SUBSCRIBE

Tag

Google

Google Year In Search 2015 Apple Watch Consumer Technology wearables
Watches

Apple Watch One Of The Most Searched Consumer Electronic

December 17, 2015

Google Year In Search 2015 Apple Watch Consumer Technology wearables

This week Google released it’s annual “Year In Search” report. The search giant compiles categorized lists of some of the most searched terms of 2015. Once you get over the fact that Rickrolling is still one of the world’s top meme’s and that the number 2 travel question is “Where is Disneyland?”, there are some pretty interesting trends displayed in the lists. The one that particularly caught our eye was the summary of the most searched consumer electronics. Only one wearable device broke the top 10 and it was the Apple Watch (which landed in 3rd place). While there are likely better selling wearables on the market, none of them proved to be able to generate close to the amount of interest and mindshare as the Apple Watch.

While a wearable breaking onto the top 10 of the consumer electronic list is a huge deal, it is not surprising that it was an Apple device. The company has an incredible PR and press machine, generating consumer interest and press with merely supply chain rumors; in fact, 3 out of the top 5 products on the list are made by Apple. Whatever your feelings are about Apple, if you are a fan of wearable technology this is great news. What was a niche product category barely 12 months ago, is now one of the top searches in the world. If consumers are so keenly aware and curious about the Apple Watch, chances are that interest will spread to other products in the category! Hopefully this is a sign of amazing things to come for wearables in 2016.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Google Glass Project Aura Screenless Sports
Eyewear

The Next Version Of Google Glass Might Be Screenless

November 19, 2015

Google Glass Project Aura Screenless Sports

Earlier this year, Google Glass was pulled from the market so that Google could have a chance to reimagine the device. We knew Tony Fadell, who was placed in charge of the project (now called Project Aura), would likely make some big changes but we did not expect this. According to a rumor from The Information, at least one version of the next Google Glass will not have a screen; instead, the wearable will rely completely on audio. Sounds a lot like headphones to us, but we are sure that (hopefully) Google has more up its sleeves. The screen less Google Glass is rumored to be 1 of 3 new models, each of which will target a unique audience – sports, enterprise, and an unknown third category (we would assume ‘general purpose’). Lacking a screen, the rumored device seems perfect for sports. The other two models are expected to have a screen. But with a 2016 launch date, I would take any of these rumors with a large heap of salt; even if the rumors are accurate, the plans for Google Glass could change significantly and models dropped.

Between Nest and his work on Apple’s iPod, Tony Fadell has a solid track record. After designing two iconic, industry changing products, it is easy to understand why Google appointed him in change of Project Aura. Google Glass was in desperate need of a new approach and a rethinking; the original was way too cold and techie looking. Removing the screen from Glass is certainly reimagining the product and it makes us very curious about what the team is working on!

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Android Wear 1.4
Watches

Android Wear Update Adds Even More Wrist Gestures

November 18, 2015

Android Wear 1.4

While the Apple Watch was busy getting all of the press this year, Google has been doing a fantastic job constitantly pushing out amazing Android Wear updates. The platform has gained interactive watch faces, the ability to function only with a WiFi connection, always-on apps, emoji, a new interface, and hands-free wrist gestures. Google is releasing one last major update before the end of the year. The update occurs through the Android Wear companion app, pushing it to version 1.4. With the new update, Google has added few more wrist wagging gestures. Android Wear’s hands-free gestures have always been a favorite of ours; although occasionally finicky, sometimes you need to interact with your watch when your hands are full. The gestures introduced earlier this year allow you to do things such as dismiss and scroll through notification cards simply by flicking your wrist. With the new update, you can now do things such as wiggle your wrist to return to your smartwatch’s watch face and push your arm downward to interact with a notification card.

The new Android Wear update also prepares the platform for some of the new devices launching in the coming weeks. Version 1.4 of the app supports the built-in speakers included in the Huawei Watch and the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition. More importantly, it also provides the necessary support for a new breed of Android Wear smartwatches with integrated LTE cellular connectivity and phone number sharing (i.e. AT&T’s NumberSync). The update should be trickling out currently to supported devices.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
TAG Heuer Carrera Connected Smart Watch Smartwatch
Watches

TAG Heuer Officially Launches $1500 Carrera Connected

November 9, 2015

TAG Heuer Carrera Connected Smart Watch Smartwatch

TAG Heuer has not been short on opinions about smartwatches over the past 18 months. After the company’s outspoken CEO, Jean-Claude Biver, finally conceded late last year that something interesting could be done in the space, Tag Heuer has launched their first wearable device. Clearly positioned as a luxury item, the $1500 connected watch is based on the company’s iconic Carrera line of watches. The appropriately named Carrera Connected is the result of a partnership with both Intel and Google (the same companies that aided Fossil in the creation of their Q series of wearables).

TAG Heuer calls it the first “connected watch” that looks like a traditional timepiece and it is no surprise that the device has a luxury feel and a handsome, traditional design (if you ignore the rubber watch band). Crafted from titanium with sapphire glass, the Connected looks like a thick version of a traditional watch with a screen instead of a watch face; but I am not sure I would go as far to say that it is visually more like a traditional watch than other devices on the market. There is a key difference though, the TAG Heuer wearable is truly nearly identical to a Carrera; in fact, the electronics can be replaced with a traditional watch mechanics.  

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
TAG Heuer Carrera Connected Launch Live
Watches

Watch TAG Heuer Carrera Connected Launch Live At 11am ET

November 9, 2015

TAG Heuer Carrera Connected Launch Live

After over a year of publicly ping-ponging on their view of smartwatches, TAG Heuer will officially launch their Carrera Connected today at 11am ET. You can follow along and watch the unveiling live via the embedded YouTube feed after the break. Besides a partnership with Intel and Google (who also worked on Fossil’s Q series), little is known about the device. One of the only rumors thus far about the smartwatch is that it will likely include upgradable internals. This would push the Carrera Connected closer to being a true keepsake device versus a fashionable consumer electronic.

Besides a statement from almost a year ago that TAG Heuer would not enter the smartwatch market unless they were able to offer something completely unique, a quote from the company’s CEO, Jean-Claude Biver, in this Sunday’s edition of Swiss newspaper Le Matin is one of the only official comments on features. Biver states that, “Our watch will have almost the same features as an Apple Watch, but I don’t want to say too much.” We find it odd that Biver would declare the TAG Heuer device is almost like an Apple Watch after the company dismissed it as a “toy” last fall.

We can’t wait to see what TAG Heuer has up its sleeve! Head past the break to watch the unveiling live at 11am ET.

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Watches

Does Fossil / Intel Smartwatch Offer Hints About Tag Heuer?

October 23, 2015

Tag Heuer Connected Smartwatch Fossil Intel

The Fossil Q Founder smartwatch was announced this week and is one of the first such devices from a major watch producer. The Q Founder was developed through a partnership with Intel and Google. As chance would have it, Intel and Google are also Tag Heuer’s partners for their smartwatch initiative, now known to be called Tag Heuer Connected. With similar partnerships, does Fossil’s Q Founder offer hints about what to expect from the Tag Heuer smartwatch?

One of the most interesting things to glean from the Fossil device is that it appears to be running a stock version of Android Wear. Google has not been allowing manufacturers to customize or re-skin the mobile operating system and that seems to continue to be the case. Given that Fossil has not highlighted anything unique about the watch software, we have no expectations that the Tag Heuer Connected will veer from the path either. At the most we might see some digital versions of classic Tag Heuer watch faces. This is interesting given Tag Heuer’s previous vocal statements about smartwatches, at first dismissing them and then stating the company would only enter the market with something unique. While Tag Heuer has toned down their rhetoric over the past several months, is there something else unique about the forthcoming device?  

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment
Fashion

Google’s Schmidt Believes Computers Can Predict Cool

September 18, 2015

Alphabet Google Eric Schmidt AI Fashion Music

Last weekend, Google’s Eric Schmidt wrote an op-ed piece for the BBC. The article focuses on his feeling that we are right at the beginning of an amazing future that is only possible through AI (artificial intelligence). One of the most widely reported parts of the op-ed is him slamming Apple Music as being elitist because the music is human curated. Schmidt prefers a “smart system” learning from the community as a whole (read: AI) because it allows “everyone to discover the next big star through our own collective tastes and not through the individual preferences of a select few.” While on paper it makes some sense, music doesn’t work like that. Pandora is perfectly pleasant, but wouldn’t you rather be listening to a mix tape tape created just for you? That’s because a human touch is needed to play just the right songs at just the right time. Musicians have long criticized A&R guys for being are gatekeepers, but the truth is there is an art and a feel to artist development that cannot be replaced with science, numbers, and computers. Using computers to shape tastes and trends does not allow for abnormalities (something radically different) and emphasizes a culture of unified tastes.

A few days ago Schmidt sat down with WWD and extended his thoughts on AI to also cover fashion. It is his belief that computers will be used to allow designers to decide what is “cool” and what is not. According to Schmidt, “There’s a science around cool.” Modeling how people migrate towards “cool,” he asserts that AI will be able “to take a picture of a dress and tell a brand whether it was going to be cool or not.” Even more so than his statements on music, it is tough to agree with Schmidt.  

Continue reading
by Doug Parker
Leave a comment