Android Needs To Watch Out

Wearable computers are all the rage, it would seem, and Apple's intention to build an iWatch is well mooted.  There's been a lot of rumours floating around and it's thought that they will have something on the shelves before the end of the year.  But they won't be the first.

In fact there are a few wearable computer watches on sale right now and another has just been announced.  It's the Androidy watch, designed in the UK and ready to pre-order right now.  It works on Android - hence the name, I guess - and appears to be a full featured device.  It is a phone - I'm not sure how practical it is talking into your wrist and then putting your hand to your ear, I guess some protocols are needed there although it also features Bluetooth.  So a headset could be paired up I guess.

It will run anything that can be obtained on the Android Store, which means you can use it for pretty much anything you want, and the screen shots I've seen so far show it using the sat nav app.  But the screen is only 2 inches in size so you'll be squinting quite hard to read your eBook and following your route might have to rely on the spoken instructions.

But the real insight to me are the promotional photos showing smart looking young men and women wearing the watch.  They're all very well turned out - James Bond wouldn't look out of place in the adverts - and of course, being paid models, they all look very happy.

However the watch, diminutive that it is in terms of Android phones, is actually quite intrusively bulky.  The watch itself runs in landscape format across your wrist, with the bulk of the width leaning across the top part of your hand.  I think anyone doing anything remotely normal such as leaning on their hand or simply moving their wrist will find it constrained by the watch.

This is the challenge for Apple and anyone else looking at making a wearable computer for the wrist.  No matter how functional it is, it is likely to interfere with wrist movement and become quite uncomfortable. So while a few will wear the watch to make a statement, most normal people will identify that it's much easier to use a tablet computer. Or an Android phone - who would have thought?

However Samsung announced a range of curved, bendable LCD screens this week.  These screens are just about to start production and are intended to provide more robust, crack resistant tablet screen - oh I hope Google and Asus are listening - but I reckon that the material is a natural for devices such as the iWatch. A device that wraps around the wrist like an amulet is likely to have amore usable screen and be less difficult to wear.

I wish the makers of the Androidy watch all the best, but hope that Apple and other manufacturers look at the bendy screens as the way around the obvious problems.

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Apple Endorses Google Glass

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, would appear to be the anti-Jobs, the man who Steve never was.  Despite having the best top job in the world - and let's be fair, most top jobs look great from where we're sitting, so running Apple has to be the top job of top jobs - he's never looked that comfortable in the role.  He always looks like he's waiting for Steve to pop up and when's the last time you saw Tim Cook wearing a turtle neck sweater?  That's no way to run a hip tech company, surely?

He's been talking about what is coming up in the Apple world ahead of the announcements expected real soon - it's a tradition that Apple like to maintain that they deny anything true and dismiss anything they forgot to invent as a fad.  Like seven inch tablets, for example.  Of course, if Steve had been right then Apple would have been laughing all the way to the bank, but nobody would have remembered he dismissed seven inch tablets as too small to be of practical use.  Now Apple are just laughing all the way to the bank.

So Tim has been talking about Apple - he's really sorry about Apple maps, by the way.  Tell that to the driver who used it to cross the San Francisco bridge and came off the other side in Widnes, Cheshire.

He's pretty dismissive about the iWatch, which pretty much confirms it's nearly ready. Unfortunately the interviewer forgot to ask what colours it wasn't going to come in so we'll have to guess, but I reckon white has to be up there.  And black, for variety.  I guess between the two colours they'll go with anything you choose to wear as long as it's a black turtle neck sweater.

He was extremely dismissive of Google Glass - something about it only appealing to a very specific market, so I guess the bookies will stop taking bets now.  Google must be cock a hoop as Tim has practically endorsed their product.  Is it too late for me to patent the iBowTie?

But Google have another celebration on their hands because Apple are thinking of producing Android apps, which means they've already produced them and are trying to work out how they can launch them without losing face. How about they try mentioning they may be thinking about it?  That might work.  The first App to be ported? How about the iShovel?

Finally he did confirm that iOS is going to be overhauled, like that's been a secret.  It's better than throwing the towel in.  We all know by now that it is going to be a lot less fussy than the current version, visually, but actually I think most users want it to work better, not keep on moving backwards with each iteration.  However Tim has alluded to a more customisable desktop - he's not committing which means it's a done deal, of course.

Apparently all of the above will be confirmed - or denied if we're reading this on a parallel universe - on June 10th.  If Google could rush the production of the Google Glass forward then someone could record the whole presentation using them and upload it onto YouTube on the fly.

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Where Are the Wearable Computers?

Already this year wearable computing has been a hot topic.  Apple iWatch to Google Glass there is talk about integrating computing power with the ordinary items we place on our wrists and faces every morning.  In many ways it is an obvious extension to the way computing has moved, from large bulky boxes to compact tablet computers, some of them masquerading as mobile phones.

Not all the hype is being believed - there's justifiable scepticism over the do-ability of some of these projects.  For a wristwatch to be wearable it has to be pretty small, for spectacles that will be mostly lenses there's virtually nowhere for the electronics to reside.  There's nothing inherently radical about what any of these devices are proposing to do - they are mirroring the capabilities of mobile phones, tablet computers and digital cameras but in a very compact package.  It's the package coupled with the advertised seamless integration of the functions that is setting the interest levels to high.  And the doubt levels are up there too.

There are some rumours floating around that that Google Glass is an elaborate hoax.  If it is, it's an indication that you can have too much money, and if anyone has too much, it's probably Google.

But let's suppose that the wearable computing concept is in fact very doable - and as I said there's nothing technologically difficult here apart from the integration at the minuscule scale.  In fact, the dimensions are probably only an issue if you're aiming at a budget, and for these to take off as consumer devices you have to.  So, it is possible that until economies of scale are achieved, Apple and Google may have to subsidise these products.  Well, maybe not Apple - they have a knack of stringing out a new product, working up the faithful and the packaging it in a way that makes it irresistible - but I'm not convinced Google have that skill-set yet.   The Nexus range of tablets are bumping along despite being good products - I use a Nexus 7 every day and love it - and the Chromebooks, aggressively priced that they are, don't seem to be making much of a dent in the market despite aggressive TV advertising.

So maybe the Google Glass product is giving the impression of a hoax simply because they are trying so hard to work up a head of pressure on the product launch.  They've tried the Apple approach of denial, then a series of carefully leaked reports.  They even allowed a group of  people to apply to trial beta versions for a year before launch as long as they paid $1500 for the prototypes.  Coincidently, $1500 is the projected price for Google Glass when launched.  Some find that a little bit suspicious.  I see two possible scenarios that might be considered possible.

First, they are truly prototypes and the $1500 is a significant enough sum of cash to make sure that only the serious apply to help with the trial.  But of course, $1500 is nothing to what a rival manufacturer would pay for access to a beta product to disassemble and maybe reverse engineer ahead of launch.

Second, running a competition publicly to gather applications for trialling this product provides a realistic focus group of those who probably are the target market for the finished product.  Tell a little porky to say that the successful applicants have been selected and everyone who might be a potential purchaser goes 'shucks' and awaits the launch.  In the meantime, successful 'applicants' are seen wearing the Google Glass in public, in the press and on the web.  They blog, they write newspaper columns, they promote.  But they could be wearing dummy Glass.  Or maybe the real deal, but who says they aren't Google employees?

Now look back at how Apple are managing the iWatch project.  The concept has been leaked, but virtually all the functionality has been second guessed by the on-line Apple community.  Critically the technological aims are relatively modest to that being pursued by Google, but tangible.  And one really important thing to remember about Apple is that they rarely invent new ideas, no matter what the patent lawyers keep insisting. There were MP3 players aplenty before the iPod, even very good MP3 players such as the Creative Zen (we've got a couple of these at home), but the iPod was better.  The Mac Air is hardly the only laptop in town and the iWatch isn't the first attempt at a wrist-based computing device.  But it will probably be the best example.

So the iWatch will appear and it will be a success.  No doubt about that.  When, I'm not sure, but it will come in a fantastically designed box when it does and will cost way more than it should.  Apple fans will queue around the block for days to get one.

Google Glass - fact or hoax?  If they are a fact, then they will turn up late this year or early next.  If a hoax then someone, somewhere will make them a fact, and Google will buy that someone to make sure it's them who sell them. When?  No idea, but expect it won't be more than a couple of years.

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Watch Out Apple, It's Google's Time

Apple has been rumoured to be working on a smart watch for some time and some folk have given up waiting for the Cupertino company to produce such a device by making their own by strapping an iPod nano to their wrists.

Of course there are others who have been looking at building a smart watch, and some have succeeded.  You may have seen my posting on the Casio G-Shock Android phone from January 2012.  As I said at the time, I'm intrigued by the possibility of a mobile phone on my wrist, for several good reasons.  For one, I'm forever missing calls and texts on both of the phones I carry - I know, it's a modern burden that we carry all of these things around and yet I still miss the call.  It's because I tend to leave both phones on silent as it's considered bad form to have them ring in meetings and for some reason the vibrate mode doesn't always get my attention.

But it's not just the chance of realising when someone is trying to contact me, it's the fact that from the get-go my smart watch will always be within arm's reach - literally.  I'm a little too fond of laying my mobile phone on my desk next to my keyboard and then wandering off without it.  It's also a little obvious if I'm checking my emails or the progress of the blog in work, so having it on my wrist would make that a little more discrete.

I don't think smart phones will replace mini tablets for net surfing, but a simple Google search should be possible on the hoof, or at least off the cuff, and I've recently started forwarding the main appointments in my Outlook diary to my Google mail account, so that they are embedded in my Nexus tablet and HTC mobile phone calendars, so I can brace for the day's main tasks off-line.  However, once in work I tend to leave my Nexus on my desk awaiting lunch break when I read the latest eBooks I've downloaded and I've already mentioned I miss virtually all the alerts on my phone, so having something on my wrist that vibrates, flashes on and off and scrolls a message to let me know I should be leaving for a meeting would be a great help.

And although I'm a little cautious about making and receiving phone calls while driving, get the microphone settings right for - ahem - hands free, then taking a call when en route should be a real bonus.  Of course, I'm a Brit so using a manual stick with the left hand might mean I have to change the arm to wear my watch on.  Or gear changes might need to be coordinated with the flow of conversation.

So Apple are planning a smart watch that will, of course, double as a phone, an iPod, a browser and a latte dispenser no doubt, and we know this because they've leaked it.  But leaking a concept and producing it can be two different beasts, especially with a company like Apple which tends to hold its best product releases very close to its virtual chest.  In fact, the fact that they have allowed the idea to leak indicates that they aren't actually that far down the development road, but perhaps want to find out what the demand might be.  Because the downside of the smart watch is the size - make it big enough to do all the things we would like and it will become intrusive on the arm, or make it small enough to look like a piece of tech jewellery and the only function it is likely to perform adequately is telling the time.  And it won't have bypassed 'form and function' gurus Apple that there are suitable devices that do that already.

Now it turns out that Google have leaked hints that they are working on a smart watch design.  The Nexus 1 maybe?  It makes sense; Apple have proven the benefit of the holistic approach to devices - how many people do you know have an iPhone, an iPad and maybe an Apple Touch?  I reckon that few have just the one Apple device.  Now Google have the Nexus 4, 7 and 10, with the number relating to the screen size, so the idea of the Nexus 1 (or 2 - flip the watch on its side then you have a usable landscape screen for all the uses I mentioned earlier plus maybe the holiday snaps).  Because you have a Google mail account you can link items like your calendar together across all of your Nexus devices.  If Google, or Apple perhaps, can work out how to share your phone sim so that you can still use your mobile and your smart watch using the same phone number then we're on a winner here.

Apple might be playing around with the concept, but given their ongoing competitiveness with Google my guess is that they will either put the iWatch on fast track development or they'll call time on the project.  Personally, I think this is a development whose hour has come, I just hope it doesn't cost an arm and a leg - well an arm at least.  Come on Apple and Google - the clock's ticking.

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The Apple Gadget to Watch

Related post:

Casio G Shock Mobile Phone - Trend or Fad

Apple are rumoured to be working on the next big thing in mobile technology, a wristwatch that fits in with their product range.  Details are sketchy, to say the least which, given the secrecy the company shrouds all tech releases with and the 2014 projected release date, isn't that much of a surprise.

We shouldn't be that surprised at the innovation; Apple have spent the last ten years putting our record collections in our pockets, then the internet on our phones and finally our computers in our hands.  So an Apple device that I'm provisionally calling the iWatch (registration application is in the post) doesn't seem too left field.

It's also not an original idea, Casio have been touting an Android based watch for some time - my blog post reporting the Casio device (link at top of this blog) is almost exactly 12 months old.  People new to Apple may consider it strange that they may be following innovation instead of leading it, however those of us who have been around that block a few times know that swiping ideas and concepts is something Apple excel at when needed.  They're not averse to suing people who try to steal stuff they've stolen themselves, either, so Casio had better lawyer up in anticipation.

Some of the rumours on the web about the iWatch are a little skeptical, but I think it has promise.  Here's what I think it'll do.

First, it will display the time.  That may sound a little trite, but it is a simple requirement that most of us will require.  It'll also be an iPod device, capable of linking to your iTunes account and the iCloud.  My guess is that it will be a Bluetooth enabled device so users can listen to their music wirelessly on a bluetooth headset, but don't discount the famous white headphones just yet, there will probably be a mini jack.

It will also be a mini-iPhone, so that bluetooth headset should have voice capability also.  Better, it'll run Facetime so you can curl your left arm casually and speak with your nearest and dearest face to face from your hotel room.

It will also contain Siri so there's a fighting chance you can surf the internet, but good luck with where it will lead you.  Perhaps it's our UK accents, but Siri currently misunderstands almost everything we say, often hilariously.

I also expect that the strap will be like a snap strap, the slap on style that doesn't require buckles and mechanical parts that can fail.  I'm sure Apple will have an aesthetic spin on this and whoever was unfortunate enough to invent the snap on wristwatch strap should lawyer up real soon.  Don't wait for the January 2014 launch.

So when Tim Cook strolls onto the podium in just over a year's time, when he's done discussing the latest version of the iPhone, iPad and iOS then wait for the 'one last thing' speech beloved of the late Steve Jobs.  Then watch him casually slide his sleeve up and show off his new watch, like a ten year old on Christmas day.

But if you're in the audience and Tim fails to show then you'll know something ahead of the world - Apple have tried to squeeze Apple Maps on the watch as a last minute bonus and consequently Tim Cook will have got lost on his way to the venue.

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I can be followed on Twitter too - @RayASullivan
or on Facebook - use raysullivan.novels@yahoo.com to find me

Why not take a look at my books and read up on my Biog here

Want to see what B L O'Feld is up to?  Take a look at his website here

Worried/Interested in the secretive world of DLFs?  Take a look at this website dedicated to DLFs here, if you dare!