smartwatches
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Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch hands-on (video)
Wrist watches, smart or otherwise, are simply not for everyone -- there are more smartphone users in the world, many times over, than there will ever be smartwatch owners. Despite the limited market for such a device, however, Samsung's decided it's time to join in on the fun. The Galaxy Gear, as we've known it to be called for a few weeks now, was hardly guarded with a level of secrecy that's become standard for a flagship smartphone, but as the device is finally official -- and expected to launch in more than 100 countries within weeks -- just how does it perform? Find our take after the break. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Agent smartwatch SDK released, developers can start tinkering
Four days after hitting its Kickstarter goal, Agent Watches has released the SDK for its smartwatch. The watches won't ship until December, but all developers need to start working is the emulator and a Bluetooth-compatible device. Windows Phone 8 Developer Mike Hole posted a link to the tools on his blog, plus detailed notes with sample code and a how-to for the emulator. With all this info, maybe you'll write a few of the apps for the hip and sexy people from that Kickstarter video.
Sony's Open SmartWatch project lets devs tinker with its firmware
Starting today, advanced developers can fiddle with Sony's SmartWatch with more freedom than ever before. With the Open SmartWatch project, the company is now allowing devs to create and flash their own firmware to the device, paving the way for greater exploration of its potential. Previously, third-party innovation was limited to the official Add-on SDK, but with a slew of resources posted on the project's website, Sony is looking to lure devs to its platform -- and potentially find inspiration for its own end user experience. To get the party started, Sony and Arduino are teaming up to host a hackathon in Malmö, Sweden on June 15th with the hopes of bringing firmware alternatives to the table. Of course, flashing the firmware will void the product's warranty, but for the developer with an eye on wearable tech, it might be a price well worth paying.
E Ink and Sonostar pair up for Mobius flexible-display smartwatch, we go hands-on at Computex
Earlier this week, E Ink announced its Mobius flexible display, a 1.73-inch touch-enabled panel for smartwatches. Now, the new screen has made its way onto the Computex exhibition floor in Taipei. Sonostar, a local manufacturer, has integrated the 320 x 240 grayscale panel within its new wearable, which the company is demonstrating for show attendees. Simply called "Smartwatch," the product is little more than a mockup at this point, but it is expected to hit production sometime in Q3 of this year. The two samples on hand were non-functional, unfortunately, but they did each contain a working Mobius panel -- one displayed a sample Facebook notification, while the second had the time and date with a small low-res picture of a dog, along with battery and Bluetooth indicators up top. The watch itself was very lightweight, and while glare was clearly an issue today, there's plenty of time for engineers to tweak things before this ships later in the year. The Smartwatch, which can stay powered for up to a week with each charge, will come in both black and white, and should be compatible with both Android and iOS devices. Pricing is not yet set, but representatives did confirm that it'll be coming to the US.%Gallery-190370%
Pebble updates smartwatch firmware to version 1.9, improved interface and Snake game in tow
Sony's not the only manufacturer updating its smartwatch firmware this week. Pebble's pushing an update, too, with a few changes on the way. Version 1.9, which has already begun rolling out to users, delivers a much cleaner UI. To update, head to the Pebble smartphone app and tap "check for FW update." Once installed, you'll find a cleaner menu structure, which groups all watchfaces together and moves primary navigation controls to the buttons on the right side of the device. You can also cycle through faces by simply tapping the up and down buttons -- there's no need to hop into the main menu for those adjustments. There are also some new faces available for download, along with a Snake game, which is admittedly a bit awkward to play on a wristwatch, but it's a welcome addition nonetheless. We imagine the update was released in order to prep users for an onslaught of watchfaces -- a Pebble SDK is due to be released next month.
Review: Citizen Eco-Drive Proximity Watch for iPhone 4S and iPhone 5
The Citizen iPhone compatible watch received some substantial publicity about the time all of the excitement about the Pebble watch was going on. Citizen is a well-respected high-end watch manufacturer and designing a Bluetooth watch capable of communicating over the latest iPhones seemed a lust-worthy purchase. The watch has an attractive analog face, and it can signal you with a subtle vibration when email or a calendar event occurs. It also vibrates on an incoming call. The app gets the current time from your iPhone. When you change time zones, the watch automatically updates the date and time. Another nice feature is that it can trigger your iPhone to make a sound if you aren't sure where it is and it's within Bluetooth range. It also can let you know if you've left your phone somewhere because it senses you have left the room without your phone and sounds an alarm. The watch lists for US$495 but is available for much less from online retailers. So how useful is it? Not as useful as I had hoped. The watch is complicated, and the rather busy face makes the settings pretty small for my tired old eyes. Pairing was pretty easy. It's done with a free app from Citizen, which also turns several features on and off. The Bluetooth connections only lasts for a set time, then it un-pairs to save battery on your iPhone. I found email to be a mess. It has some quick templates for Google, Yahoo and AOL Mail, but for a watch that only works with an iPhone it is an amazing omission to not have a setup for iCloud. You can do it manually, but I was never successful, being told each time my password or username were not right. Several people using the watch have had the same issue with Apple email accounts. Another blow is that there is no text message notification. Just email (when it works) and calendar notifications. Seems like SMS would be just as important. Then there is the matter of utility. All it does is vibrate when mail comes in, or a scheduled event is happening. But the iPhone can already vibrate under those circumstances, so what is the point exactly? As a watch, the Citizen Proximity is attractive and rugged, and the ability to auto-set the time is very nice. The other features seem half-baked. The Pebble, much talked about but way behind on delivery, gives you information as text on the watch face. Perhaps Citizen will update its software and add the missing features and fix the email bugs. If you're more interested in a high-quality Eco-Drive watch, the Citizen is fine. If you are looking for breakthrough watch/iPhone capabilities there's nothing to see here. You might want to wait for the $150.00 Pebble, which has more features but is still unavailable. Or do what a lot of people do, which is forget wearing a watch and get the time from your cellphone. %Gallery-174134%
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 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]
