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Samsung’s Gear S2 Smartwatch Goes On Sale Today

October 2, 2015

Samsung Sear S2

A month ago, Samsung officially unveiled their new flagship smartwatch, the Gear S2, and today it goes on sale. After 2 years of odd designs, Samsung finally paid attention to what was happening in the wearable market around them and introduced a sleek, round device. Starting at $300, you can find the smartwatch at Amazon, Best Buy, and (oddly) Macy’s. The device is available in two models, the S2 and the S2 Classic. The Classic features a smaller watch face and, breaking the pricing mold, is actually $50 more expensive than the larger S2. Interestingly, the Classic is one of the smallest Android Wear watches available currently. In a first for Samsung, the Tizen powered device is compatible with other makes of Android phones, no longer limiting its audience to Galaxy users. The S2’s standout feature is its rotating bezel, which behaves similarly to Apple’s Digital Crown, providing users an input method to interact with and control apps. Note: a version of the S2 with a cellular antenna will be available “later this Fall” for an undisclosed price at AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.

With a smart design and a wide range of compatible devices, we can see that the Gear S2 has the potential to be a big hit. With several compelling Android compatible smartwatches hitting the market this Autumn at similar prices, including the 2015 Moto 360 and Huawei Watch, it will be interesting to see where consumer interest falls.

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by Doug Parker
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Tag Heuer Carrera Smart Watch smartwatch
Watches

TAG Heuer Announces Date For Smartwatch And A Price Increase

October 2, 2015

Tag Heuer Carrera Smart Watch smartwatch

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.  

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by Doug Parker
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Pebble Time Round
Watches

Pebble Introduces Pebble Time Round Smartwatch

September 23, 2015

Pebble Time Round

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.

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by Doug Parker
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Watches

Apple Releases watchOS 2 – Should You Upgrade?

September 22, 2015

Apple Watch watchOS 2 released

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… 

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by Doug Parker
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Apple Watch Hermes
Watches

Apple Announces Hermès Version Of Apple Watch

September 9, 2015

Apple Watch Hermes

Apple has been rumored to be looking to partner with designers in the luxury fashion space. At Apple’s press event today, the company announced the first such partnership: the Apple Watch Hermès. The Watch adds Hermès designed straps constructed of the fashion icon’s incredible leather. It is available in 3 styles: Double Tour (a wrap-around bracelet), Single Tour (a traditional strap), and a cuff. The Hermès version also comes with something else unique – an exclusive, Hermès designed watch face. The watch face is the first analog design for the Apple Watch that highlights the device’s square shape. This is the first time that Apple has offered a watch face unique to a version of the device; from a software standpoint, the $15,000 gold Edition version was identical to the $350 aluminum version. The Apple Watch Hermès costs between $1100 and $1500 and will go on sale in October at select Apple and Hermès stores.

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by Doug Parker
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Watches

Samsung Considering Making Gear S2 Compatible With iOS

September 8, 2015

Samsung Gear S2 iOS Compatibility

Hot on the heels of Google providing iOS compatibility to Android Wear devices, Samsung is said to be investigating opening up their new Gear S2 smartwatch to iPhone users. The Gear S2 is arguably Samsung’s first mass market wearable; it is well designed, solidly built, has a clever interface, and, most importantly, is compatible with non-Samsung Android phones. UK-based site Digital Spy spoke with a Samsung spokesperson who stated that because the company allowed Android access with the device it is also “looking at” the possibility of opening the Gear S2 up to iOS devices. Clearly “looking at” means that if a compatibility solution is released, it is probably not around the corner. But for iPhone users looking for a smaller, round smartwatch, this is still encouraging news. Our only hope is that if a solution is released, it provides a richer experience than Android Wear on iOS currently offers. Early reviews of the iOS Android Wear experience have not been glowing, with frustration regarding how little the devices are able to do.

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by Doug Parker
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2015 IFA Asus ZenWatch Samsung S2 Moto 360 Huawei Watch
Watches

Heavy Hitter Smartwatch Announcements Dominate IFA

September 2, 2015

2015 IFA Asus ZenWatch Samsung S2 Moto 360 Huawei Watch

With IFA (Europe’s version of CES) in full swing this week, there have been a slew of smartwatch announcements. We have known most of these were on the radar but in most cases pricing and availability have only now been made public. The 4 big announcements thus far relate to the Asus Zen Watch 2, the Huawei Watch, the Samsung Gear S2, and the Moto 360 2.

The Asus Zen Watch 2 is definitely the bargain of the bunch, with a price starting at $170 (oddly the larger model is the cheapest). This is a price drop from the original which is probably a good thing because we are not nearly as enamored with the successor’s design. When it launched, the Zen Watch was one of the best performing and looking Android Wear devices available. Asus has made minor tweaks to the aesthetics for this year, but they all seem to be for the worse. It almost feels like Asus got lazy. Functionality wise,  

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by Doug Parker
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