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Editorial: TV gets prettier, smarter and dumber
Good ideas are hard to predict, both before and after they are introduced as prototypes. The push-button (touch-tone) telephone was conceptually launched to the consumer market at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, 21 years after the device was invented by Bell Telephone labs. Another 20 years after the Seattle exposition, touch-tone phones finally penetrated 50 percent of American homes. A general lack of tech frenzy, and monopoly pricing control, slowed adoption. But it's also true that the new phones didn't solve a fundamental problem. They sped up dialing, which solved a non-essential but important user-interface problem of rotary dial phones. Each year at CES, tech enthusiasts get a chance to glimpse prototypical ideas and guess whether they will endure. In doing so, one question should remain central: "What problem is being solved?"
CES 2013: Best in show
Selecting the best in show is no easy task, because CES covers such a crazy range of devices: refrigerators, tablets, smartphones and even technologically advanced cutlery. This year was no different. We've combed our CES 2013 coverage and narrowed it down to the biggest announcements that had us chattering at this year's show. Join us after the break for CES 2013's very best.
The Weekly Roundup for 01.07.2013
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 7 days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
The Daily Roundup for 01.09.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Pebble smart watch to ship January 23; Engadget goes hands-on
The long-awaited, iOS-connected Pebble smart watch will ship to Kickstarter backers on January 23. That's the word from the Pebble team during a press event this morning at CES 2013. If you waited until after the Kickstarter closed to put in a pre-order, you'll wait a bit longer -- another four to six weeks. While some of us around the TUAW newsroom still wonder why anyone would want to go back to the 20th century by wearing a watch, it's good to see that these guys finally got the product to market. The Pebble took Kickstarter by storm by raising over US$10 million, but development of the device has been slow. It looks like the wait was worth it, as the shipping Pebble is very polished. Engadget's Myriam Joire filmed a hands-on demonstration of the Pebble, and she's impressed with how light the device is -- a little over one ounce -- and how nice the e-paper display looks. That video is below. We're also providing a link to Engadget's liveblog of the event, which just wrapped up.
Pebble smartwatch hands-on (video)
It's hard to believe that nine months have elapsed since we first wrote about Pebble. The smartwatch quickly became one of Kickstarter's most successful campaigns -- raising $10 million in a few short weeks -- only to miss its original shipping date. We knew things were looking up when the device recently cleared the FCC and today at CES 2013, Allerta confirmed that Pebble will be shipping to its backers on January 23rd. We spent some time with the smartwatch here in Las Vegas and came away extremely impressed with the level of polish the company's achieved. Pebble's most visually striking feature is its colorful multi-layer polycarbonate face / bezel, which looks fantastic. The device is incredibly light (just 38.2g / 1.35oz) but still manages to feel solid. Build-quality is top-notch -- Allerta's clearly put a lot of care into the hardware. The sides and back are black and completely sealed (Pebble is water-resistant to five atmospheres). On the right side you'll find the up, select and down buttons, while the left side is home to the back button and a magnetic power connector, à la MagSafe. Speaking of which, battery life is rated for a lofty seven days per charge. More after the break.
Pebble smart watch shipping to Kickstarter backers on January 23rd
Pebble promised some news during its CES press event today, and it's now confirmed that, after a series of delays, the smart watch will finally begin shipping to Kickstarter backers on January 23rd. That includes some 85,000 orders in all, which will apparently take six to eight weeks to fulfil as it's now looking at a production rate of about 15,000 units per week. The company will then begin fulfilling non-Kickstarter pre-orders after that. Eager for a closer look at what's in store if you ordered? You can find our hands-on look at the finished device right here.
Live from Pebble's CES 2013 press event!
Welcome to Pebble's press event at CES, brought to you live from the Las Vegas Convention Center! We've heard plenty about this smartwatch -- it entered the Kickstarter hall of fame last year, after all -- and today might just be the day it finally makes it to market. Join us as we live-blog the first eyes-on of this much-anticipated device.
Pebble smartwatch stops by FCC, tries to prove it's not vaporware
The Pebble smartwatch missed its original September target ship date. Then, it failed to ship in time to stuff stockings this holiday season. And, while we've seen them in person and the company claims a release is imminent, you'd be forgiven for being a bit skeptical. But there is reason to hope: the connected wristwear has officially received a thumbs up from the FCC. What's more, the e-paper timepiece gets the full teardown treatment and comes complete with an owners manual. There's no surprises here, but if you're the impatient type, there should be a few things to keep you occupied until the next delay.
Pebble smartwatch hit with further delays, won't be stuffing a stocking near you
Pebble's finally coming soon! Just not in time to become one of the season's hottest stocking stuffers. As seems to be par for the course with Kickstarter projects, the blockbuster smartwatch is more than a bit behind schedule, but the team is hot on the case, keeping backers in the loop with regular update posts. The latest, which hit inboxes just this afternoon, confirms that the device will support iPhone SMS and iMessage notifications (phew!), assuming you have it linked up with an Apple device running iOS 6. We also got to take a peek at some hot-off-the-press Pebbles in their final finishes -- the black, gray, orange, red and white wearables posed for a point-and-shoot, so they don't pack the typical punch of a pro photo job. Still, they look mighty slick, and if the shot above is any indication, they might turn out to be quite the fingerprint magnets, too. We'll be keeping an eye on Kickstarter for an official shipment notification, but in the meantime, backers are invited to login to their Pebble accounts to make final color selections by next Friday. You can hit up that site at the source link below, then hop past the break for an iMessage demo.
Pebble team posts UI preview, provides an early look at how you'll interact with the E-Paper Watch
Sadly, Pebble won't be making its way to backers by its original September estimate, but the design team wants you to know that it's hard at work, traveling the world to source components, running shipping tests and spending time refining the user interface in order to provide a top-notch experience once you do receive your device in the mail. To that end, Martijn, the UI designer, has dropped by Vimeo to provide us with a "sneak peek" at the device's operation, including some demos on iOS and a connected prototyping board, using a custom tool that sends designs to the Pebble screen from any graphics program in real-time (a feature that will reportedly also be available in the SDK). From what we've seen, there appears to be plenty of space on the screen to show incoming calls, read emails with eight lines of text at a time, view appointment details, select songs and control volume, and, of course, see the current time. Commenters seem to be quite pleased with the design so far, and we have to agree -- it's a pretty slick UI. Jump past the break to see it in action.
Pebble smartwatch will miss September shipping date, blames darn popularity
The latest update sent to Pebble's Kickstarter backers (and a few Engadget editors) is a double-edged one. After announcing that the smartwatch will be available in a new orange edition, the makers admitted that the crowd-funded wrist candy won't be shipping to its backers on schedule in September. No new date has been disclosed just yet, but the delay was attributed to the project having to abandon early plans of making just 1,000 smartwatches. The level of production has now ballooned, meaning the factories involved are aiming to hit 15,000 Pebbles per week "as soon as possible."
Pebble smartwatch outs SDK preview at Google I/O, gives developers a kickstart on apps
If you invested in the Pebble e-paper smartwatch -- and who didn't? -- you'll be happy to hear that the firm has unleashed a preview of the Kickstarter darling's SDK at Google I/O this week. That'll give developers a head start on creating apps for the ARM-powered e-paper device, allowing them to learn exactly how it receives data from Mountain View's robot OS. The company said the new kit supports multiple program languages to boot, allowing developers of all skill levels to create Pebble-enabled apps. The document is still a work in progress, of course, but advances like this should help keep it from getting trampled by the cavalcade of smart wrist devices now coming out. Check the source link if you want to grab it.
Pebble ties itself up in Twine: sounds so rustic, couldn't be any less (video)
Take an e-ink e-paper smartwatch that's got plenty of willing customers, throw in a WiFi-connected sensor box and well, imagine the possibilities. The founders behind Pebble and Twine hope you are, because they have announced that the pair will be connectable through the latter's web-based interface. This means you'll be able to setup text notifications to your wrist when your laundry's done, when someone's at your door and plenty more mundane real-world tasks. A brief video explains how it should all go down, but try not to get too excited -- pre-orders are sadly sold out.
Pebble smartwatch sells out initial supplies, enters Kickstarter hall of fame with $10m raised
It looks like adding Bluetooth 4.0 was just the trick for taking the Pebble smartwatch over the edge -- and by over the edge, we mean to an insane level of Kickstarter success. The watch not only crossed the $10 million fundraising mark -- it aimed for a paltry $100k -- but its initial 85,000 units are now sold out. The campaign still has eight days to go, and though additional backers won't get in on that first wave of Pebbles, there's a second batch on the way. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Pebble watch gets updated to Bluetooth 4.0 before it even arrives
What are you going to do when you get an unprecedented response from your new Kickstarter project? You throw in some extra features to keep your new fans happy. Allerta, the same company behind the InPulse smartwatch, has announced that its new Pebble smartwatch will now arrive with low-power Bluetooth 4.0 compatibility. The watches will still interact with Bluetooth 2.1, but inclusion of the latest version should ensure a better degree of future-proofing, with a view to hooking up with wireless heart monitors in the near future. The new feature will be built into the watches ahead of its release and enabled with a later software update. Better still, the makers promise that these Bluetooth plans have been in the pipeline for a while and shouldn't affect the watch's launch date.
Switched On: Big kicks, not all for starters
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. The end of last week's Switched On left doubt for the future of dedicated devices that tread on the turf of smartphones. After all, funding is key to every major new product initiative and, despite the vast fortunes of many Silicon Valley engineers that have been accumulated via IPOs and acquisitions, few wish to take on the risk of fronting a new consumer device themselves.(In 2007, the handheld FlipStart PC was hatched from FlipStart Labs, funded by Vulcan Ventures, the investment arm of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.) Most venture capitalists abhor the device business; it is a rare device that makes it to the spotlight of startup debutante balls such as DEMO, TechCrunch Disrupt, or Launch. Even most of the 94 companies at CES' Eureka Park were not developing end-user devices Where, then, can a device entrepreneur go for funding and pick up some publicity in the process?
Allerta intros Pebble smartwatch, inPulse's attractive younger sibling
Remember the inPulse Smartwatch? Say hello to its attractive younger sibling, the Pebble e-paper watch. Allerta's latest creation -- which is launching today on Kickstarter for $99 in three colors -- is "the first smartwatch to offer full iPhone and iOS compatibility". It features a 1.26-inch 144x168-pixel black and white e-paper display with backlight, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, four buttons, a vibrating motor and a three-axis accelerometer. The battery is expected to last more than seven days on a charge. Pebble receives call, email and message notifications from iOS and Android devices over Bluetooth. It supports downloadable watchfaces and activity-specific watchapps for controlling music, cycling, running and golfing. Allerta's even teamed up with Freecaddie to create a rangefinder app for over 25,000 golf courses worldwide. The timepiece can run several watchapps simultaneously -- these can be installed over Bluetooth using the Pebble App for iOS and Android (2.3 or higher) and developed using the Pebble SDK. Color choices include white, black, red and a fourth hue to be voted on by early backers of the project -- hurray to crowdsourcing. Pricing is $99 on Kickstarter today and $149 at retail later this year. Want more info? Check out the gallery below, then hit the break for the PR details and the Kickstarter link.
Sharp Touch Wood concept turns real with limited run of 15,000 handsets on NTT DoCoMo
You might have expected Sharp's pebble-shaped Touch Wood concept to remain just that, a concept, but the eclectic Japanese market has found a spot in its heart to fit 15,000 units of the curvy, wood-trimmed cellphone. Built from locally sourced cypress timber, each handset will have its own unique pattern and color, while the innards will be filled with a five megapixel imager, a 3.4-inch (854 x 480) display, a MicroSDHC expansion slot, and your usual GSM and 3G wireless radios. You can get yours through NTT DoCoMo some time around February or March.
The Queue: Pebble
Welcome back to The Queue, our daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mike Sacco will be your host today. Pebble: the most adorable non-combat pet. If you disagree, you are wrong. Missemilyblack asked: Will WoW Insider bring back the Class 101 articles once Cataclysm is in full swing? This may be pathetic, but I rely on those articles heavily when I'm trying out a new spec. It's so nice for a casual like me to get quick advice about rotations, glyphs and talents without much mucking around, and having them updated to include level 85 spells and the new talents would really be a godsend. Yep, we plan to have new 101 articles for Cataclysm once class balance has stabilized a bit. We really like the 101 articles and we're glad they help people who need it; we just need to make sure that the new ones won't become obsolete too quickly.
