Wearable Technology Archives - Page 15 of 34

Tag Heuer Carrera Smart Watch smartwatch

TAG Heuer Announces Date For Smartwatch And A Price Increase

October 2, 2015

Tag Heuer’s CEO, Jean-Claude Biver, took to CNBC this week to provide an update on the company’s smartwatch effort. After previously dismissing and bashing the wearable devices, Tag Heuer announced late last year that it would develop it’s own connected watch and that it would be different from anything on the market. During his discussion with CNBC, Biver announced that the device would finally be unveiled November 9th in NYC. Based on the Carrera watch design, it was previously communicated that the smartwatch would list for $1,400. Rarely do we see a company announce a nearly 30% price increase a month before the product’s launch, but that is just what Tag Heuer did. The company’s wearable will now start at $1,800, a $400 increase. Biver says he is comfortable with the pricing because since it is only a few hundred more than the [highest-end] Apple Watch Hermés.

by Doug Parker

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Watches

Pebble Introduces Pebble Time Round Smartwatch

September 23, 2015

Pebble has announced its first round smartwatch. The device is part of their line of Time devices released earlier this year and is called Pebble Time Round. As you would expect, it therefore shares the same operating system and screen technology as its sibling devices, the Time and Time Steel. Pebble claims Time Round is the “thinnest and lightest smart watch in the world; it has a 38.5mm face, is 7.5mm thick, and weighs in at 28 grams (I would be curious to know if their weight measurement includes the band or not because the Apple Watch Sport weighs 25 grams without a band). While Pebble has been able to reduce the size and weight of the new device, it has come at a cost. The Time Round only has a 2 day battery, compared to the Time Steel’s 10 days, and has lost a lot of its water-resistance, only able to withstand a shower versus being able to swim with the other two models. The good news regarding the battery life is that Pebble has developed a rapid charging feature which provides 24 hours of charge in 15 minutes. The device is available in black with a black bezel, stainless with a white bezel, and (surprise) rose gold with a white bezel for $250.

It is nice to see that Pebble decided not to turn to Kickstarter and instead released the new smartwatch in a more traditional manner. The company faced a lot of criticism when it returned to the crowdfunding site to release their 2nd device this Spring. The problem is, the company is still fulfilling orders placed through that campaign and there are likely a lot of customers who would have preferred the round watch but are stuck with an unfilled (or a just fulfilled) order for the older square design. The company needs to be careful because they are risking alienating their strongest advocates. Also, I am guessing the $50 credit they are offering owners of other Pebble Time devices is not going to mend a lot of fences. Next for Pebble, the company needs to solve the bezel issue on their watches; they are huge. With the round face, the bezel seems to jump out even more. The company seems to at least recognize how awkward the bezel is since they are offering two separate designs for it – you can purchase a Time Round with a terraced bezel or with 3, 6, 9, and 12 etched into it like a clock.

by Doug Parker

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Fashion, Jewelry

Henry Holland Distributes Wearable Tech At Runway Show

September 23, 2015

When British fashion designer Henry Holland showed off his Spring / Summer 2016 looks this weekend at London Fashion Week, the show became an interactive experience for a few lucky VIPs. The designer crafted and distributed 10 NFC enabled rings. The rings were handmade to look like insects, matching the “Urban Safari” theme of collection and were preloaded with £500. Three of the models walked the runway with a special leaf-shaped brooch, which was a NFC receiver. After the show, the VIPs could walk up to one of the 3 different looks, hold their ring next to the model’s brooch, and purchase the look. They were then able to walk out the door with their purchase.

According to an interview with The Telegraph, Holland stated, “A really big thing for me was making the tech invisible, especially if I’m incorporating it into something as important as my show. From my point of view it was really about creating two items – the ring and the brooch – that were really desirable pieces that people would want to wear themselves, but just happened to have those capabilities.”

This year, increasing customer engagement at Fashion Week events has become a predominate theme. Social media is being used more and more as a tool by designers to engage a global audience, granting them instant access to see the newest looks. Holland has been pushing things even further; he also wants to allow people to immediately own the new looks instead of having to wait 6 months. While only 10 people had this ability during his SS16 show, at House Of Holland’s menswear show last spring, the entire collection was made available for purchase immediately. Earlier this year we posed the question of where Fashion Week events were headed – pushing towards consumer or towards trade. As New York and London Fashion Weeks wrap, it seems the momentum is clearly towards a consumer focus.

by Doug Parker

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Wearable Technology

Is This The Upcoming Microsoft Band 2?

September 22, 2015

Renderings were posted online the other day claiming to show the Microsoft Band 2. MicrosoftInsider believes these images accurately represent the second generation of Microsoft’s wearable. Our review of the original Microsoft Band found it to be competent but with lots of room for improvement. From a looks point of view, the Band was decently stylish when it was released, but only a year later it looks rather stale and clunky. The second version of the device appears to be much slicker, featuring a curved display and improved battery integration. We are also digging the metal accents versus the all-black-plastic style of the original.

Functionality wise, we still don’t know too much about how the new device differs from its predecessor. The only leaked information is that the Microsoft Band 2 will include the ability to detect changes in altitude (such as climbing steps). This is likely done through a barometer, which is present in a number of smartphones including the iPhone 6. Otherwise, we would expect to continue seeing a deep integration with Windows Phone and perhaps a degree of Windows 10 integration. We do not believe we will see any of the results from Microsoft’s WearDrive project in this year’s Band.

Microsoft is expected to unveil the new version of the Microsoft Band at a media event planned for October 6th.

by Doug Parker

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Watches

Apple Releases watchOS 2 – Should You Upgrade?

September 22, 2015

Apple has officially released watchOS2. The update to the Apple Watch was supposed to have been made available to the public last Wednesday, but Apple found a significant bug at the last minute which caused the software to be delayed. Now that it is out, the big question is should you upgrade? While a lot of people take a wait-and-see attitude with new software updates, holding off until a x.1 version to upgrade, we see no reason Apple Watch users should delay in the update. WatchOS 2 feels like the first complete operating system for the device and over the next few months will change the way you use the device. To us, the original 1.0 OS never felt finished and it was well known that Apple pulled features at the last minute to make the April release date.

While watchOS does not have a laundry list of new features like a new version of iOS does, it does bring some very important improvements. The most significant by far is that developers now have the ability to create…

by Doug Parker

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Software

Apple’s watchOS 2 Delayed On Planned Launch Date

September 17, 2015

Apple contacted various publications yesterday afternoon to help spread the word that watchOS 2 would be delayed. The much anticipated software update to the Apple Watch was supposed to have been available for download yesterday but the company found a significant bug at the last minute. After publicly announcing yesterday’s release date over a week ago, the issue must have been severe and difficult to solve quickly. There is no timetable for the update at this point other than Apple saying it would be available “shortly,” which in Apple parlance could mean anything.

We have played around with what was supposed to be the shipping version of watchOS 2 and it felt stable and quick. But once software rolled out for the new watchOS on the App Store, we were not able to launch any of the updated apps. It would get stuck launching and then crash back to the home screen. While not everyone was experiencing this, a quick browse of web forums showed we were not alone. Rumor is, that was the reason behind the delayed launch. Additionally, we found a couple of random oddities, the largest being a glitch that caused the calendar to erase and re-sync constantly for a few minutes (decimating the battery life). But that only happened once.

by Doug Parker

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Wearable Technology

Google Glass Becomes Part Of New ‘Project Aura’ Initiative

September 17, 2015

Google Glass has had a tough life. Besides having limited usability, public sentiment was never great towards the device, and became downright seething after people began wearing them in public. Google realized the uphill battle it was facing and pulled the consumer version from the market. Regrouping, it placed Nest CEO (and former Apple designer) Tony Fadell in charge of developing a new version of the device. But when Google reorganized into Alphabet and spun Nest into its own division, there was a large question regarding the current status of Google Glass and whether Fadell would still be involved.

Thanks to Business Insider, things are beginning to clear up regarding Google Glass. It seems that Glass has been transformed into a new wearable initiative titled ‘Project Aura.’ The new group consists of Glass team members and a number of designers and engineers recently let go from Amazon’s secretive Lab126 hardware development group (perhaps answering our own questions regarding the future of Amazon’s wearable device that the company alluded to last year). ‘Project Aura’ will continue to be housed under the Google umbrella, along with the

by Doug Parker

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Wearable Technology

TAG Heuer Announces Date For Smartwatch And A Price Increase

Pebble Introduces Pebble Time Round Smartwatch

Henry Holland Distributes Wearable Tech At Runway Show

Is This The Upcoming Microsoft Band 2?

Apple Releases watchOS 2 – Should You Upgrade?

Apple’s watchOS 2 Delayed On Planned Launch Date

Google Glass Becomes Part Of New ‘Project Aura’ Initiative

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