Sep 04
After the commoditization of phones and tablets, companies are desperate to find the next big thing. Some believe that people really want smart watches. The only problem is that smart watches are stupid.
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Sep 04
Qualcomm makes a timely entrance with full-featured Toq Mirasol smartwatch (hands-on video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
Qualcomm’s certainly made a name for itself in the mobile chipset space, but the company’s past attempts at creating a fully baked consumer device have not been tremendously successful. Take FLO TV, for example. The pocketable television receiver had potential, but a botched execution left the firm with an embarrassing failure. It’s this legacy that leaves us cautiously optimistic about today’s product introduction, a full-function smartwatch called Toq.
Why is Qualcomm designing, marketing and selling a smartwatch, you ask? The answer lies in a troubled display tech called Mirasol. We got our first good look at this low-power color display technology at CES back in 2010. Since then, Mirasol has had a hard time catching on, with manufacturing costs a likely culprit. We’ve seen new iterations each year, mostly in the form of prototype e-readers, but a decision to shutter production last summer seemingly marked the final straw for the inventive concept. Then, we regained hope following this year’s SID Display Week, where two new high-res panels made their debut, including one in a smartwatch. Curiously, that wearable we saw in May bears little resemblance to the product we’re meeting today, which you’ll find detailed in full after the break.%Gallery-slideshow73561%
Filed under: Wearables
Source: Qualcomm
Sep 04
The long awaited “smart watch” a.k.a. Samsung Galaxy Gear was finally unveiled today. I have to admit that I was impressed by the quality of the industrial design and the friendly user experience, although I am not sure if I would really use such a device on a daily basis. First of all the six color versions are gorgeous and the packaging of their respective boxes are amazing (check the photo gallery). Although the size of the watch module is pretty big and would better suit a man’s wrist, the adjustable band makes it wearable by a woman with a small wrist as well (like mine).
Powered by an 800 MHz processor and featuring a 1.63-inch 320 x 320 Super AMOLED tactile display, the Samsung Galaxy Gear allows users to snap photos and short videos, record memos, access date/time/weather info, use various third-party applications including Evernote, Path, MyFitnessPal, get pedometer data, place a phone call, and more.
I had the opportunity to briefly try the Samsung Galaxy Gear and I am sharing my first impressions in this article. Check the video demo to get a good idea of how the device works.
The Samsung GALAXY Gear will be launched in more than 140 countries around the world starting from September 25.
Samsung Galaxy Gear: Hands-On Review original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Sep 04
Samsung’s making waves in the wearables category today with its Galaxy Gear smartwatch, but the device’s compatibility will be surprisingly limited at launch, curtailing our excitement quite a bit. According to reps, the connected wristwatch will only pair with Galaxy devices running Android version 4.3 — for the time being, that restricts use to the smartphone and tablet announced today, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 and the refreshed Note 10.1, though the next version of Jelly Bean may roll out to the GS4 later this year, so Samsung’s flagship handset shouldn’t be left out in the cold for long. As for third-party devices? There’s always a chance that Gear support could come in the future, but we’re certainly not counting on it, especially with this first-generation wearable.%Gallery-slideshow79384%
Sep 04
Samsung unveils Galaxy Gear smartwatch with 1.63-inch AMOLED touchscreen, built-in camera, 70 apps
Posted in: Today's Chili
This week’s Galaxy Gear prototype leak didn’t leave much to the imagination. Samsung’s new wearable was expected to debut with a built-in camera, speakers and a relatively clunky design, all of which are indeed present on the device we’re meeting today. But we now have quite a bit more clarity when it comes to functionality and specifications — the rumored 3-inch display size and 4-megapixel camera resolution, for example, were incorrect. The Gear will instead ship with a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of 320 x 320. That strap-mounted camera, for its part, is designed to capture low-res shots and 10-second 720p videos, and includes a 1.9-megapixel BSI sensor and an auto-focus lens.
The big surprise here is third-party applications support — there will be a total of 70 partner programs at launch, including sharing apps like Evernote and Path, fitness companions like RunKeeper and MyFitnessPal, and a handful of other offerings, such as TripIt, Line, Vivino and even eBay. We’ll dive into software functionality a bit more in our hands-on, so for now, let’s talk compatibility and specs. We were caught a bit off guard by the wearable’s limited compatibility, though — at launch, it’ll only work with the Note 3 and Note 10.1, though some Galaxy S4 owners may be able to take advantage soon, after that device scores an update to Android 4.3. Assuming your handset is compatible, the Gear will serve as a companion device, enabling access to features like S Voice, Find My Device, a pedometer and third-party additions including those outlined above.
The device is powered by an 800MHz processor and a 315 mAh non-removable cell, which Samsung reps say should provide up to a day of “regular” use. There are two built-in mics (with noise cancellation support), a speaker, Bluetooth 4.0, an accelerometer and gyroscope, 4GB of storage and 512MB of RAM. The Galaxy Gear will eventually ship, along with the Note 3, to more than 140 countries. Pricing and country-specific availability has yet to be confirmed, but some customers should expect to have it in hand (or on hand, rather) beginning September 25th. Sadly, customers in the US and Japan will have to wait until October to pick one up for $299.
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Sep 03
With the vision that Nokia has on its side as its devices arm is purchased by Microsoft, its no wonder that the first priority of many early adopter device and technology fans are pouring over the smartphone makers’ conceptual works. What’s appeared today is a product that you may – if you’re a big Nokia […]
Sep 03
Tokyoflash’s busy horologists know no bounds when it comes to designing watches. The company’s latest timepiece is an update to last year’s bee-friendly Kisai Zone that sports wooden cases and straps. Each of the three available woods is married to its own LCD color for the screen — dark sandalwood’s is black, red sandalwood goes purple and maple snags a blue readout. Speaking of which, it doesn’t look like anything has changed compared to the first Zone’s watch face. It still features a standard battery that lasts “at least a year,” a funky hexagonal display (hours on top, minutes in the middle and seconds on the bottom) and an Indiglo-like backlight. If you fancy wearing part of a giving tree on your wrist, you can snag one of these for $99 if you act within the next two days.
Filed under: Wearables
Source: Tokyoflash Japan
Sep 01
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
The announcement of Steve Ballmer’s impending retirement from Microsoft cast a spotlight on the company’s transition to becoming a devices and services company. While it’s unclear how progress toward this goal will be measured, the success model for the “devices” part of its quest is Apple. (Indeed, Apple, leading with iCloud, is seeking to diversify into more of a “devices and services” company itself.)
Apple’s current revenue champions — the iPhone and iPad — are in categories that Microsoft recognized the potential of long before Apple’s market entry. When the US smartphone market consisted of Microsoft, Palm and RIM, Windows Mobile had been powering smartphones — and doing respectably in terms of US market share — for years before Apple changed the game. Now, Windows Phone scrapes by with a few percentage points of the market. And the Tablet PCs that ran Windows a decade ago were introduced as the future of the notebook. While today’s Windows tablets and convertibles are much thinner and lighter than they were back then, it’s amazing to see how recalcitrant PC vendors have been in their design, with few pursuing pure slates and some using twist-hinges similar to those used in Tablet PCs.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Wearables, Internet, Apple, Microsoft
Sep 01
There are plenty of amazing watches out there, but this is the first watch I know of which allows you to evaluate the timing rate on the fly, so that you can fine-tune the mechanism, depending on the conditions you’re in.
The titanium and steel Urwerk EMC Watch has got a Witschi watch tester built-in. This device is electronic, but wound up manually, which is kind of cool. The Witschi listens to the watch’s rhythm and balance, and displays this information for the prior 24 hours. This is perfect for anyone for whom having accurate time is paramount.
The mechanism is designed to allow wearers to tweak timing based on the minor variances that can happen due to position, temperature and shocks. Its maker says “thanks to EMC’s unique and pioneering monitoring unit, not only can the wearer obtain the precise timing rate on demand, they can then use that information to accurately adjust the precision of their watch to suit their own personal rhythm.”
The watch is expected to retail for around $120,000(USD). Horologists, get ready to mortgage everything you own.
[via Uncrate]
Aug 29
Samsung already said that its Galaxy Gear smartwatch would launch on September 4th, but that doesn’t mean the leaks are over. Far from it — @evleaks just posted screenshots of Gear Manager, the smartphone app that will oversee Samsung’s wristwear. The images mostly corroborate details from past rumors, such as the SM-V700 model number, app support and NFC pairing. There are a couple of surprises, however. One shot mentions a “find my watch” tool, and another shows an abstracted representation of the Galaxy Gear itself — don’t read too much into that last picture, though. While we’d rather see the real smartwatch, this new leak may tide us over until the official Galaxy Gear unveiling next week.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables, Mobile, Samsung
Source: @evleaks (Twitter)
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