The Paradox of the Wearable

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Wearable technology is getting and better, but it’s hard to get people to adopt a device that lasts 2 years as a substitute for a device that lasts decades.

We live in an age where technology is challenging our conception of a traditional computing devices.  Desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones are no longer sufficient to complete 100% of the tasks we want out of them, so we are seeing the emergence of the internet of things and wearables such as Google Glass, fitness trackers, and smartwatches.

This trend is embraced by some, but generally frowned on by most people.  Similarly to the switch from “dumb” flip phones and bar phones to smartphones, most people–other than early adopters–tend to be skeptical of new technology.

Some manufacturers, specifically Samsung, attempted to tackle this skepticism head on by promoting the Galaxy Gear smartwatch and selling it in tandem with the Galaxy Note 3.  While it did lead to the increased sale of units, a recent white paper from Endeavor Partners shows that one in ten Americans have purchased a wearable device (typically activity trackers), but half of them no longer use the device.

The paper also states that one-third of Americans that purchased a wearable had already ceased use before hitting the 6 month mark.  One reason for the quick abandonment is the new product life-cycle.  Most tech products are considered “outdated” after around 6 months.  This isn’t normally a problem, because, although there are newer versions out there, the existing generation will function fine for around 24 months of use.  The issue is that a product with the same life-cycle as other technological products was tied into fashion life-cycle.

The typical quartz watch will look great and maintain nearly perfect functionality for several decades.  Many people wear watches that were handed down from their parents or grandparents, because the technology and function of a quartz watch don’t evolve (at least not at the rate of digital technology).

Nobody will think twice about wearing their Grandfather’s watch, because it still performs the same function it did when it was on his wrist.  Flawlessly at that.  Meanwhile, one-third of Americans are ditching their smart watches after 6 months, because their technology (and therefore their fashion) are now out of date.  Even if a smartwatch is able to be built with a classic looking style and form factor, the hardware and software will soon be obsolete.

This makes wearables an extremely expensive choice.  Most people don’t look at you too 
funny if you have last year’s smartphone, because it’s a technological tool and it’s expected for it to be at least partially obsolete.  Once you strap something like a smartwatch on your wrist, though, you are making a fashion statement.  That means if your wearable is out of date, it is also out of style.

This suggests that the key to wearable technology isn’t necessarily the best hardware, or features, but the most simplicity.  Because of this, something like the Pebble Steel will have a longer lifespan than say, the Exetech XS-3.  It looks like Motorola is aiming for simplicity with the Moto 360, so hopefully we’ll see a new age of wearables that have a longer shelf life.

Source: The Guardian

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Google Gives the Smartwatch its Blessing With Android Wear

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I run, but never walk.  I have hands, but no arms.  A face, but don’t talk.  No eyes, though my name disagrees.  Oh, I also just got smarter.  I’m a watch.

Although calculator watches have been around since the 1970s, true mobile computing hasn’t come on a wrist strap until the past couple of years, rising in popularity when the Pebble smartwatch became one of Kickstarter’s most successful campaigns.

The market is still extremely new, though, and most ecosystems have yet to carve out a proper place for the smartwatch.  Watches like the Pebble and Samsung Gear definitely fill a niche, but both lack true integration with our existing cloud services and serve mostly as expanded notification services.

Sundar Pichai–Google’s SVP of Android, Chrome, and Apps–just announced at SXSW last week that Google would soon be dropping a wearables SDK for developers, and Google came through in Spades earlier this week with Android Wear and the announcement of some incoming watches and future hardware partners.

Android Wear appears to be heavily derived from Google Now, just in watch form.  The full range of features has yet to be unraveled, but it appears to be Google Glass on a wrist strap.  Whether it will completely cannibalize from Google Glass, of if each will have their own place in the Google device ecosystem remains to be seen.  Although many geeks will gladly wear both regardless of how many features are replicated.

Right off the bat, Motorola and LG both have devices incoming, but the the Moto 360 was the only one featured alongside the Android Wear announcement.  In addition to LG and Motorola, Asus, HTC, and Samsung are also hardware partners as well as several fashion brands, such as Fossil.

The Moto 360 appears to be a gorgeous device based on the released images.  The 360 features a circular watchface and what appears to be a very vivid display.  More information will be available closer to the launch this summer, but information on the display and battery life should be the most eagerly awaited.

LG’s smartwatch is supposed to launch “next quarter,” but not many additional details were given.  We’ll likely see quite a few OEMs releasing watches this year since we already have a smartwatch incoming from HTC (maybe we’ll heat about it at their event on the 25th).

It’s unclear what Samsung’s plans are in the category since they have the biggest existing watch portfolio and just recently released their new lineup running Tizen instead of Android.  They are listed as a hardware partner, though, so they will either be releasing new hardware eventually, or we will see yet another OS switch for the Gear lineup.

The partnership from Fossil is likely the most intriguing as it suggests the beginning of an industry shift.  This will definitely put more smartwatches on more wrists.  In the same way that smartphones replaced phones, smart watches will replace watches.

We have yet to see anything in this category from Apple, but Jonny Ive and Tim Cook have an uphill battle to fight unless Apple can also establish a large portfolio of watch manufacturer support.  When manufacturers like Fossil are making Android Wear devices, Apple producing their own watch lineup won’t be enough to hold a proper marketshare.

It won’t happen overnight, but our products are all getting smarter.  Provided Android Wear is not too intrusive and doesn’t significantly detract from the simplistic experience the world has expected from analog watches over the last 100 years, we will likely see more than half of watch wearers using a smartwatch in less than a decade.

Source: Android Central, BGR

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Ricoh Theta WiFi camera shoots 360-degree photos for $399 (hands-on)

DNP Ricoh Theta WiFi camera shoots 360degree photos for $399 handson

It's a big week for LCD-less WiFi point-and-shoots, but today's offering is a bit more unusual than Sony's lens-camera duo. What would you pay for a 360-degree camera that's compact, easy to use and compatible with an iOS app? $100? Maybe a buck fifty? Ricoh's betting big on a figure far higher -- a "consumer-friendly" $399. And we're not sold. Sure, the Theta is a unique device, but 360-degree images have limited appeal, and the fact that you (and your friends) will need to download a dedicated app just to view them without distortion doesn't help to seal the deal. Still, we're always up for trying out something new, and we're guessing you might be a bit curious, too. Click past the break as we go full circle with Theta.

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Insert Coin: BubblePod clockwork turntable lets your phone capture 360-degree images

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

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The problem with capturing panoramic stills with your phone is that you need to keep a steady motion when panning around, but we all know that only a robot can perform such feat perfectly. That's why this little BubblePod caught our attention. The device is essentially a mini clockwork turntable so no battery is required -- just wind it up, slip an iOS, Android or BB10 device into the silicone grip, fire up the BubblePix app and hit the BubblePod's release button for a steady 40-second rewind.

The sample panoramic shots (or "bubbles") we saw have almost no visible stitching, and the app can simultaneously record an audio clip to capture the atmosphere as well. Better yet, in addition to its rubberized base, the BubblePod is also built with a universal tripod mount plus a wine bottle insert mount!

This Kickstarter project will offer a unit if you pledge a minimum of £15 (about $23) for the limited early bird offer or £20 (about $31) later on, plus £5 (about $8) to ship outside the UK. Do check out the demo video after the break, and feel free to grab yourself a BubblePod before funding ends on July 9th.

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Source: Kickstarter

The Daily Roundup for 05.21.2013

DNP The Daily RoundUp

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.

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Twitch video platform for gamers comes to Xbox 360, watch and play from the same place (video)

Twitch gaming video platform comes to Xbox 360, watch and play from the same place

How does a dedicated gamer relax when they're finally beat on Call of Duty? Surely by watching others suffer the same fate, right? Well, now that just got even easier with an official Twitch app for Xbox 360. The game-centric video service finds a natural home on the console, which could go some way to augment the platform's already 34-million strong audience (or at least prevent hundreds of wasted gaming calories used when switching screens). It's not clear if there will be the option to bring your premium credentials along with you. But, we do know the app will bring access to the top 300 live Twitch channels, albeit initially only for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Still, as a dedicated gamer, you probably already are one, right?

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Microsoft announces Xbox 360 holiday bundles and $50 off promo for US market

Microsoft announces Xbox 360 holiday bundles and $50 off promo for US market

With this year's holidays being just around the corner, it's only natural for companies to start tempting potential customers with cash-saving, too-good-to-pass deals. With that in mind, Microsoft, via the informative Major Nelson, announced earlier today its 2012 Xbox 360 holiday bundles in hopes of luring some folks in; among these are a 250GB console with Kinect, Dance Central 2, Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures and one month of Xbox Live for $400, while there's also a 4GB, $300 option that comes with the same Gold subscription, Redmond's motion-tracking peripheral, Kinect Disneyland Adventures and Kinect Adventures. In addition, the Surface maker said retailers should start offering the console for $50 off MSRP, and that this limited time deal will also apply to the Halo 4 bundle which is due to come out on November 6th. Better yet, these new bundles and promos are available now -- so, for those living in the US, now could be a good time to snag one of Microsoft's renowned consoles.

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Microsoft announces Xbox 360 holiday bundles and $50 off promo for US market originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Visualized: Mars’ Gale Crater in seamless 360 degrees

Visualized Mars' Gale Crater in seemless 360 degrees

Have you been lapping up every pixel Curiosity sends back, but wishing you could somehow see those panoramas as nature intended? Well, thanks to kind 360 Cities user Andrew Bodrov, you can. The controls take a little getting used to, but persevere and you'll be rewarded with a view as if you were atop Curiosity itself. We're already imagining the fun if this was in the next Google Maps update, who knows what might turn up. Land on the source for the mind-blow.

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Visualized: Mars' Gale Crater in seamless 360 degrees originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GAEMS announces new Sentry Xbox 360 suitcase, teases Project Vanguard

GAEMS announces new Sentry Xbox 360 suitcase, teases Project Vanguard

How could we forget the GAEMS personal gaming environment? Looking something like a cross between a laptop from the eighties, and a bomb disposal unit, the all-in-one Xbox system was always going to make an impression. Well, with E3 just around the corner, it looks like there might be another model on the way. All we know at the moment is that it's called "Sentry," and will have more of a personal entertainment leaning. This being based on the fact that on top of the Xbox gaming, GAMES only went as far to tease that services like Netflix, HULU and YouTube will be increasingly central to it. The firm is also revealing a new device with the working title "Project Vanguard," about which it's even more secretive. Either way, better make more room on that luggage rack.

Continue reading GAEMS announces new Sentry Xbox 360 suitcase, teases Project Vanguard

GAEMS announces new Sentry Xbox 360 suitcase, teases Project Vanguard originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jun 2012 06:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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