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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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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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Fashion Tech Path Mainstream Culture Adoption
Fashion

Fashion Tech’s Path To Mainstream Culture

September 4, 2015

Wearable Tech

While we couldn’t make the trek across the Atlantic for yesterday’s Interlaced 2015 runway show and discussions, it is a great opportunity to look at fashion tech and contemplate what the future might hold. Theoretically fashion tech has so much potential, but currently it feels nonexistent in our daily lives. Besides enhanced textiles, there are very few fashion tech items being sold to the public. Part of that is a technology and cost issue, but it also is a perception issue, and that is changing.

The past 12 months have been huge for wearable technology. Up until now, most devices have been $150 or less and were extremely specialized in functionality. With the release of a slew of Android Wear devices and the Apple Watch consumers are beginning to become more comfortable with wearing technology and paying a premium for it. A smartwatch is really the first piece of personal technology that is on display. A phone is thrown into your pocket, but a watch is in plain sight constantly. There is no discrete way to use it, once you raise your wrist to look at the time or interact with it, it is obvious you are using a smart watch. From personal experience,  

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by Doug Parker
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Wearable Technology

Tencent’s QQ Watch Is A Connected Watch For Kids

September 1, 2015

Tencent Connected Wearable Kids QQ Watch

Not quite a fully baked smartwatch, Tencent’s QQ Watch is a wearable that is designed to help parents stay connected to their children. While details are still slim, images show the watch is able to display time and date, temperature, and weather. The brightly colored device features a 1.12 inch OLED display, a 5 day battery life, and has an IP65 rating (read: wash your hands with it on, but don’t swim). Engadget reports that the watch contains a 2G cellular radio, WiFi, and a GPS chip. QQ Watch utilizes all of these communication methods to provide accurate location information should your child get lost. They can also call you via an SOS button on the side. And the inclusion of a 0.3 megapixel camera allows your child to send you photos via WeChat. While pricing has not been released, the company claims it will be affordable.

The QQ Watch launches in China in October and Tencent expects to roll the device out globally by the end of the year. The US might prove to be a difficult market for it though, mainly because of the 2G radio. Cellular technology that was considered “2G” in the US differed substantially between carriers. Depending on which network you were on, you would need a CDMA, TDMA, or GSM device and it needed to operate on the correct frequencies. AT&T transitioned to GSM, which was also adopted by most carriers worldwide. With approximately 68% of the international market (based off of a study from 2013) still utilizing 2G, the radio in the QQ Watch is likely to be GSM. Unfortunately, AT&T has already started the process of shutting down their GSM network, which will formally be turned off in 2017. Given this, it will be interesting to see if Tencent decides to bring the QQ to the US.

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by Doug Parker
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Watches

Sony Introduces Citizen Designed Analog Smartwatch

September 1, 2015

Sony Wena Analog Smartwatch

Sony has launched an analog smartwatch on their crowdfunding site First Flight. The watch is called Wena, which stands for “wear electronics naturally.” It consists of two parts, a traditional watch face and a metal band with integrated smartwatch functionality. While not as full featured as Sony’s other smartwatches, Wena was created to be a fashion piece. It was designed by Citizen Watch Co. and is crafted from high grade stainless steel. Sony is offering two styles of the watch, a tradition 3 hand analog watch face and a chronograph face. While the Wena is sharp looking, at first glance you would never assume it was anything beyond a traditional watch. The metal link band discretely houses batteries for the electronics that have been hidden inside the deployment buckle. Wena will have 3 main “smart” functions: NFC payments, activity tracking, and notification alerts via vibrations and a LED in the buckle. The battery life of the band is approximately 1 week while the watch face will run for between 3 and 5 years (depending on the model).

While it may seem curious that a company the size of Sony would have their own crowd funding website, the company has found success with it. The idea behind First Flight is to test interest in products that Sony is unsure how the public might react to. From the looks of it, Wena is a hit. Despite a high price tag (approximately $290 to $580) Sony has reached their fundraising goal and almost every model is sold out. Wena is expected to ship next April. While the watches available via First Flight are only for the Japanese market, the success of Wena makes an international launch at some point very likely. It is fantastic that Sony has been able to utilize crowd funding to find itself again and release products that are able to excite consumers.

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by Doug Parker
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