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Android Wear for iOS Coming Soon
Watches

Android Wear For iOS Is Getting Close

April 9, 2015

Android Wear for iOS

Do you own an iPhone and want a smartwatch not made by Apple? Well your choices are about to expand significantly. According to The Verge, Google is very close to completing their effort to make Android Wear compatible with iOS devices. Much like other wearables, you will need to install a companion app and this app will manage the communication between the devices. I would expect the Android Wear experience with iOS to be vastly different from the Apple Watch. Apple likes to keep a lot of its software hooks private and the fact that the Microsoft Band still cannot communicate any information back to the watch is not encouraging. At most, Android Wear watches on iOS will likely be able to control music playback and interact with various Google services. I would not expect a deep experience, but options are always good!

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by Doug Parker
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A Case For Smartwatches
Watches

A Case For Smartwatches

April 8, 2015

A Case For Smartwatches

The wearable technology industry has had a heavy pause for the past several weeks as it awaits the launch of the Apple Watch. The device, launching on April 24th, is viewed by many as the bellwether of consumer interest, and perhaps understanding, of wearable connected technology. With mixed reviews starting to roll in for the Apple Watch, it is clear that these smart devices have an uphill challenge. A watch that displays all the same information that is presented in more detail inches away on your phone is a tough sell. Perhaps, though, we are thinking of a smartwatch through the same lens that we think about a smartphone, when the way we interact with it should be something entirely new and different.  

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by Doug Parker
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Watches

TAG Heuer Announces Partnership With Google And Intel

March 19, 2015

TAG Heuer CarreraTAG Heuer has been very vocal about smartwatches over the past 12 months. In January the watch maker announced it would release a device later this year. It seems the Swiss watch maker is ready to divulge a few more details. Today, at the Baselword watch convention, TAG Heuer announced it has partnered with Intel and Google to produce the smartwatch. Intel will be providing the silicon and Google will provide the software, Android Wear.

According to Jean-Claude Biver, the company’s interim CEO and head of watches for TAG Heuer’s parent company, LVMH, TAG Heuer decided not to produce a watch that was compatible with iOS devices because Apple was producing their own watch. Those of us here at Circuits And Cable Knit are not terribly surprised by this news and speculated earlier this week that the Swiss company had very little choice besides turning to Android Wear. TAG Heuer’s smartwatch is rumored to be based off of the Carrera model (pictured at the top of this post), the mechanical version of which sells for several thousand dollars, depending on configuration. 

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by Doug Parker
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Wearable Technology

Android Wear Could Be Headed To iOS Soon

March 10, 2015

Android Wear Cross PlatformIf you have an interest in smartwatches, no platform has more compatible devices than Android. Over the past 12 months there has been a steady stream of Android Wear watches released, with some manufacturers even selling multiple models. Whether you are looking for round, square, almost-round, or curved, chances are you can find a design that makes you happy. Unfortunately you have to using an Android phone to utilize these Android Wear watches. That might be about to change! According to French technology website 01net, Google could be set to make Android Wear compatible with iOS as soon as May, at Google’s annual developer conference. Last October, Jeff Chang, an Android Wear senior project manager, suggested that cross platform compatibility was something Google was strongly interested in but the company was working through some technical hurdles. We will see what May brings.

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by Doug Parker
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TAG Heuer Smartwatch
Watches

TAG Heuer Announces Plans For Smartwatch

December 17, 2014

TAG Heuer SmartwatchSeems that luxury watch maker TAG Heuer has had a change of heart. Back in September, when Apple unveiled their Apple Watch, TAG Heuer’s interim CEO (and head of LVMH’s watch division), Jean-Claude Biver, was one of the first detractors of the device. Biver was not a fan of Apple’s design but, more importantly, not a fan of smartwatches. At the time Biver said that smartwatches will soon be outdated while “luxury always has something timeless.” What a difference a few months make. Biver has now changed his mind and sees value in TAG Heuer developing a smartwatch. Likely the company is starting to sense consumer demand for the devices and does not want to risk being left behind if the product category finds success. The watch industry already took a huge hit from smartphones and smartwatches could be the final nail in the coffin for a company not able to adapt. Biver says TAG Heuer started exploring the concept 4 months ago and has already formed partnerships with Intel and Google. They do not want to release anything unless it feels “first, different, and unique.” The device is expected to utilize traditional watch mechanics in addition to a bevy of sensors. TAG Heuer’s smartwatch is unlikely to launch before late 2015.

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by Doug Parker
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Watches

Google Launches Designer Watch Faces

December 16, 2014

Rebecca Minkoff Android Wear Watch Face

Google has made its first foray into offering designer watch faces for its Android Wear devices. Unsurprisingly, Rebecca Minkoff is the first big name designer to dive in and offer watch faces. The label has made a name for themselves in 2014 by being very progressive with technology. This year Rebecca Minkoff has launched RFID enabled smart dressing rooms and two wearable devices, a Charging Bracelet and a Notification Bracelet. The new watch faces are rolling out as part of Android Wear 5.0, which includes an API for the creation of watch faces. Some of the other bigger names jumping into the fray with virtual watch faces include Porsche and X-ray artist Hugh Turvey. Check them all out on Google Play. The move by these designers is made more interesting by the fact that several other designers and watch brands have just revved up their legal engines to go after anyone offering digital clones of their watches.

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by Doug Parker
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Eyewear

Google Glass Available To Order Again

May 19, 2014

Google Glass Available To OrderFollowing the “one day only” offering of Google Glass a little over a month ago, Google has made the $1500 eyewear available to order again.  This time though there is no 24hr deadline.  Google states that Glass is still very much in beta, but that they want to open the experience up to a larger group of people.  Perhaps the company is trying to gauge what the total interest in the device when not limited to one day of sales.  Another scenario is that Google is trying to clear inventory to introduce a more design-complete model.  The controversial device returns on sale as analysts have begun to release cost-to-build numbers.  

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by Doug Parker
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