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Up close and personal with the Apple Watch

Apple announced its first jump into the wearable market, showing off a prototype of the Apple Watch, which the company plans to release early next year.

The watch will start at $349 for the base model, which is already more expensive than any of the smartwatches introduced by its archrival Samsung. But Apple is planning three lines of watches - a base model, a water-resistant model for fitness enthusiasts and the high-end "edition" type, which will have a casing made of 18K gold. The customization doesn't stop there; Apple also showed off many wristband options for its watch, giving consumers choices between metal, leather and fluoroelastomer, a special kind of rubber.

With the launch still several months away, Apple wasn't letting folks touch the full, working prototypes at the unveiling; only Apple employees got to touch the watches with working buttons.

I did get to try on one of the larger watches, which measure 42 mm in length. It was light and comfortable, despite being a bit big for my wrist. Apple is also releasing a 38 mm watch for daintier wrists. The watch Apple's representative let me try on had a modified leather band, which closed with magnets. It was about the same weight as my current, analog watch.

When it came to software, Apple was clearly showing off a prototype. The device the Apple representative showed me, for example, hit some serious lag when it tried to display an entire account's worth of photos.

Still, the Apple Watch has promise. The device is controlled by a knob on the side - exactly the kind you would use to adjust a traditional watch - that can be used to scroll, zoom and navigate through menus without having to obstruct the screen with your hand. Since I didn't get to actually touch the dial, which Apple calls a "digital crown," I can't speak to how smoothly it turned. But apart from the photo demo, things seemed to flow pretty smoothly.

Is it worth buying? There are some significant points against the Apple Watch, even apart from its high price. The watch requires an iPhone to use - enabling it to display notifications, run apps and track health data - which limits Apple's market somewhat. And while Apple has designed some good-looking software, many may still see the square-faced watch as too bulky for a fashion item. Finally, while the watch is a neat companion to the phone, Apple has yet to reveal any killer features - largely it acts as a fitness tracker and second screen for the smartphone, though the watch will have the same mobile payment features as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted that there were many more features of the Apple Watch that he did not explain in detail, such as integration with Apple's set-top box, the Apple TV. For now, the jury should still be out on the Apple Watch, but Apple has provided an intriguing first glimpse at a long-awaited product.

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