TAG Heuer to Combine Swiss Watch Expertise With Technology in ‘Different Craftsmanship’
LVMH luxury watch chief and TAG Heuer interim head Jean-Claude Biver spoke recently with Bloomberg, revealing some early details about the company’s upcoming smartwatch product. Biver was a notable early critic of the Apple Watch, saying Apple’s wearable effort looked like it was designed by “a student in their first trimester,” although he appears to have shifted his perspective more recently.
In this week’s Bloomberg interview, Biver recognizes the technological shortcomings of the Swiss watch industry, which lacks the communications and hardware background to produce a smartwatch. Instead, TAG Heuer will develop its smartwatch using a “different craftsmanship” that merges the mechanical know-how of the Swiss watch makers with the technology expertise of Silicon Valley.
For a smartwatch, “we can’t produce the engine, the chips, the applications, the hardware — nobody can produce it in Switzerland,” Biver said. “The hardware and the software will come from Silicon Valley. But the watch case, the dial, the design, the idea, the crown, that part of the watch will, of course, be Swiss.”
Biver earlier confirmed TAG Heuer was looking to work with technology companies on its smartwatch device and told Bloomberg in his latest interview that the company will reveal these partnerships in the next six weeks. Google and Intel are among the companies rumored to be collaborating with the luxury watch maker.
Besides the typical smartwatch functions of GPS location tracking, step counting, and smartphone integration, TAG Heuer may also differentiate its product by offering exclusive apps that promote its brand and partnerships such as the sports teams that it sponsors.
Though he may be creating a competing product, Biver told Bloomberg he plans to buy an Apple Watch when it launches.
“It’s a fantastic product, an incredible achievement,” he said. “I’m not just living in the tradition and culture and the past, I also want to be connected to the future. The Apple Watch connects me to the future. My watch connects me to history, to eternity.”
Apple is expected to launch the Apple Watch as soon as March. The wearable band will be available in a variety of configurations designed for the average user, the sports enthusiast, and the luxury customer looking for a high-end smartwatch.
Apple China Posts New Caligraphy Video to Commemorate Upcoming Hangzhou Store [Mac Blog]
Apple has posted a new video on its official Chinese retail website showing renowned calligrapher Wang Dongling creating a mural for the company’s upcoming West Lake store in Hangzhou. The video shows the artist using precise brush strokes to form characters around an Apple logo on a surface, which is then shown covering the West Lake retail location.
Last week, Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts commented on Apple’s expansion strategy in China, which involves the opening of five new retail stores in the next five weeks to coincide with the festive shopping of the February 19 Chinese New Year holiday. With the addition of five new stores, Apple would be operating a total of 20 locations in China and Hong Kong with an ultimate goal of 40 stores in China over the next several years.
Apple’s new West Lake store in Hangzhou, China opens on Saturday, January 24 at 9 AM local time.
Photos of Montblanc’s Watch ‘e-Strap’ Show Low-Resolution Display, Bulky Fit
Luxury watch maker Montblanc earlier this month announced the “e-Strap”, an accessory band that will add notifications, music control, and other smartphone-connected functions to a traditional analog wristwatch, marking one of the first efforts by traditional watchmakers to offer smartphone integration as the Apple Watch’s launch nears.
Alexander Linz of the Watch-Insider blog had the opportunity to examine the e-Strap first hand during a demonstration by Montblanc CEO Jerome Lambert that was held over the weekend in Geneva.
Detailed photos of the watch accessory reveal how it sits on a traditional watch band to rest firmly on the underside of the wrist. The display portion appears rather bulky, making discomfort a possible issue during daily use.
Other photos showcase the 0.9-inch monochrome touchscreen display which shares information such as incoming phone calls, upcoming appointments, and more. The display quality is not nearly as good as depicted in Montblanc’s renderings of the strap, with text and icons appearing rather jagged due to the low 128 x 36 resolution.
Not a standalone device, the e-Strap will connect to an iOS or Android smartphone via an app that will allow users to customize the information being displayed on their wrists.
The e-Strap is expected to cost 250 euros and will be available as an optional accessory to select Timewalker Urban Speed watches. The e-Strap also may be compatible with other Timewalker watches that ship with a 42-mm or 43-mm wide band.
Facebook Begins Small-Scale Testing of Voice-to-Text Conversations in Messenger [iOS Blog]
Facebook today began testing a new feature on its Messenger service, automatically transcribing voice messages sent through the service directly into text.
Announced by the Facebook’s VP of Messaging David Marcus on his Facebook page, the update is meant to be more helpful for people who enjoy sending and receiving voice messages but find themselves in situations such as a meeting where audio is less suitable to the environment (via The Next Web).
“Today we are starting to roll out a small test that helps people read the voice clips they receive instead of having to play them out loud. So, for example, if you’re at a concert or in a meeting, and would prefer to read a voice clip from a friend, you now can if you’re part of the small test we’re rolling out.”
Marcus goes on to mention that the current plan for the update is to keep it at a “tiny scale for now” and see how it performs in the wild. After seeing what the small scale of users think of the new feature, Facebook will decide whether to make the feature “more widely available.”
Though the Facebook Messenger app retains a low rating in the App Store due to customer complaints over the company’s continued attempt to separate individual services into various apps, it retained the top spot on 2014’s list of most downloaded apps when results were announced late last month.
Google’s New Calendar App for iOS Shown in Leaked Images [iOS Blog]
Google late last year launched its all-new Google Calendar app for Android with a smarter, more automated version of the platform, with a promise that the app would someday hit Apple’s iOS-enabled devices.
Thanks to a few leaked screenshots sent in to The Next Web, it appears the revamped Google Calendar app is ready for an imminent launch on iPhone and iPad. The images show off an app that looks pretty similar to the Android version, with Calendar pulling photos and map information straight into the app.
When the app debuts, it will be the first time a dedicated Google Calendar app launches on iOS. There’s no confirmation yet as to whether the iOS version will encompass all of the features from its Android counterpart, like Schedule View or Assists, but, as The Next Web points out, with the images leaking it shouldn’t be long until the app launches to find out.
Google has a number of regularly updated apps on Apple’s mobile platform, including fan favorite Google Maps and Google Translate, which was just updated with instant camera-based translation software Word Lens.
Firaxis Announces New ‘Sid Meier’s Starships’ Interstellar Strategy Game [Mac Blog]
Civilization designer Sid Meier along with 2K and Firaxis Games have announced a new game, Sid Meier’s Starships, reports Gamespot. The interstellar strategy game was developed by a small team at Firaxis who worked closely with Meier on the game’s design.
Sid Meier’s Starships builds upon the success of last year’s Civilization: Earth Beyond, moving beyond the initial colonization of planets to the world of space exploration.
“What happens after we colonize our new home and eventually build starships to take to the stars?” he said. “What has become of our long-lost brothers and sisters from the planet Earth? My goal was to create an experience that focuses on starship design and combat within a universe filled with interstellar adventure, diplomacy, and exploration.”
The latest chapter in Sid Meier’s game lineup allows users to control a fleet of starships as they journey through the universe completing a variety of missions that expand the influence of their federation. Though specific details were not revealed, Beyond Earth and Starships may share some cross-connectivity that will benefit gamers who own both games.
http://www.gamespot.com/videos/embed/6423028/
Sid Meier’s Starships is slated to debut in early 2015 and will be available on the PC, Mac, and iPad. Pricing and an exact release date will be announced soon.
Apple Honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Its Home Page
Apple today updated its website to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a full page memorial on the company’s home page. The image on the site is accompanied by a message to honor the civil rights leader and his work, “Today we reflect on the life and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the work that continues in service of the broader concerns of humanity.”
Following the rollout of the website change, Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted his own commemoration that highlighted Apple’s remembrance of King’s legacy.
Honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. #MLK Apple http://t.co/ngqL0bym8y
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 19, 2015
Previously, Tim Cook has publicly expressed his admiration for Dr. King, noting in a Charlie Rose interview last year that he keeps photos of King and politician Robert Kennedy in his office at Apple.
“I had the — just tremendous respect for both of them, and so I do,” he said. “I look at them every day because I think for people — there’s still too many cases in the world and in the United States where there’s a class kind of structure or where voting or people are trying to convince each other that this other group of people don’t deserve the same rights. And I think it’s crazy, I think it’s un-American.”
Besides the web page refresh, Apple reportedly also is encouraging its employees to volunteer with a donation matching program, reports 9to5Mac. Instead of a paid day off, Apple is offering to donate an additional $50 for each voluntary hour worked by employees.
Rumor: another Apple about-face – selling a stylus
This patent application was published way back in March of last year… could Apple actually be planning to use it? One analyst thinks so.
“If you see a stylus, they blew it,” proclaimed a defiant Steve Jobs once upon a time (not too long ago). The man, the myth, the legend was seeking to explain the brilliance of the iPhone: the fingers that everyone have were enough of a stylus that the PDAs of the past had all gotten it wrong. Some time later, Samsung unveiled the original Galaxy Note with a stylus, and as such the dawn of the phablet craze began. These days, just about every company under the silicon sun has a large screen productivity-purposed device, and it seems Apple may be one of them, should a new report pan out.
For well over a year now there has been chatter about a so-called iPad Pro, in part because of an assumed parallel between the computing hardware and tablet offerings (Macbook Air, Macbook Pro; iPad Air, iPad Pro) and countless rumors, “insiders”, and analysts. One such analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities, has put a number of puzzle pieces together and determined that not only will Apple release a 12.9 inch iPad in 2015, but that it will also put forth a stylus. Kuo is one of the most prominent Apple analysts and some of his past predictions have been spot on. The report, obtained by Apple Insider, looks at key patents filed by Apple rather than (apparently) any kind of insider-source, as Kuo has been wanton to do in the past.
His belief is that Apple will release the stylus somewhat after the iPad “Pro” as opposed to bundling it in (reducing costs/retail pricing), and that it will be a rather standard affair for the first year, with limited customer interest at only around 2-2.5 million units sold. In later iterations however, he mentions everything from wireless charging to motion sensing, to 3-D handwriting, becoming a possible reality.
Given that several large screen mobile devices already make prominent use of a stylus (see the Microsoft Surface Pro 3, the Galaxy NotePRO 12.2, the Toshiba Encore 2 Write, and even the Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid among others), the idea of an XL iPad adding support for a first party tool would be par for the course. Complaints about the iPhone 6’s lack of true multitasking have been lobbed over at Cupertino for some months now, as they have been about the iPad series itself. While the addition of an officially sanctioned stylus wouldn’t guarantee major changes with the software, at the very least it would suggest that productivity features on native Apple applications and iOS itself would need to be rewritten and adjusted to taylor to the tool.
Apple has an idea for an unusual stylus tip, but will it see the light of day? And what use would it have for that matter?
Should Apple introduce a stylus, it technically wouldn’t be in “defiance” of what Steve Jobs held to be true: the device in question is cited in reference to an iPad not an iPhone. Still, given the size of the iPhone 6, there is no question that a stylus might be useful for a “smaller” form factor as well, considering Samsung has been playing it up for the past four years with the Galaxy Note line. Tim Cook is also decidedly not Steve Jobs, and the launch of an iPhone phablet is in-and-of-itself a bold move that had some very good results.
Still, you just know that somewhere at Samsung HQ the irony of the current situation is not lost.
Apple Predicted to Launch Optional Stylus Accessory Alongside 12.9-Inch ‘iPad Pro’
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is back with another report outlining his belief that Apple will launch a stylus as an optional accessory for the company’s rumored 12.9-inch “iPad Pro”. With the new iPad’s larger screen, it will likely prove popular with enterprise and creative users who tend to have more need for a stylus and Kuo believes Apple will fill that need with an in-house solution.
Given that it’s more precise than a person’s fingers, a stylus can be more convenient to use than the combination of keyboard and mouse in some cases. Therefore, we believe Apple’s stylus will improve the user experience of 12.9-inch iPad.
Apple’s proposed haptic stylus from a 2010 patent application, not necessarily reflective of the company’s current thinking on such a device
Kuo believes the stylus will be an optional accessory rather than included standard with the new iPad, as the relatively expensive stylus would drive the base cost of the iPad too high.
We don’t think all users will need a stylus initially. Coupled with its unfavorable cost structure, high selling prices may turn consumers off if the 12.9-inch iPad is always bundled with it. We therefore expect the stylus to be an optional accessory before sufficient user feedback is received.
Looking at technical details of the stylus, Kuo predicts it will charge via a Lightning connector, believing a more convenient wireless charging solution would be too expensive and require difficult antenna design that Apple will likely forego initially. Kuo also believes the initial stylus model will not include a gyroscope accelerometer, but future models could include the component to support “3D handwriting” to allow the user to write on other surfaces or even in the air.
Kuo believes Apple will launch this new stylus in the second or third quarter of this year, roughly the timeframe predicted for the iPad Pro launch. The company has filed for a number of patents related to stylus technology, with the most recently publicized one being a “communicating stylus” that would automatically transcribe handwritten notes into digital form.
Steve Jobs Biopic Filming Begins at Jobs’ Childhood Home in Los Altos [iOS Blog]
The upcoming Steve Jobs biopic penned by Aaron Sorkin has entered production, with film crews setting up at Steve Jobs’ childhood home in Los Altos ahead of filming that’s set to take place on Friday afternoon.
CNET‘s Shara Tibken was on scene at the house Friday morning, watching as the film’s production team finished transforming the garage into what it might have looked like back in 1976, when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were working on the original Apple I computers.
The garage of Steve Jobs’ childhood home, via CNET’s James Martin
The biopic, which is based on Walter Isaacson’s best selling Steve Jobs biography, is said to cover three of Jobs’ most important product launches — the Macintosh computer in 1984, the NeXT computer in 1988, and the release of the iPod in 2001. Filming is starting at Jobs’ childhood home, but later, film crews are expected to move on to areas in San Jose and Berkeley.
Directed by Danny Boyle, famous for Slumdog Millionaire, the biopic will star Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs and Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak. Fassbender has had high-profile roles in movie like 12 Years a Slave and Inglourious Basterds, but he is perhaps most well-known in recent years for his role as Magneto in X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Rogen recently starred in The Interview and is also known for Neighbors, Pineapple Express, Knocked Up, and This is the End. Though mostly known for his comedic roles, Rogen has also had roles in more serious movies like 50/50 and Take This Waltz.
Kate Winslet, known for Titanic and Divergent, will take on a leading female role, and Jeff Daniels of The Newsroom will play former Apple CEO John Sculley. Steve Jobs’ former girlfriend Chrisann Brennan will be played by Katherine Waterston, and Michael Stuhlbarg will play early Apple employee Andy Hertzfeld.
A full gallery of photos of early production on the Steve Jobs biopic in Los Altos can be found over at CNET.
AIVAnet 