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2016 Top 5 Most Popular Stories Wearable Tech Fashion
Year In Review

Year In Review: The Most Popular Stories Of 2016

January 1, 2017

2016 Top 5 Most Popular Stories Wearable Tech Fashion

As we look forward to a year of new and exciting wearables, fashion tech, and (hopefully) things-we-have-yet-to-imagine, it seemed appropriate to look back at the most popular stories of 2016. This year’s top stories serve as a nice representation of what is happening in the industry at a macro level. Our top story of the year covers fashionable fitness trackers and as we move down the list we cover smartwatches, fashion tech, and connected devices. Take a look below to see what your fellow readers care the most about and thanks for making 2016 the best year yet for Circuits And Cable Knit!  

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by Doug Parker
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Hublot smartwatch smart watch TAG Heuer Connected LVMH Android Wear Intel
Watches, Wearable Technology

LVMH Eyeing Hublot As Next Brand To Introduce Smartwatch

March 18, 2016

LVMH Hublot Smartwatch TAG Heuer Carrera Connected Android Wear smart watch Intel

By a lot of accounts TAG Heuer didn’t exactly knock it out of the park with their Carrera Connected smartwatch. While a decent device with a well made casing, the Connected was essentially a $250 Android Wear watch in a very fancy package. The $1500 device is less well equipped than most smartwatches, lacking a heart rate monitor and using a surprisingly low resolution screen, especially for its size. One review compared the 240 ppi display to “the pixelated experience of 1980s Tetris.” For all intents and purposes, the Connected is a Franken-watch; it is a not-fully-gelled mashup between the high-end Swiss made TAG Heuer, mass produced Chinese made electronics, and the one-size-fits-all Android Wear OS. To be truly on brand, TAG Heuer should have created their own smartwatch instead of simply repackaging existing technology and software. Thus, to us the Connected reads as more of an experiment than a true smartwatch entry. Unsurprisingly, other Swiss timepiece makers, such as Patek Philippe’s Chairman Thierry Stern, have been quick to criticize TAG Heuer for going after the quick buck and eroding the “Swiss Made” reputation. Despite all of this, TAG Heuer’ Jean-Claude Biver contends that the Connected is selling so well that the company cannot keep up with demand. Not being die hard watch people, maybe there is a special sauce that we don’t understand about TAG Heuer or maybe the feel of the Swiss made watch case makes that much of difference or perhaps buyers are blindly purchasing due to the name or simply not comparison shopping.  

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by Doug Parker
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2015 Year In Review Wrap Up Most Popular Posts
Year In Review

Year In Review: The Most Popular Stories Of 2015

December 30, 2015

2015 Year In Review Wrap Up Most Popular Posts

2016 promises to be an unbelievable year for fashion tech, retail innovations, and wearable devices. The Fashion in an Age of Technology themed Met Ball in May has the potential to be the real coming out party for wearables and we can’t wait. But there are plenty of other exciting happenings this coming year – CES is only a few days away, a new Apple Watch is rumored for March, New Balance’s 3D printed shoes will soon hit the shelves, and we might finally see the reimagined Google Glass. And then there is everything we can’t yet imagine!

As we forge ahead into the new year, we wanted to take a look back at some of the stories that were most embraced here at Circuits And Cable Knit. Head past the break to see the most popular stories of 2015!  

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by Doug Parker
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2015 Gift Guide Smartwatch best featured
Gift Guide

2015 Gift Guide: Smartwatches

December 11, 2015

2015 Gift Guide Smartwatch_v2

Last year we really witnessed the launch of the smartwatch. This year the market became much more mature, crowded, and competitive. We saw everyone from the Chinese to the Swiss, from traditional watchmakers to startup companies, releasing devices. We are also closing out the year with smartwatches having a higher average price than at the beginning of 2015. Existing players increased their prices and new entries averaged around $350 – there are even some device priced well over a $1,000 and you can buy a gold Apple Watch for $17,000! Smartwatches are probably still not mature enough for everyone, but they might provide a set of compelling features that you (or a loved one) have been longing for.

Around Circuits And Cable Knit, we love them for looking at our calendar or the temperature outside with a glance. Also the ability to quickly and easily read and reply to text messages without digging out our phones is amazing. But perhaps the most amazing thing about smartwatches is how everyone uses the device in a different way. Almost daily I use my watch to easily check in on Swarm, receive breaking news alerts, check the wait for an MTA bus, and to pay for things.

If a smartwatch sounds right for someone you know, here are some of the most notable from the past year:  

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by Doug Parker
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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.  

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by Doug Parker
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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.

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by Doug Parker
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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?  

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by Doug Parker
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