of these devices. I have very little complaints about the use of AirWatch, my job would be a lot more difficult without it.
You really shouldn't trust them, especially on cars. They gave different reliability ratings to brand engineered cars built in the same plant with the same parts.
You can't take a unlocked GSM phone onto Verizon or Sprint. You can't take a Verizon phone onto Sprint. You can't take a Sprint phone onto Verizon.
The only carrier you can choose with GSM is T-Mobile. But wait, they use the 1900MHz 3G band, so if you've got a phone that doesn't use that band, you're stuck with EDGE data.
LTE won't change this, they've chosen different bands.
What else is your roof doing during the day if it is not raining? In the hotter areas of the US, covering your roof in solar panels not only generates electricity, but reduces attic temps and the need for A/C.
That sounds frightening to me. A bunch of people getting into the education market just because its the next big money maker is wrong. I deal with current education software on a daily basis. A large percentage of that is made or owned by Pearson as one example. The amount of money charged for something that is just terrible in every facet is sickening.
What really makes Cherry that special that it needed or received funding? There have been mobile detail services for years already. Was it the "startup" label?
Plus, we really don't need more wasteful services. No way to collect and recycle the waste water for example. Car washes are just ugly wastes of a resource we don't have enough of.