Luxottica is the world's largest optical goods company, and you may remember that Google has a deal with the company -- sealed a year ago -- to produce a consumer version of Glass. Massimo Vian is one of Luxottica's two CEO's and he told the company's annual shareholder meeting today that its version of Google Glass will be out "soon," the Wall Street Journal … [Read more...]
New Android Wear Functions Coming Soon
Google is talking officially about an upcoming update to Android Wear, an update that will include several interesting improvements to the UI. Several of the improvements are designed to trim the number of times that using your watch becomes a two-handed operation. You'll soon be able to move your way through screens by flicking your wrist instead of touching the screen. … [Read more...]
A Long-Form Inside Look at Disney’s MagicBand Project
Disney, like any company that adapts and rebuilds reality, is a famously controlling place with a frequently difficult culture. So the high-stakes project to re-engineer theme parks with the wearable MagicBand was even more full of internally corporate competition than it might have been at a "normal" company. FastCompany has an exhaustive and exhausting blow-by-blow of how … [Read more...]
Wired Tells How the Apple Watch Was Built. Too Early, Maybe?
Usually, an article like the one in Wired about the development of the Apple Watch doesn't run until the product in question actually ships. Long reads that focus on how a previously accomplished executive new to a challenging corporate culture overcame huge odds to produce a world-changing product are more effective if the product is in people's hands and is, in fact, … [Read more...]
Why the Apple Watch Sales Process is Overwrought and Won’t Last
9to5Mac continues to have deep coverage of exactly how Apple plans to sell the Watch, treading the fine line between selling a few-size-fits-all product like an iMac or iPhone to something that's more customized and personal. We do wonder, though, if all this fuss is a short-term thing. Think about it: an iPhone 6 comes in two styles (regular and Plus), three colors, three … [Read more...]
US Government Sets Wearables Accelerator for Responders
First responders are an obvious, if difficult, market for wearable tech. Technical demands for responders are difficult to fulfill, governments don't have a lot of money, and purchase cycles are long. But where government money does flow, products follow. And government money is starting to flow to wearables. The US Department of Homeland Security has launched EMERGE!, an … [Read more...]
Microsoft Expands Distribution of the Band
Microsoft, which seemed to be using the first round of shipments of its Band wearable as market research, says it's expanding availability of the $200 device. Starting today, you'll be able to get the Microsoft Band at BestBuy, Amazon, and Target -- though the company says it'll be ramping shipments to them over the next few weeks, so don't freak if there's backorders. The … [Read more...]
The End is Nigh, Says Swatch Co-Founder
The Swiss watch industry had a near-death experience when the Japanese started making electronic watches en masse. Now one of the saviors of the Swiss says that Apple, too, presents an existential threat. Elmar Mock, one of the founders of Swatch, told Bloomberg that he thinks Apple will soon sell as many watches as all of Switzerland, and that "[a]nything in the price range … [Read more...]
Chinese Tech Giant Huawei Opens “Aesthetics” Design Center in Paris
Huawei is an immense tech company that you may not have heard of if you're entirely US-centric. It focuses mostly on its domestic Chinese market, India, and emerging economies. You know: most of the world. It had a huge presence at Mobile World Congress. If there was any doubt, though, that its ambitions are large, word comes today that Huawei is opening a "Paris Aesthetics … [Read more...]
Want an Apple Watch? Think High Street, Not Main Street
So it's April 24, you want to buy an Apple Watch, but the lines at the Apple Store are too long. Sorry, but don't head to your AT&T store, because they won't have it. You may have better luck at a fashion retailer. WWD, the fashion bible, reports that the Watch will be available at a roster of stores not necessarily known for technology. Places like Galeries Lafayette in … [Read more...]