Unanimity among tech users is hard to come by, but a lot of athletes we know are big fans of the Basis Peak fitness tracker. A new software update now lets the Peak share its data with both the Apple Health and Google Fit ecosystems. The Peak is known for the comprehensiveness of the data it collects. By joining with those widely used ecosystems, Basis data can now be tied … [Read more...]
Samsung SDK Tips Features of Next-Gen Smartwatch
Samsung today released the software developer kit for a smartwatch dubbed Project Orbis. From the docs shown on SamMobile, this round-face device is very much not an Android Wear device. Chief among the specs is a rotating bezel, used to navigate through software. The SDK also indicates that the watch -- which may be called the Gear A when it's introduced at the IFA show in … [Read more...]
Apple Starts Third-Party Watchband Dev Program
Just as any new Apple product begets an accessories market, the Apple Watch is birthing a market in watchbands. Apple has announced a "Made for Apple Watch" program for third-party bands, and promises that the lugs -- the tiny hardware pieces that snap into the watches' band grooves -- will be available soon. What the guidelines did not say was anything about the mystery … [Read more...]
Accessory Maker to Tap Into Undocumented Apple Watch Port
What could possibly go wrong? Adding battery life to the Apple Watch is probably a great business opportunity, and the Reserve Strap accessory was building a wrist strap with an included battery that would attach to the watch's charger. Bulky, but if you've gotta have a battery, you've gotta have a battery. But it turns out that there's this little hidden port on the … [Read more...]
TAG Heuer Smart Watch To Cost $1400, Ship in November
So you know how "everybody" is saying that the Apple Watch is too expensive at $349 to $1100? (Yes, we're ignoring the $10,000 gold model.) TAG Heuer execs says its smart watch, which will run Android Wear, will go on sale in November for $1400. The chief differentiator, other than the operating system, is that the TAG Heuer watch promises a 40-hour battery life, rather than … [Read more...]
Flawed Haptics Slowed Apple Watch Debut: WSJ
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that one of the makers of the taptic engine -- the component that makes the Apple Watch vibrate -- was shipping flawed product, leading to the short supply of product at launch. AAC Technologies Holdings, of Shenzen, China, was the supplier of the troublesome part, the WSJ reported. Apple moved manufacturing to the other supplier, Nidec … [Read more...]
LG Urbane Smart Watch Hits the US Market for $349
LG first showed its Urbane smart watch at Mobile World Congress earlier this year. A nice, solid, piece of Android Wear kit, you can now buy the Urbane through Google, Verizon, and AT&T for $349. There are a couple of notable things about the Urbane. First of all, it feels like a watch -- stainless steel with a leather band. It also has a fully round face, without the … [Read more...]
Apple’s Sport Watch Has A Better, More Scratchable, Screen Than More Expensive Versions
Who doesn't like some good old-fashioned geekery? Displaymate goes unbelievably deep on the subject of the screen on the Apple Watch, and comes up with some fascinating details that will have an impact on any other smart watch maker: Displaymate found that the watch's screen is OLED, probably from LG, and is Apple's first OLED screen. Power management is rigorous, sometimes … [Read more...]
Luxottica’s Glass Will Be Out “Soon,” CEO Says; Intel Version Next Year
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...]
iFixit Posts Apple Watch Teardown
We love iFixit, and we're not disappointed this morning: it has a teardown of the Apple Watch the morning it's first supposed to get into people's hands. The core findings: it's really really really small, the battery takes most of the space, and (with the possible exception of battery replacement) it's not at all serviceable: Despite rumors (and hopes) of an upgradable … [Read more...]