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Patent filed for Google smartwatch with touchpad functions similar to Glass

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by James Gray on
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As if Google Glass wasn’t enough, Google decided they want to take over your wrist too, filing patents for a new smartwatch with some features similar to Glass. This is definitely not the first Android-powered watch, or even the first watch design from Google, but it does seem to be at least very different from its competitors. Combining what appears to be two touchpads on either side of the watch’s face will allow for gesture-based control such as “pinch, stretch and scroll on a platform with limited space available for user input” not unlike Glass. However, with any luck the watch will not be voice-controlled.

Speculation aside, 2013 is looking to be a good year for Android-powered watches with Samsung also working on a watch of their own. Check back with us for more information on these projects as we get it.

Source: USPTO
Via: Engadget

 

 

Leaks & Rumors about Motorola’s X and Upcoming Nexus Smartphones

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by Jason Bracey on
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Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for some interesting news from the rumor mill. We have been seeing a hint here and another one there indicating what Google & Motorola has planned for its upcoming X smartphone. And although there have been rumors and speculation floating around for a while now, we have in fact, began to see more and more leaks about Motorola’s upcoming X phone. As if you all haven’t had enough yet, we now have more rumors to share with you courtesy of our friends from Android and Me. These leaks and rumors seem to come from a “confirmed source” of proven reliability…so hang on to your seats as we break down the latest and greatest!

» Read the rest

LG is prepping their own smartwatch as well as something similar to Google Glass

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by Robert Nazarian on
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Although smartwatches haven’t caught on yet, we are about to see a major push from all the major manufacturers. We already know Samsung, Google, and Apple will come out with their own smartwatch in the near future. LG is the next manufacturer to jump into the ring as a source familiar with the matter told the Korea Times. It was also revealed that they are working on something similar to Google Glass

“It is one major part of many currently non-commercialized products under development by LG Electronics,” said the source. “The company has spared no efforts to invest in products that it believes are must-haves to stay ahead technology wise in the market, whatever the situation maybe.”

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Google’s upcoming smartwatch is an Android project not X Lab

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by Robert Nazarian on
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It was last October when we first heard rumors that Google could be working on a smartwatch. At that time, a patent based on a smartwatch with a flip up display was awarded to Google.  Of course many companies are awarded patents for products that never actually come to market. However, with Samsung and Apple now working on watches of their own, it certainly isn’t out of the question that Google will definitely come out with one, hopefully Nexus branded. Don’t forget, Motorola has some experience in this area with the MOTOACTV.

The Financial Times is reporting that not only is Google working on a watch, but it’s an Android unit project, not an X Lab project like Google Glass. It makes perfect sense for Android to be part of the watch since it’s more of a mobile device than Glass. Unfortunately no timeframe was mentioned, but hopefully we will see something this year.

source: Financial Times
via: TheVerge

Google inches closer to developing a smartwatch

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by Jared Peters on
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I think 2013 is going to be the year of the smartwatch. We’ve already seen a few from other companies, and we’d heard Google may be stepping into the market with them. Well, it looks like Google is definitely going to try to turn that smartwatch patent into a reality, and at this point they’re actively looking for ways to market the device. This really shouldn’t surprise anyone, since we’ve all seen that Project Glass is Google’s next big project, and other smartwatches have had some decent success gaining popularity. With Google’s ability to give you information before you even ask for it, they’d definitely have a leg up on the competition if they do go through with a smartwatch. Who knows, maybe wearable technology is going to replace all of our little handheld phones in the near future?

source: Business Insider

Pebble Watch app now available in Google Play Store

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by Jeff Causey on
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During the course of the past year we have kept an eye on the popular Kickstarter project to bring to market the Pebble smartwatch. The Pebble is a digital watch intended to connect wirelessly using Bluetooth to an owner’s smartphone, both iOS and Android flavored. The Pebble will alert the wearer with a silent vibration to incoming calls, emails and messages. Users can also install a variety of apps to increase the usefulness of the device. The Kickstarter project was a huge success generating $10 million versus the original goal of only $100,000. After showing off the device at CES 2013, Pebble is now taking pre-orders and word is those who help fund the Kickstarter project are starting to receive their devices.

The new app available in the Google Play Store gives users a dashboard to the Pebble, enabling them to install or remove watchfaces, send test messages to the Pebble, troubleshoot issues, and get notifications regarding updates. To get the app, use the link below to head over to the Google Play Store. If you need to order a Pebble, point your browser to www.getpebble.com.

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Google Play Download Link

Pebble smartwatch to debut at next week’s CES

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by Colton Kaiser on
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Well, well. What do we have here? It appears as though an invitation from Pebble has made its way to our inbox, notifying us of an event taking place at CES next week. Chief Executive Officer, Eric Migicovsky, will show off the final version of the long-awaited smartwatch in all of its Kickstarter-backed glory.

If you’re unfamiliar, the Pebble smartwatch managed to set a Kickstarter record last year. While it originally aimed to reach a $100,000 funding goal, the wrist-worn device attracted $10 million from eager backers around the world, leaving the company to deal with massive production demands. The watch connects via Bluetooth to your smartphone to offer notifications for calls and texts, with built-in support for third-party apps like Facebook.

The event kicks off at 9AM PST, and we’ll be there live to bring you the latest. Be sure to stay tuned to our CES 2013 hub as well, where we’ll be serving you up-to-the-second coverage straight from the show floor.

MetaWatch’s ‘Strata’ Makes a Splash on Kickstarter

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by Justin Crouch on
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I don’t usually wear a watch, but I love the idea of having a smartwatch. Whether it’s to track my exercising, check apps, or to simply keep time in a fancy way. Well there will soon be another way to do all this and more. MetaWatch’s recently announced Strata has made quite the splash over at Kickstarter. As I speak $141,045 (805 backers) has been pledged with an original goal of $100k. Mind you, this is up from $128k in just 4 hours (more then doubling in the last 24), clearly the project’s still maintaining incredible momentum.  » Read the rest

Pebble smartwatch to miss September release date but does add new color choice

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by Jeff Causey on
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If you were intrigued by the thought of getting your hands on the Pebble smart watch that we previously reported on, a mix of good news and bad news came out of the project yesterday. The good news is that a new color option is now available – orange. Selected based on voter’s choice, orange joins black, white and red options.

The bad news is that the availability of the Pebble devices has been delayed. The Pebble team indicates that due to popular demand, they have had to transition from ramping up for production of 1,000 devices total to 15,000 devices on a weekly basis. This additional demand means they will not meet their target of shipping in September. Even worse, they do not provide a new estimated availability date, so the delay is indefinite.

As consolation, the Pebble team did provide some information on their work to ensure the device moves from R&D to manufacturing and assembly. They indicate they are in the Engineering Verification stage with samples produced of the entire product before moving on to Tooling, when everything is finalized in the production facility.

source: Kickstarter

Look, Ma… No Hands! Sony SmartWatch Receives Much Needed Update

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by Ed Caggiani on
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I recently reviewed the Sony SmartWatch, which I now wear daily on my wrist to up my geek cred. My review concluded that the watch was “for gadget freaks and early adopters only” due to the spotty Bluetooth, random crashes, and not being able to see the time without touching the watch.

My patience has paid off, however, since I received a firmware update yesterday that vastly improves the SmartWatch in many ways. The watch requires a constant Bluetooth connection to your smartphone, and the phone needs to be running Sony’s SmartWatch app. The app was updated first, automatically for me, from the Play Store. Once the app finished updating, it fired off the watch firmware download and pushed it to the watch. The entire process took less than 5 minutes and was very smooth.

Once the SmartWatch rebooted, it re-connected to the phone and that was that. Now to explore what has changed.

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