Wall Street not impressed by Tim Cook’s new timepiece

Tim Cook may be eyeing his watch a little more anxiously after Monday.

Wall Street greeted the super-hyped launch of Apple’s new smartwatch with a collective shrug, despite a showy pitch by CEO Cook, who heralded the gadget as “the most advanced timepiece ever created.”

As a result of the lukewarm response, Apple shares closed nearly flat at $127.14, up 54 cents, after falling to $125.50 after the event closed.

As Cook ticked off the spiffy features of the new watch — which include the ability to make Dick Tracy-style phone calls and monitor your vital signs — analysts yawned that many of the features were already available on other wearable devices.

“We think this is the first time since the iPod that Apple might have introduced a new product category without dramatically raising the technology or capability bar,” Jefferies analyst Sundeep Bajikar wrote in a Monday note to clients.

Bajikar noted that the already-on-the-market Samsung Gear S wearable has a “particularly useful” suite of fitness options, including a pedometer, heart-rate sensor, and location and movement-tracking software.

Not everybody was downbeat on Apple Watch’s prospects as it gears up for a global launch next month. Tech specs aside, the new device promises to become a fashion accessory and even a luxury item, according to Michael Stone of the Beanstalk Group, a New York-based brand consulting firm.

“The Apple name can be accepted into the fashion category,” Stone said. “Dell couldn’t do it and HP couldn’t do it. Apple can do it.”

Stone particularly likes the fact that the Apple Watch can receive texts and updates from social networks like Facebook and Twitter. “This promises to be really convenient,” Stone maintained.

There are also, however, key features that the Apple Watch lacks, including the ability to type texts and emails and browse the Web. That makes the watch significantly less useful than an iPhone, argues Martin McNulty, CEO of marketing firm Forward3D.

Indeed, this is a key problem that has plagued the iPad, which has seen its sales falter over the past year even as demand for the iPhone continues to skyrocket.

“People want devices that do everything, and that’s why the tablet is failing,” McNulty said.

With the Apple Watch, he predicts that “there will be an initial spike in sales — then it will flatten out as people will stop using it.”

A common gripe on Monday was that Cook revealed few new details about the watch, except the price, which ranges from $349 to more than $10,000 for a gold edition. Plenty of unanswered questions linger.

Shenan Reed, president of digital at media agency MEC, wants to know whether it’s possible to get text message alerts without “broadcasting” their contents to a dinner companion.

“I’m not sure I want my text messages coming in on my wrist so people can see them,” Reed said.

Still, she added that she thinks “it’s pretty from a design perspective — and yes, I will probably own one sooner rather than later.”