Hasta La Gadget!

It was rumored recently that perhaps Xiaomi was building a smartwatch of its own. Xiaomi, often referred to as the Apple of China, has never actually confirmed that it is working on such a product. As per the rumor, the company’s smartwatch would have been priced significantly lower than existing smartwatches, and that it was likely to run on the same MIUI interface that has been found on a number of Xiaomi devices in the past. The company has now officially denied claims that it is building a smartwatch.

The denial comes from Xiaomi co-founder Liwan Jiang, who says that at this point in time, the company is going to focus on its smartphone and TV business. He didn’t flat-out deny the possibility that a smartwatch might be developed somewhere down the line, but it appears that the company has no immediate plans of jumping on the smartwatch bandwagon. Only recently Xiaomi launched a new smartphone as well as a 3D smart TV, the company has seen considerable success in those markets. Its smartphones are some of the best selling devices in China, though the company is yet to make its mark on the international market. It has hired ex-Google executive Hugo Barra to lead its expansion in international markets, perhaps Xiaomi first wants to expand its global presence before diversifying its product portfolio.

Xiaomi Denies Smartwatch Claims original content from Ubergizmo.

Google Glass — it’s Robocop, it’s The Terminator, it’s every sci-fi dream we’ve ever had, right? At least it should be: Glass may be causing nerdgasms all over Google Campus, but to the guy on the street it’s the dorkiest looking gadget ever. Thankfully, Google is working on it.

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We’ve seen a number of companies come out with their very own smartwatches. These wearable devices do a wide variety of things, from simply displaying notifications to making calls. AT&T partnered up with Filip technologies to unveil its new smartwatch that will be exclusively offered to the carrier’s customers. The smartwatch is a little different from the rest, it will allow parents to keep track of their children and ultimately “make their lives easier.”

FiLIP smartwatch features GPS, voice calling and direct messaging, parents can control all features at any time through a smartphone app. They can select five trusted contacts with whom the children can communicate. Parents will also be able to set “safe zones,” if FiLIP’s GPS detects that its out of the designated safe zone, a notification will be triggered and parents will immediately know that the child is on the move. They will also have the ability to track the watch’s movements in real time through the app, so they can always be updated with the child’s whereabouts. The smartwatch is the creation of Filip Technologies which teamed up with the Emerging Devices team at AT&T. Pricing and availability information for the AT&T FiLIP smartwatch will be provided at a later date.

AT&T FiLIP Smartwatch Lets Parents Track Their Kids original content from Ubergizmo.

There is no shortage of iWatch rumors. Time and time again we have heard that Apple is developing a smartwatch, while there has been no confirmation of the device or the moniker from Apple, it is widely known as the iWatch. Previously it was rumored that the smartwatch will release in 2013, but recent reports suggest that the launch might not take place until 2014. Many predictions have been made about the iWatch’s market performance once it launches, the most recent one comes from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Based on the survey conducted by the investment firm, Munster believes that Apple might end up selling 5 to 10 million iWatch units in the initial launch year alone.

Piper Jaffray surveyed 799 U.S. consumers, they were asked if they would purchase an Apple smartwatch for $350. Only 12 percent said that they would, 88 percent didn’t seem to be too keen on paying $350 for an iWatch. The percentage is likely to drop if we look at prospective demand for the iWatch from a global scale. Munster is of the view that 2 to 4 percent of the estimated 293 million iPhone owners around the globe are likely to purchase the smartwatch during its initial launch year. This would amount to 5 or 10 million units being moved, with an assumed midpoint of 7.5 million units, the rise in Apple’s revenue and gross profits would be just 1 percent each. If these numbers hold true once the smartwatch actually comes out, its not like it will start bringing in an insane amount of revenue or gross profit for the company. Nonetheless, it would strengthen Apple’s publicly presumed ability to churn out innovative products every few years. It remains to be seen exactly how innovative the iWatch will be, which is not expected to be released before 2014.

Analyst Expects 10 Million iWatch Sales During Initial Launch Year original content from Ubergizmo.

Time and again it has been rumored that Apple is working on wearable devices. There have been rumors of a smartwatch, which is commonly known as the iWatch. 9to5mac is reporting that Apple has managed to poach Nike’s top design director Ben Shaffer. At Nike, Shaffer was the Studio Director of the Innovation Kitchen, which is basically a research and development lab where new product designs come to life. Products that came out of the innovation kitchen include the infamous Nike Fuelband and the company’s new Flyknit shoe.

The iWatch that Apple is reportedly working on has already been rumored to be fitness focused, much like the Fuelband. Shaffer’s work on the Fuelband will definitely come in handy if talk about his move to Apple is actually true. It is only speculation at this point that Shaffer has been lured away by Apple and that his work there is going to focus on wearable devices. There hasn’t been a confirmation from both Shaffer or Apple as yet. Apple actually hasn’t even detailed its wearable device plans as yet. It hasn’t confirmed if it is indeed developing a smartwatch. Analysts expect that Apple might unveil its first wearable gadget, the aforementioned smartwatch, next year. [Image via iPhoneaddict]

Apple Reportedly Hires Top Nike Design Director To Work On Wearable Gadgets original content from Ubergizmo.