Circular
Latest
Oura sues smart ring rival Circular for allegedly copying technology
Oura has sued smart ring newcomer Circular for allegedly violating tech patents.
Snapchat to release $130 camera-equipped Spectacles this fall
Yes, the Snapchat Spectacles are real, and company chief Evan Spiegel presented them to a small group of people today. That's where he also revealed that the company has been rebranded and renamed to Snap Inc. According to The Wall Street Journal, Snap Inc.'s first wearable product comes armed with a camera that can record 10-second videos when you tap a button near the hinge. Every tap starts a new recording. The results don't look like typical* videos shot with phones or action cams, though -- not when it captures circular footage that mimics our own vision. Apparently, Spiegel believes that the rectangular format is "an unnecessary vestige of printing photos on sheets of paper." And since this is Snapchat we're talking about, the glasses can sync with your phone wirelessly, making anything it takes easy to share online.
Omate Rise is a circular Android 3G smartwatch for just $200
Omate probably isn't the first brand that comes to mind when you think of smartwatches, but the truth is it was one of the first to launch a 3G-enabled smartwatch. It's been over two years since then but such devices have yet to fully take off, not to mention that LG has recently canned its latest LTE watch. But that's good news for Omate who is launching the Rise, a $200 fully circular smartwatch, via Indiegogo on December 7th. Much like its predecessor, the Rise runs on full Android 5.1 (customized with Omate's new OUI 4.0) instead of Android Wear, meaning you can side load any regular Android app -- including all the missing Google Play services -- onto it. But of course, you'll have to get used to poking around on that 1.3-inch, 360 x 360 round LCD. Additionally, the Rise also works as a notification watch with phones running on either iOS 9 or Android 4.4 and above.
Relaxing with Runcible, the circular 'anti-smartphone'
The Runcible is both the strangest and most intriguing device that I've seen at Mobile World Congress this year. It offers many of the same capabilities as a smartphone, but it looks like a trinket you would find in a trendy vintage store. That's by design, though: Its creator, Monohm, wants the circular gizmo to challenge the now ubiquitous smartphone experience, which is increasingly defined by a relentless stream of notifications. Aubrey Anderson, the company's founder and CEO, describes the Runcible as a "quieter" gadget that can help people relax and live in the moment, while still staying connected online.
Samsung is thinking of making round smartwatches, too
Motorola might not be the only company making a smartwatch with a circular display in the near future. Samsung has filed for a trio of US design patents for smartwatches that are much more rounded than squarish devices like the Gear Live. The watch faces vary in their curviness, although they all have a similar camera in the band like the early Galaxy Gear; one example (what you see above) also has charging pins in the clasp, rather than on the watch itself. It's clear that Samsung is seriously considering circular wristwear, although whether or not it actually builds any of these gadgets is another matter. All the patents were filed last March, or well before the company saw poor Galaxy Gear sales and revamped its designs -- if these concepts ever translate to real products, there could be a lot of changes.
Walmart ad hints at Vudu streaming on Roku players
We've wondered ever since Roku's media streamers went on sale at Walmart about a year ago when or if the retailer's Vudu streaming service would be available on them, and that time may be drawing near. While there's still no official word or appearance of the channel, Dave Zatz posted an image of an upcoming June 10th Walmart ad from SlickDeals.net for the Roku HD that includes a logo for Vudu. Of course, even if the app is released, as he mentions there's no assurance they'd be able to handle the highest quality HDX streaming, but it would be one more way to get video on-demand, and access to cloud stored Ultraviolet movies.
Eole concept watch has turbine bezel, shows time when you blow (video)
Traditional electronic watches may be practical, but there's nothing elegant about battery power. With the Eole watch concept, designer Julien Moise envisioned a device that's powered by blown air, displaying the time only when you want to see it. Sure, compulsively blowing on your watch in a meeting is less discreet than sneaking a peek under the table, but you'll still have your BlackBerry around for when you need to count down the minutes until freedom. There's also a weather indicator and alarm function, so we assume there's a battery in there that's doing more than keeping time -- an alarm that only sounds when you blow wouldn't work too well if you're asleep.
Zero watch concept perfects the minimal timepiece
Unless you're a fan of high-tech jewelry, few things are as irksome as an overblown wristwatch design (we're looking at you Tokyoflash). While a binary timepiece will certainly up your geek cred, it's not very useful for providing at-a-glance information. Robert Dabi's Zero concept above, however, remains simple, beautiful, and amazingly enough, useful, all that same time. Practical too if he can coax a batch of round LCD displays into a production run. More pics and video after the break.
Radio Shack ad confirms Xbox 360 price cuts?
According to our good, dear, beautiful friends at Joystiq (and Radio Shack, incidentally) the Xbox 360 family is going to be seeing those rumored price cuts in the very near future. Falling right in line with that chatter we heard at the beginning of the month, a leaked Radio Shack circular seems to indicate that there will be reductions across the board for the console, with the 60GB version clocking in at $299, the Elite running you a cool $399, and the Arcade setup dropping to a totally affordable $199 (we're looking at you, potential Xbox LIVE opponents). Sure this could all be some Photoshop wiz's idea of a hilarious joke, but we're keeping the fingers and toes crossed over here. Target date for truth? September 7th -- so stay tuned.
LG Display develops small elliptical and circular-shaped LCDs
Oh yeah, round displays have been around the proverbial block before (probably on wheels, which are also akin to a circle), but LG Display is attempting to make a splash of its own in the unorthodox display arena with two new developments. Hailed as the "world's largest 6-inch elliptical and 1.4-inch circular-shaped LCDs," both units are capable of displaying up to 262,000 colors and have a near 160-degree viewing angle. We're told that the devices could eventually find homes in digital photo frames as well as a variety of household / automotive applications, but we won't be getting any further details 'til they're both showcased at SID next week. One more look is waiting after the jump.
Weekend circulars show jailbroken iPod touch with Installer on board
We're not sure who nodded off in the art department, but we're fairly certain they're going to be wide awake come Monday morning. Apparently, Radio Shack is running circulars this week featuring the iPod touch... with the Installer and MobileChat icons. We're sure Apple will be stoked to discover that a jailbroken iPod is hanging out in one of America's most-viewed ads, and we're equally sure that buyers will be pleased to learn they don't really get an IM application with their purchase. Champagne for everyone!Update: Take a look at a screen grab from the circular after the break.[Thanks, Matt & Oscar M]
Circuit City's 360 "relaunch" 10am tomorrow
According to their circular, electronics retailer Circuit City will have a minimum of 12 Xbox 360 consoles (we're assuming they mean 12 premium consoles) per store tomorrow, March 5th at 10am. For those of you who've managed to track one down already, but are looking for some more games, you'll be able to pick up Project Gotham Racing 3 and Perfect Dark Zero for only $39.99 each.[Via digg]
