Now that we know more about the long-awaited Apple Watch, it’s time to find out how it stacks up against Google’s Android Wear platform and the growing number of wearables that support it.
There are lots of similarities between the two, but there also some big differences in software, hardware, and price that will likely help you decide which one is right for you.
We love it when Apple live-streams its keynotes so that we can watch along with those lucky enough to have gotten an invite, but yesterday’s was nothing short of a disaster. It was down more than it was up, and it made Tim Cook and Phil Schiller sound like Chinese girls. But if you missed anything, you can now catch up on-demand and uninterrupted.
The iWatch is no longer a unicorn.
Apple finally unveiled its wearable device today — dubbed the “Apple Watch” — and Cult of Mac was there to get a hands-on look at the highly customizable smartwatch.
Apple sure is making us wait for the iWatch, and if recent rumors are to be believed, that wait isn’t about to end any time soon. If you’ve decided to spend your cash on an LG G Watch or Samsung Gear Live instead, then why not add a touch of iOS to it yourself with the free iWatch theme for Android Wear.
Apple has chosen LG Electronics as its sole manufacturing partner for the iWatch, according to a new report from Korea. The device is expected to use the same curved OLED display technology LG recently debuted with its G Flex smartphone, and production could begin during the third quarter of this year.
Developers are making some pretty awesome apps for the Pebble smartwatch, but Chrono could be one of the most significant to date — at least for its creator, Rick Ucker.
Ucker built the simple app to propose to his now fiancée, who bought him the $150 smartwatch for his birthday.
Samsung’s Galaxy Gear has been on sale for a number of weeks now, but today the South Korean company lifted its embargo on reviews. If you’ve been trying to decide whether or not you should spend hundreds of dollars on one, then, now’s the time to find out.
To make things a little easier for you, we’ve put together a roundup of the biggest and best reviews so you don’t have to trawl through them yourself.
I haven’t worn a watch in a while. I’m used to using my iPhone as a way to check the time when needed and I wasn’t a fan of having to have a watch that would be suitable for going to the beach and one for more formal occasions – or try to find one that would be versatile enough for both.
Then Modify Watches sent me one of their watches and my problem has essentially been solved. And right now they are offering Cult of Mac readers a 50% savings on a watch face and two bands – just $35.
A lot of people were saddened when the new iPod Nano sported a design that was no longer “watch-like”. That meant that the idea of making a watch out of the device was no longer an option. But with this Cult of Mac Deals offer, iPod Generation 6 owners get a stylish, hands-free solution in Nanox. And it can be had for just $34.99 – and this sale price includes the cost of shipping anywhere in the continental USA.
A new survey conducted by ChangeWave Research has found that 19% of U.S. consumers say they’re likely to purchase Apple’s much-anticipated “iWatch” if and when it becomes available. The demand has been attributed to “Apple’s track record of delivering ultra-convenient, easy to use products with perceived ‘cool factor’.”
Microsoft is designing a new smartwatch that could allow it to compete with upcoming devices from the likes of Apple, Google, and Samsung, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company has already asked suppliers in Asia to ship components for the device, which will reportedly boast a “touch-enabled” display.
Hold the phone! Or, rather — don’t. Martian Watch models see much of its promised potential unlocked With the launch today of iOS and Android apps, just ahead of their estimated ship date(s).
The app finally adds two major features to the watches — remote camera control and social media updates — along with a few smaller ones.
The Google Glass project has been in the news a fair bit in recent months, but it seems Google may have another wearable gadget in development that’s been flying under the radar. The Financial Times reports that just like Apple and Samsung, the search giant is working on its own smartwatch that will act as an extension to the smartphone.
Following Bloomberg’s report that the iWatch is a project Apple wants to deliver this year, the Verge has an interesting report saying that the iWatch project is being lead by Jony Ive himself, and that it will run a full version of iOS.
The first batch of Pebble smartwatches began shipping on Wednesday, nine months after the device broke Kickstarter records by securing more than $10 million in funding. Reports had suggested, however, that the accompanying Pebble iOS app would be delayed due to Apple’s approval process — but it just appeared in the App Store.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 –
The VIVOPlay, a new device from Evado Filip, combines a watch with a phone in order to keep your children safe when wearing the device. The VIVOPlay, which uses GPS, Wi-Fi, and GSM for location tracking, is specifically set up to help parents and their children stay in close contact in the case of an emergency.
The VIVOPlay works with a iOS and Android app to give you full control over the device’s capabilities. The parent can set up to 5 “safe zones” that define boundaries within which their children should stay. If something goes wrong and the child leaves the zone while wearing the device, the parents will be alerted to the activity.
We’ve been itching to get our hands on the Pebble smartwatch since it first hit Kickstarter, but that wait will be over later this month. At CES in Las Vegas today, Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky announced that the device has now entered mass production, and that shipping will begin on January 23.
For a couple of glorious years, Apple’s iPod nano came in a form factor that could be worn as a watch. Then this year, as Apple is wont to do with the permanently schizo iPod nano line, Apple switched to another design entirely, leaving fans who want a bonafide iWatch in the lurch. But perhaps there is method in Apple’s madness, as a new rumor suggests that Cupertino has phased out the watch-like nano to build their own Bluetooth Smart Watch for 2013.
Casio has announced its new G-Shock GB6900AA wristwatch which syncs with your iPhone over Bluetooth to bring notifications to your wrist. It will notify you of incoming calls, text messages, and emails, and it’ll alert you when your iPhone goes out of range to prevent it from being misplaced. And if you do lose your device, the G-Shock will help you find it.
We were a bit disappointed when Apple made the iPod Nano larger this year. The watch-like form factor of the iPod Nano was perfect for a lot of people and we were really hoping Apple would eventually make a iWatch that will rival the Pebble.
Federico Ciccarese has come up with a revolutionary concept called the iSiri Smartwatch. The watch would control everything on you iPhone and give you feedback right from your wrist, which might be an ingenious idea, or add an unnessecary level of interaction with our devices.
Check out the video of the iSiri Smartwatch in action below and tell us what you think of the idea in the comments.
Apple struck a deal with Swiss railway operator SBB earlier this month that allows the Cupertino company to continue using its iconic railway clock design for the clock app on the iPad. It seems, however, that SBB may not have had the right to license its design to Apple after all.
You see, a clock and watch manufacturer called Mondaine has an exclusive license with SBB that means it should be the only company with the rights to the design. Mondaine says it was “surprised” to hear that SBB had been granted Apple a license, too.
More than any other iPod, the venerable iPod nano has tended to be the chrysalid of the family, morphing from one radically different shape to the next with every successive generation.
The first couple generations of the iPod nano tended to be long and thin devices, to be replaced with a squatter square third-gen model, before returning to its familiar rectangle shape for the fourth and fifth generations, only to become a radically different touchscreen Shuffle-sized device in 2010.
Crazy. So what’s next for the iPod nano? According to a new report, it’ll stay a multitouch device, but again become long, thin and rectangular. It’ll even get a home button!
U.K. carrier O2 decided to survey its users to determine which devices iPhones or other smartphones commonly replace in the lives of its customers. The most commonly replaced device turned out to be one of the more low-tech devices in daily life – the alarm clock.
54% of O2’s iPhone and smartphone customers have relegated their alarm clocks to the dustbin of history.
The second most commonly replaced device was also a time-keeping device: the watch.
The Loop is a silicone wristband for the sixth-generation iPod nano that promises to turn your device in a “high end timepiece.” Its sleek, stylish design does away with the unnecessary bulk and aims to showcase your iPod nano rather than drawing attention away from it.
Once fitted, the Loop provides full access to your iPod’s headphone jack, dock connector, volume buttons, and sleep/wake switch. It features a stainless steel buckle that won’t perish up against your sweaty wrist, and it comes in a selection of colors. But best of all, it only costs $19.99.
What does that price say about the Loop’s design and build quality?
For a pretty big chunk of users, the iPod nano isn’t just an MP3 player; it’s also their watch. But what if you want something a little less watch-like from your nano? Maybe it’s time for a Nanolet — an iPod nano watchband that looks and acts a bit more like a bracelet, letting a tiny sliver of your wrist peek through.
You can grab one right now from Curecreative in a variety of colors including black, white, red, indigo and grey for just $21.52.
