Global Networks: smartwatch

Showing posts with label smartwatch. Show all posts

4:40 pm

Would You Buy A Rugged Case Kit For The Apple Watch?

(GNN) - Of all the complications that will worry the outer rim of Apple Watch buyers’ minds, the question of whether they need to purchase a case to protectively encase their expensive wrist-wear is perhaps the most frivolous.

On the surface it sounds ludicrous.

Who keeps a watch inside a case when it’s attached to their person? And yet the Apple Watch is really a very small wrist computer, with a price-tag that ranges right up to the luxury end of the market. To $10,000, or even $17,000.

It’s also intended as a multipurpose device, with fitness tracking functionality rubbing up against notifications and comms, with some ostentatious bling thrown in (at least if you’re shelling out for 18-karat gold). So it’s supposed to track you when you sweat through a half marathon and then remain on your wrist during that fancy dinner. Same device, different aspects.

Add to that, given that keeping your smartphone in a protective case is well-established behavior, the notion of similarly encasing a smartwatch is only really a small step away.

And so enter device case-maker, Lunatik, with a plan to build and sell ruggedized cases for the Apple Watch. It’s been working on this accessory since Apple officially unveiled its smartwatch last fall, using a mechanism previously patented for encasing the iPod Nano when worn on the wrist. The metal case is being designed to protect without limiting access to the various controls and sensors on the watch.

The forthcoming Epik Apple Watch Kit is only in prototype form at this point (with the latest samples pictured pictured below) — the team is aiming for a shipping timeframe of three months after the Apple Watch itself comes to market at the end of April, so circa summer.

Lunatik founder Scott Wilson says the intention is to test the market for this Apple Watch accessory, via a crowdfunding campaign. So it’s ready to admit it might have misjudged the madness of the moment.

And quite possibly it has.

But if someone is crazy enough to spend $15,000 on a smartwatch, what’s another $99 to $149 on a ruggedized case-plus-strap combo which promises to keep a few scratches off your investment?

“Wearable technology is most relevant in situations where a phone interaction is not accessible or ideal. Sport, fitness and extreme conditions are a few of these occasions,” argues Wilson. “They also require more physically enhanced and purpose-built design to endure these extreme conditions.”

The aluminum Epik face case will apparently include hydrophobic vents for “an added layer of dust and water ingress protection”. It will also come with a custom plastic band strap, so you can leave your fancy leather/linked Apple Watch band at home when you hit the trail.

Wilson also talks up the personalization angle as a selling point for third party Apple Watch cases — given that wearable tech can’t help but elbow into the fashion space. So this is also about offering choice to appeal to personal taste, identity and style.

Which is another way of saying that a naked Cupertino-made Apple Watch might not look brawny enough for some folk. And those guys might actually prefer to put a rugged rim on it.

4:35 pm

Amazon’s Apple Watch App Will Let You Shop From Your Wrist

(GNN) - Though online retailer Amazon wasn’t among one of the many applications Apple introduced this week as coming soon to its new wearable device, the Apple Watch, the company does have an Apple Watch version of its mobile shopping app in the works, we understand.

The shopping app will allow consumers to search for products and even buy them from their wrist using Amazon’s 1-Click ordering system.

Of course, it’s not surprising that Amazon will

address the forthcoming mobile platform – after all, the company tends to release a version of its shopping app on almost any viable mobile or connected platform, not just its own Kindle hardware. And it already has an Android Wear (i.e., smartwatch) version of its shopping app in the wild, so it makes sense that it would build the Apple Watch counterpart, too.

In fact, our understanding is that the Apple Watch version of the Amazon shopping app will operate just like the current Amazon app for Android Wear. That means it will support the ability to search for items using your voice, save products to your Amazon Wishlist, and even the ability to check out quickly using Amazon’s 1-Click ordering. (Oh, this could be dangerous, I think.)

The retailer, however, is not officially confirming the details around its new Apple Watch app at this time, but instead is only hinting that such a thing is in the works. A company spokesperson told us the only statement they’re offering for now is as follows:

“Amazon is constantly innovating on behalf of our customers. We are committed to being anywhere customers want to shop. That includes watches. We have an Amazon shopping app for Android Wear and will look to expand to other devices.”

“Other devices” essentially confirms Amazon’s plans to release an Apple Watch app, if you read between the lines, of course.

(Note: Above image is a mock-up.)

5:29 am

LG Prepares To Battle The Apple Watch With Its First All-Metal Smartwatch

(GNN) - LG was among the first wave of smartphone makers to venture into smartwatches. The G Watch and G Watch R are probably among the best in the market right now — not that this statement says much — but LG just announced its latest addition, the LG Watch Urbane, as Apple prepares to enter the space.

Unlike its previous watches, LG is positioning this new one as a classic timepiece that — it believes – will appeal to both sexes, rather than just the geeky, male audience that has largely adopted the industry’s first smartwatches. The LG Watch Urbane is available in silver or gold and comes with a natural leather strap, but owners will have the option to switch it with any 22mm-wide band for regular watches.

The watch keeps the 1.3-inch, circular plastic OLED face of the G Watch R, but is the Korean company’s first all-metal smartwatch. The device runs Android Wear and is powered by a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chip.

“The LG Watch Urbane’s classic design and smart features make it the perfect smartwatch to complement our G Watch and G Watch R, which were designed as more casual and active devices,” commented Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Mobile, in a statement.

LG said it will show off the LG Watch Urbane at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this month. We’ll be at the show, so stayed tuned for more details, photos and more about it.

The company’s decision to now focus on the non-geek audience with a smartwatch comes just weeks before the Apple Watch is expected to arrive. Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an April launch date for the much-anticipated watch, which many analysts believe will kickstart consumer interest in the smartwatch segment.

A report from Canalys released this month estimated that 720,000 Android Wear-powered smartwatches were shipped in 2014. The analyst firm estimated that Motorola’s Moto 360 led the pack, but Apple’s entry — while providing competition — could also help the wider industry gain greater exposure and awareness beyond the early adopter crowd.

1:00 am

Samsung’s New Gear S Smartwatch Features A Curved Screen And 3G Connectivity

#GNN Tech - #Samsung officially takes the cake when it comes to launching smartwatches: It just announced the Samsung Gear S, its billionth smartwatch device launching this year.

The Gear S has a few hallmarks that set it apart from the crowd, however, including a curved Super AMOLED display, which has a 2-inch diagonal measurement and 360×480 resolution, and a built-in 3G modem, which can let the wearable receive notification and messages, and even make and receive calls without any smartphone involved.

The Gear S is essentially a wrist-mounted smartphone, which is not something new to the industry. Samsung’s latest effort is Tizen-powered, like its Samsung Gear 2 and Gear Neo devices, and also has built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, in addition to its cellular radio.

The Gear S’s hardware design might be its more impressive feature, as we’re finally starting to see displays that wrap around the contours of the wrist, rather than sticking out as a traditional flat surface.

On the software side, the Gear S has HERE navigation provided by Nokia, as well as Spritz speed-reading. It also includes GPS sensors, an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, UV detection, barometer and a heart rate monitor.

IN terms of specs, it’s packing 4GB of internal storage and 512MB of RAM, plus a dual-core 1.0 GHz processor. It has IP67 dust and water resistance, and a relatively small 300mAh battery, which Samsung says will still manage to get it 2 days of usage under normal conditions.

Samsung is also launching the Gear Circle headset alongside the new wearable, which offers Bluetooth connectivity, as well as a vibration motor to provide silent notifications, and a mic for chatting as well as receiving voice commands.

The Gear S will be available starting in October, though pricing hasn’t been announced. Regardless of what Samsung asks consumers to pay for this device, it begs the question: How many smartwatches from one company can consumers stand? Especially one based on Tizen, now that Google has thrown its weight behind Android Wear?

9:56 am

Apple Gets An Exhaustive #iWatch Patent

#GNN - #Apple has received a patent from the #USPTO (via #AppleInsider) that covers #multiple kinds of #smartwatch devices, such as a modular design that includes a smart strap with built-in sensors and controls that can host a plug-in personal media device (like the previous iPod nano) and an all-in-one that likely bears more resemblance to the coming iWatch we’ve been hearing so many rumors about.

The new patent, which refers to a device dubbed ‘iTime’ in one graphic, mostly deals with a convertible device that incorporates both a central unit that can be removed and used separately from its strap, and the strap itself, which could add features to the central component, including GPS modules, Wi-Fi radios and haptic feedback motors for vibration notifications. The design looks like a typical wrist strap for the older sixth-gen iPod nano, many of which appeared on Kickstarter, but it also can transfer data wirelessly between itself and an iPad and iPhone, according to the patent.

Functionality for the smart band and media player combo when connected to another device make it effectively a smartwatch, but Apple also describes different physical form factors, including a completely contained device, which sounds a lot more like the iWatch we’ve heard described in recent rumors. Interestingly, Apple also describes how gesture controls might be incorporated into such a device, letting a user answer a call by flicking their wrist, for instance.

The most recent rumors suggest a launch of the iWatch either late this year or early next, so we shouldn’t have to wait too long to see what Apple does with its smartwatch. In the meantime, while this may be an earlier design, it is one of the surest signs yet that Apple has been thinking seriously about smartwatches for years.