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Meta Watch announces new dev kit with added iOS support, Bluetooth 4.0
Can't wait for the Pebble E-Paper Watch to ship this fall? The Meta Watch developer system that we first saw last year just got a major upgrade, and could serve as an acceptable stand-in for now, with the arrival of both iOS support and Bluetooth 4.0 to the $199 connected wearable. The device includes a 96 x 96-pixel sunlight-viewable LCD, six programmable buttons, an accelerometer, vibrating motor, ambient light sensor and a black or white strap. The developer platform Meta Watch is available through Texas Instruments now for $199. Hit up the source link after the break to make it your own.
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]
Sony SmartWatch now available in the US for $150
What's the most useful smartwatch of them all? If you guessed Sony's, you've got reason to smile: we just got word that it's finally available here in the US of A. As expected, the SmartWatch costs $150, while those colorful (read: not black) wrist bands are priced at $20 a pop. To recap, the watch pairs with Android phones over Bluetooth, using a free app available in Google Play (if you happen to own a Sony handset, you should find that application pre-installed). Like any smartwatch worth its salt, this one lets you read emails, texts and social updates on the device. Meanwhile, the list of mini apps is approaching 60, as of this writing, and already includes biggies like Facebook and Google Maps. After getting hands-on not once but twice, we can say the rubber strap is comfortable and the 1.3-inch OLED display responsive, though the apps are a mixed bag in terms of usefulness. Tap-to-like on Facebook? Genius. A remote for your phone's camera? Unabashed gimmickry, if you ask us. Using the watch to call someone in your contacts list? You'll need a Bluetooth headset for that feature to be truly handy. Other favorites of ours include the ability to find your lost phone (even if it's set to quiet mode), as well as stream photos and other media from your phone. You can even respond to incoming text messages with a preset reply (e.g., "I'm busy. What's up?"), though good luck using that canned response a second time when your friend gets back to you 10 seconds later. In any case, is all that worth the $150? That's a conversation you best have with your wallet -- in read-only format, naturally.
Intuit shows off MicroMint concept app for the WIMM One smartwatch, we go hands-on
Given the amount of time we spent with the WIMM One smartwatch, you'd think we would have had enough fodder for a full-blown review. Alas, though, one critical piece was missing: apps. Not test apps, like a balance ball game, but honest to goodness apps from major third-party developers. Well, we got a chance to check out a concept app from Intuit, the company behind Mint.com (no TurboTax for this 1.41-inch display, sorry).What can we say? When a device has a screen this tiny, the elevator pitch is going to be mighty brief. Here's how MicroMint works: just swipe left to right to see your balances for different accounts. There's no limit to how many it can display, and when you reach the end of the list, the app will just start cycling through again. As you can see in the video demo below, the app's performance is limited by the watch's 667MHz ARM11 CPU and 256MB RAM, which is to say you'll notice some lag as you swipe from one bank balance to another. And that's it. This is all the app does; don't expect to take advantage of Mint's other features, like budget-planning and mapping out savings goals (not that you'd want any graphs or itemized lists crammed onto that 160x160 screen).For now, of course, this concept app is just that, a prototype. Intuit won't commit to releasing it, much less share any sort of timeline. Interestingly, though, David Siegel on Intuit's development team suggested to us that the app might be of more use when WIMM releases its next-gen watch with NFC. With that radio on board, he says, the app could potentially allow not just for balance-checking, but credit card payments as well. Additionally, the outfit is mulling a similar app for the Sony SmartWatch, which also runs Android and supports Java-based apps. The only development hiccup, he says, would be adapting the app for Sony-specific APIs. That's a whole lot of ifs for one paragraph, though, so for now we'll leave you with a super quick hands-on video, just past the break.Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.
IRL: Sony SmartWatch, Otterbox Universal Defender case and a Blendtec blender
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. At last! A story where it's actually appropriate to write "Will it blend?" in the comments! In this week's IRL, our very own Darren Murph takes a slightly different tack than usual, gushing about his new $400 fruit crusher. On an equally rough-and-tumble note, Brian brings his trusty Otterbox iPhone case into a Nevada sandstorm with 50 mile-per-hour winds, while Sharif tests out Sony's SmartWatch -- from the comfort of his London neighborhood, of course.
Epson joins fitness market with world's lightest GPS watch
In the world of electronics, the size of a device directly relates to its ability to pull ahead of the competition -- especially when it comes to fitness-tracking gadgets. The latest and greatest in this field has emerged from the most unexpected of places, with Epson, a company known for its printers and projectors, releasing the world's lightest GPS watch. This timepiece, specifically designed for runners, reportedly offers more accurate readings and better battery life (up to 12 hours on one charge) than competing products from Garmin, with acute data on distance, speed and pace, all due to its newly-designed 13mm-thick module. If sweat is an issue, the water-resistant casing offers protection against a full submersion of up to 50 meters -- you can wipe your brow with a sigh of relief. Pricing and availability on the company's latest concept is still unknown, but you can let your eyes do the jogging as you peruse the press release just past the break.
Hydromechanical watch concept pumps away the hours for horologists (video)
Vincent Perriard and crew have apparently gone from overseeing the Concord C1 QuantumGravity watch and its fluorescent liquid battery gauge to designing another high end watch that combines mechanical action and fluid measurement with the HYT H1. This hand-wound timepiece has a 65 hour power reserve and displays the time via pumping bellows that push bright green fluorescine past the time markers. A rendered video embedded after the break does more to explain how the watch works, but may not help you figure out its rumored $45k price tag.
On moderating expectations for Apple's 2012
Just after the year-end retrospectives clear newsrooms, speculators begin pounding away at the forecasts for the coming year. Every year we see wide-eyed imaginings about what Apple "could" do in the coming year, and every year someone comes out with a list that sounds just as outlandish as the "too cheap to meter" claims about nuclear power from the 1950s. Time Techland's Tim Bajarin looks at "five industries Apple can disrupt in the near future," and the piece is typical of the overly-optimistic expectations people always seem to sprout this time of year. I'll skip over the first section related to TVs, because it's the only halfway-plausible section of the piece, and dive right into the "meal in a pill" musings that follow. "Imagine if Apple began working with the auto companies directly and, in extreme circumstances, was perhaps able to get a 7-inch iPad into these cars," Bajarin muses, managing in one sentence to combine speculation about an industry Apple's shown no interest in entering with speculation about a product Apple's shown no interest in building. He imagines iOS device integration with car systems that would allow for Siri-activated access to things like navigation, media, text messages -- basically all the things Siri already does, but tied into the car's display. The question for this auto integration scheme -- and a question I'll ask twice more later on -- is why Apple should bother. "People don't replace their TVs all that often" has been a major strike against speculation that Apple will produce its own TV set, and that counterargument rings even truer for cars. Apple could theoretically produce a head unit or other bit of hardware with auto integration that could be deployed across multiple auto makes and models, but the question remains: how would Apple benefit from this? Where's the money in it? The first followup question one must always ask after "Wouldn't it be cool if," is, "How much money could Apple actually make doing this?" If the answer to that second question is, "Hmm, probably not all that much, now that I think about it," then you can safely discount the possibility of Apple entering that industry. That goes double for the next industry in Time's list: wristwatches. "If Apple used the Nano to mirror some of the functionality of my iPhone in a watch format, the company could potentially redefine the role of the watch," Bajarin says. The problem is, the wristwatch's role has already been re-defined for the majority of consumers: it's been put on the same pile as the typewriter, slide rule, and floppy disk. Even people I know who are wristwatch enthusiasts have admitted that if you have any kind of cell phone you don't really need a watch. "I don't need to pull my watch out of my pocket to tell the time," you might say in defense of the wristwatch; "I don't need a bulky bit of rubber and metal attached to my wrist to tell the time," is my response. Bajarin correctly points out that some nano users have been using the latest iPod nano as a watch, but most of the reviews I've seen of the so-called "iWatch" point out that while it's technically possible to do this, it doesn't work all that well -- not even as well as a conventional watch. As for the idea of putting Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or some other connectivity between a wrist-worn nano and an iPhone, this is once again an idea that sounds good on paper but very likely sounds terrible in Apple's accounting ledgers. iPod sales have been declining for years, and the iPod touch already makes up the majority of the iPod's increasingly slim share of Apple's profits. While it certainly sounds cool, iPod-iPhone connectivity is a very niche-sounding feature in an already niche product like the iPod nano. Apple's trend over the past few years has been to shy away from heavily promoting its outlier products like the shuffle, nano, and Classic while devoting much more focus to its wide-appeal, general-purpose products like the iPhone and iPad. That's with good reason: general-purpose products have greater appeal to a greater number of consumers, and therefore Apple can make more money selling them. The intersection between "wristwatch wearer" and "iPhone owner" and "iPod nano fan" and "gee wouldn't it be great if all these things talked to each other" speculator has to be very small -- and too small for Apple to want to bother with addressing that market. Another market Apple's shown no interest in is home appliances, but that doesn't stop visions of iFridges dancing through people's heads. "If Apple applied their iOS software to appliances and married it to iCloud, they could turn pretty much any screen integrated into things like refrigerators, ovens or even cabinets into application-specific smart screens," Bajarin writes. This is another case of something that sounds cool at first, like something right out of a sci-fi movie or one of those concept videos of the "near future" that outfits like Microsoft like to crank out every decade or so. It's easy to picture a scenario where you walk into your house, say "Lights," and a Siri-powered "home assistant" turns them on for you. Or better yet, iOS-powered appliances in your home converse with the ones in your car, monitoring your location as you drive home from work, and when you're five minutes away they turn on the lights, set the A/C to 72 degrees, start the coffee pot, fire up the TV, fetch your pipe and slippers, and so forth. That's the house of the future that we've been promised for at least sixty years, and I can already hear the jaunty piano soundtrack in the accompanying concept video. What's not so easy to picture is Apple willingly involving itself with any of that. Unless it plans on branching out into building its own refrigerators, dishwashers, HVAC units and toasters, Apple's iOS definitely isn't going to show up in home appliances. You're not going to see Frigidaire running a licensed build of iOS 6 on a touchscreen refrigerator door, nor is a Kenmore dishwasher going to have iOS powering a multitouch interface where you pick your rinse cycle then knock out a quick game of Jetpack Joyride. You know why not? Because Apple's never going to license iOS to other manufacturers, period. "Never say never," the saying goes, but I'm saying it anyway. Just like with cars and watches, you have to follow the money trail to divine the level of interest Apple might have in the home appliance industry. And just like with cars and watches, I just don't see toaster ovens or thermostats as a lucrative market for Apple. Though it's nice to play around with these Jetsons-like images of a fully Apple-powered home, the reality of Apple's 2012 is going to be far more "boring" than the iCar, the iWatch, and the iHouse. Here's what you can really expect from Apple in the year to come, roughly in the order you can expect to see them: A faster iPad, possibly with a double-resolution display Faster versions of its current Macs, and maybe a 15" MacBook Air A faster iPhone iOS 6, with evolutionary improvements to iOS 5 An A5 or A6-powered high definition version of the current Apple TV -- or, far less likely, an actual Apple TV set Iterative improvements to Siri, iCloud, and iTunes services throughout the year Yawn, right? Where's the disruptive product, the wave of the future, the thing that makes us feel like Star Trek's universe has come 300 years early? If it exists at all, it's probably deep within Apple's labs, in prototype form, and a hell of a lot more exciting than anything on Bajarin's list -- or mine.
Ziiiro Celeste watches tick off the hours in multi-hued fashion
Despite our fascination with all things high-tech and the fact that we've got a smartphone in our pocket at all times, we've got a serious soft spot for stylish and inventive timepieces. Ziiiro is one of those companies that consistently finds its way on to our wish lists with watches like the Orbit and Gravity. Celeste is its latest offering, which represents your linear travel through the fourth dimension as a pair of overlapping colored disks. As the partially transparent bands circle about, they blend together to create dynamic hues of blue and gray, on the Mono models, or green and blue, on the Colored editions. The watches are housed in matte-finished stainless steel in chrome, gunmetal or black. You can pre-order the Celeste Mono and Celeste Colored now for €149 ($205), and they'll start shipping on November 18th. Check out the video after the break to see it in action.
Tokyoflash Kisai Seven tells time with Tron design, makes fan dreams come true
Tokyoflash has always been more about the showy aspects of time, rather than the practical telling of it. And that trend continues on here with a Tron-inspired schema that's gone from original fan concept to wrist-wrapping product completion. Dubbed the Kisai Seven, this watch takes its cues from the aforementioned Disney flick, and incorporates two pulsing LED rings -- available in blue or white -- that are customizable via three animation pre-sets. Timepiece collectors interested in this bit of avant chronographic kit can snatch it up late night on the 25th when it's set to be released. You might wanna order up quickly, though, as the company's offering a special two-day only price of $99 that'll get a bump to $139 shortly after. Like what you see fellow '80s nostalgist? Then get your credit cards at the ready. Tomorrow's only a day away.
Garmin's Forerunner 910XT sport watch begs to become your new swimming buddy
After introducing the Forerunner 610 alongside its lineup of runner-friendly watches, Garmin has introduced a new high tech gadget that's targeted to hardcore swimmers and triathletes: enter the Forerunner 910XT. With a price tag of $400, it's certainly intended for the most dedicated (or affluent) jocks, but for the outlay of cash, you'll find it provides detailed metrics such as swim distance, pool lengths, along with stroke identification and count. It even goes so far as to report one's SWOLF score, which is a measure of a swimmer's efficiency (calculated as the number of strokes to swim a lap, plus the time to travel said distance). The Forerunner 910XT is water resistant to 50 meters, but it's certainly apt for use on dry land, too. For instance, it provides stats about one's elevation, heart rate and speed, and offers built-in GPS. The battery life is limited to 20 hours, although we'd imagine your endurance will give out long before that time. If you've found your new obsession, you'll find the full PR after the break.
TAG Heuer concept watch beats 3.6 million times per hour, $89,000 price tag gives heart palpitations
TAG Heuer's high-end concept chronograph is so precise, blink and you'll miss it -- literally. The Mikrotimer Flying 1000's watch movement runs at 500Hz. Compare that to other high-end chronos plodding along at 5Hz, and you start to see the sort of power and precision Team TAG are working with -- this mesmerizing piece of wrist jewelry is capable of banging out 3.6 million beats per hour. Initially planned as a one-off, the concept watch will now go on sale for a lucky few timepiece obsessives. Be prepared to reach for your severely over-burdened money clip, though; the price is set at €65,000 ($88,580), with a limited run of ten arriving before the end of the year. Gawp in awe at the brief video after the break. You may have to sell the Batmobile.
A DIY Arduino watch that's actually wearable, still won't win you points with the ladies
Here's a little fashion secret: it's all about the details. Wear cheap square-toe shoes with that $5,000 custom-made suit and people will notice. The same is true of a watch. Your timepiece can say a lot about you, including: "I'm a big nerd, please beat me up and take my lunch money." So, what does an Arduino watch tell your peers? Well, for one, that you have way too much time on your hands. And two, that you're crafty person capable of putting your brain meats to work building actual things. Of course, telling time with a series of brightly glowing LEDs on an exposed PCB also sends the message that being fashionable is not your primary concern. If you're looking to earn some geek cred, and can live with the fact that wearing this will probably cost you that cute girl's number at the bar, hit up the source for instructions. At least this wearable Arduino timepiece is a slightly less conspicuous than the Steampunk version we saw last summer. One more pic after the break.
Fossil's Meta Watch passes the FCC, your magic wristwatch fantasies are about to come true
Fossil's Meta Watch has been beset with delays and defective parts but finally there's good news -- the watches have passed the FCC. The two models (analog and digital) can sync with your Android smartphone or tablet via a Texas Instruments CC2560 Bluetooth controller and are being sold as a "development platform" until enough apps are built to take advantage of the technology. T.I.'s website lists the watches as being available since August 22nd, although we're not entirely sure what to make of that -- it still looks like a pre-order situation to us. In any case, the devices should hopefully start reaching app developers pretty soon. Hey, how about using the internal gyroscopes to bring some genuine wrist-flapping action to Angry Birds? Update: TI's website is now listing the watch with a September 29th availability date. [Thanks, Imdad]
Fossil's Meta Watch delayed once again, clearly has trouble keeping time
If you were planning on outfitting your arm with a new Meta Watch this month, you're out of luck, because Fossil has just announced that the wristpieces won't start shipping until September. The watches, which use Texas Instruments' CC2560 Bluetooth controller to sync with smartphones, tablets or desktops, were originally scheduled for a July launch, but that timeline was eventually pushed back to August, due to part delays. Now, manufacturers have discovered a new batch of issues with the devices' programming clips (used for micro USB connections) and the analog-digital version's steel case, meaning that the pair won't reach Hong Kong distributors until the beginning of next month, after which they may take another one to two weeks before shipping to consumers. The countdown clock continues to tick away, but you can still pre-order a Meta Watch for $200, at the links below. [Thanks, Glen]
Crapgadget: 'after school special' edition
School can be tough, especially when you're different. So what better way to keep the bullies at bay than to get your craptastic accessory freak on. In this special back to school bonanza of creeper tech, Hong Kong-based watchmaker o.d.m. mashes E.T. with a gummy bunny for a wrist-rocking return to infancy, Strapya World takes you by the baby's hand for iPhone 4 case comfort, while Dane-Elec's E-Razor USB stick goes undercover in a block full of erasing rubber. And if you're looking for a soundtrack throwback to match the solar-powered butterfly you've stuck in your Jansport, Brando's got you covered with its USB Cassette Capture & Player. Take a gander at the roundup below and make sure to vote for the crapgadget most likely to not succeed.
WIMM Labs introduces tiny wearable computer platform, we go hands-on
<div style="text-align:center;"> <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/02/wimm-labs-introduces-tiny-wearable-computer-platform-we-go-hand/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/08/wimm-wearable-platform01.jpg" style="border-width:0px;border-style:solid;margin:4px;"/></a></div> Tablets and smartphones might rule the present, but if you ask the folks at WIMM Labs, the future of data consumption is a one-inch by one-inch square. The Los Altos startup just revealed its new, wearable computing platform, developed, in part, through a partnership with <a href="http://www.engadget.com/tag/foxconn/">Foxconn</a>, that it hopes will change the way we look at computers. Currently known as the WIMM wearable platform, this new modular device packs a full-color 160 x 160 touchscreen, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, an accelerometer and magnetometer, and runs on good old Android. What's more, it's waterproof. Basically, it's a tiny, multifunctional computer, packed with "micro apps" that can make it anything from a smart watch to a health monitor, from a mobile payment device to an all-in-one remote. As of now, the company doesn't have plans to market it direct to consumers, but says it has a few partnerships in the works that could bring a WIMM-powered <em>something</em> to market by year's end; a developer kit will go on sale in the next few weeks for an undisclosed price. If you're itching to ditch that tired old <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/02/diamond-encrusted-lunatik-ipod-nano-watch-is-as-superfluous-as-i/">diamond-encrusted nano watch</a>, check out the galleries below and hop on past the break for our first impressions, video, and full PR. %Gallery-129730%%Gallery-129731%
Fossil won't ship the Meta Watch until August, Dick Tracy wannabes get antsy
Some of you with a James Bond complex might have been waiting on Fossil's Meta Watches, a duo of wristpieces that use Texas Instrument's CC2560 Bluetooth radio to pull in emails, Facebook updates, weather forecasts, and more -- depending on what else developers cook up for it, that is. On top of that, the SDK allows Android smartphones and tablets to register button presses and receive sensor data from the watches, and then respond by sending text or triggering the vibration motor. If you already set aside $200 when they went up for pre-order two months back, you're going to have to twiddle your thumbs a bit longer. In response to a tweet from a curious customer, Bill Geiser, vice president of Fossil Watch Technology, said that thanks to some part delays, the two are now on track to ship in August, not July. If this is all new to you, that means you've got some time to ponder whether you'd rather have the analog / digital version or the fully digital one with a larger memory-in-pixel LCD. Decisions, decisions, folks. [Thanks, Alex]
VEA's Sportive mobile watch is for those with money, calories to burn
When you go for a run, the less you've got to carry on your person, the better. Think of VEA's new Sportive mobile watch as something of a digital fannypack: it looks goofy, but it'll help you consolidate some of that extra baggage. The device has some basic phone functionality, a camera, and an MP3 player -- oh, and it apparently does the time as well. It's got a nano-sized 1.5-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, 8GB of storage, and an SOS button that sends out your location and other vital info, should anything happen to you on your run. It'll start shipping on July 14th for €399 ($578). Run, don't walk, because the price bumps up to an even more lofty €499 ($722) in September.
Tokyoflash resurrects readable Rogue watch with combo LCD/LED display (video)
Tokyoflash is notorious for selling geek-friendly and borderline indecipherable timepieces but, not every watch the company hawks is unreadable. One of its more easily interpreted wrist clocks, the Rogue, has been resurrected with an always-on LCD display (a rarity from the shop) and a brightly colored LED backlight in your choice of red, green, blue, or orange. Like the RPM, the Rogue SR2 tells time with a series of unnumbered, inner and outer rings that represent hours and minutes -- all you need to do is spot the gaps. Sure, it requires you fire a few more synapses than that cheap digital Casio you've been wearing, but think of it as mental exercise -- it's like wearing Brain Age on your wrist. You can order one now for $179 at the source, and don't forget to head after the break for one more photo and a video demonstration.
