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...]
Researcher Proposes a Body-Wide Wireless Network for Wearables
We've written before about how handy mesh networks would be for wearable technology, and how close ANT+ comes to that goal. Now comes a researcher who suggests that a whole new wireless networking standard at frequencies of around 10 to 20 GHz (WiFi runs at 2.4 and 5 GHz), specifically for on-body networks. To connect devices in such close quarters, you don't need much in … [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...]
22 Percent of Pre-Ordered Apple Watches Have Shipped: Slice
Slice Intelligence, which used its panel of online shoppers to estimate first-day orders for the Apple Watch, now says that Apple shipped about 375,000 of the 1.7 million preorders in the first weekend. Whether that's a big number of not depends on your expectation; many buyers who were initially given extended shipping dates wound up getting their watches on Friday, the first … [Read more...]
Gaming is Hard on the Apple Watch, and For Good Reason
Ars Technica has an interesting piece about how gaming companies are trying to figure out how to use the Apple Watch as a platform. There are lots of impediments, not the least of which is that Apple's developers' kit is pretty hostile to the idea. To us, gaming on the watch seems like a Bad Idea; there's limited interaction space, battery life is severely constrained, and … [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...]
Apple Watch App Store Opens With 3,000 Apps
No big surprise with the first deliveries slated for tomorrow, but Apple has taken the wraps off the Watch App Store, which is part of the Watch iOS app. The Wall Street Journal reports that there are about 3,000 apps available. Ars Technica points out that there's no apparent way to search for a watch app, which is a bit odd. And Buzzfeed has a list of Apple's own app … [Read more...]
Salesforce Survey Says Enterprise Wearables to Grow 3x by 2017
Salesforce, which has considerable skin in the wearables game, is out with a survey today showing that enterprises are trying out wearables for workplace security, employee time management, and real-time communication. Coming soon, the company says, are pilot projects in business analytics and field service. Salesforce surveyed about 1,500 companies; of those, 500 said they … [Read more...]