The authoritative market research company IDC says smartwatch sales dropped 51.6 percent last quarter from the year previous, although it suggests that the results are distorted by Apple's vast success last year. In 3Q15, when the Apple Watch was generally available for the first time, Apple sold 3.9 million units, IDC said, accounting for 70.2 percent of the market. This … [Read more...]
Smartwatch Sales Plunge, says IDC, and It’s All Apple’s Fault
IDC is out with its latest quarterly numbers for the smartwatch industry, and it shows a whiplash kind of decline. Overall, shipments fell 32 percent in the second quarter of 2016 compared to a year previous, with Apple's sales dropping by 55 percent. Even at "only" 1.6 million watches shipped, Apple remains far and away the market leader, with 47 percent of the market. … [Read more...]
Ars Technica Reviews Moto360 Update; Faster, But No New Tech
Ars Technica weighs in on the newest iteration of the Moto360 smartwatch, which it correctly pegs as the most iconic hardware expression of Android Wear. The verdict: OK, but nothing to get all fussed about. The new Moto360 has a faster chip than the older one -- a Qualcomm Snapdragon rather than a TI OMAP. The crown was moved from 3 o'clock to 2 o'clock, as many other … [Read more...]
Motorola Unveils New Moto360 Smartwatches With Mid-Range Specs
It's apparently smartwatch week; in addition to Huawei, ASUS, and Samsung, Motorola's dived (dove? diven?) back into the pool with updated Moto360s. They're a lot like their predecessors: Android Wear, round screen, customizable at purchase, small "flat-tire" cutout at the bottom of the dial. But there are also some notable improvements and extensions to the line. This is … [Read more...]
CES: Lenovo VB10 Wearable Unveiled
There were reports in October that Lenovo (the Chinese company that first bought IBM's Thinkpad line, then most recently swallowed Motorola's phone business) was coming out with an activity monitor. The company officially announced the product today at CES. The Vibe VB10 is essentially a notification device that features an e-ink display, which helps with seven-day battery … [Read more...]
Noted in Passing: Lenovo’s Wristband
It seems like all the Cool Kids have one, and now Lenovo does, too: there are several media reports that Lenovo's got a smartband that looks a lot like the Fitbit Flex. It tracks the usual stuff: steps, distance, calories, sleep, and heart rate. It's a notification device, too. And, interestingly, it can apparently unlock your PC, which seems like something that Apple should … [Read more...]
Moto Teases A Pretty Wearable, But Not Much Else
Motorola, in a state of continual change for the last few years, says it's going to ship a pretty wearable. We don't know anything else about it -- like what it might do. Or when it might ship. Or what it might cost. We just have a promise that it'll look nice. The device part of Moto, one of the great brands in technology since the first car radio, was sold to Google in … [Read more...]