Wearable Tech

OPINION

The Future According to Qualcomm

I was at the Qualcomm Internet of Things event in San Francisco last week during what was a major IoT event in the city. What is kind of amazing is the larger event was just a small part of the applications show that used to go on at the same time. This year it is twice the size of that older show.

If you're thinking about getting an Apple Watch and have been on the fence, this review is for you. Why? The Apple Watch, it turns out, is less about being the perfect smartwatch than it is about being a watch. For the fence sitters out there, these two questions are really where you should start: F...

Coinciding with the official Apple Watch launch on Friday, a slew of apps and games are making their debuts. One of the early hopefuls is WayForward, which last week unveiled its Watch Quest, hoping to get a jump on the competition. Some developers have been awaiting the opening of the WatchKit APIs...

Apple is known for fantastic product design, but it's not known for customization. The first iPhone hit the world nearly eight years ago, and yet our "customizable" home screen options are limited to the organization of app icons and some wallpaper choices that can produce color tints through transl...

Google on Monday released an update to Android Wear -- just the second significant feature refresh for its wearable device software since its introduction more than a year ago. "This update is overdue," said Ian Fogg, senior director and head of the mobile and telecoms team at IHS Technology. "Wit...

GADGET DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES

Gadget Ogling: A Juicy Wristband, a Gamy Wearable and a Dorky Dongle

Asus is taking a common-sense approach to the fitness tracker game by debuting a new watch with a 10-day battery life. Thanks to its square screen, the soon-to-be-released VivoWatch resembles a smartwatch more than, say, a Fitbit. Although details are scant, it appears to have a monochrome screen, w...

OPINION

Apple’s Storm Clouds

An Apple shop recently dumped Apple for Dell following a surprising revelation. Over most of the last two decades, the only time I've seen a move like this was when some change in IT forced it, and a lot of staffers subsequently would quit. This move was largely user-driven. Then, last week, one of ...

Because there are so many Apple-loving fanatics who are hopelessly addicted to their iPhones, the first wave of Apple Watch sales won't give us a reliable indicator as to whether it is a real success... or not so much. Because we're talking about Apple here, there will be a couple million customers ...

The prelaunch reviews of the Apple Watch are out, and though they're generally favorable, they include a few niggling complaints. A select group of reviewers were loaned an Apple Watch for a week. Overall, their consensus is that it's a fine device for tracking health and fitness, it's great for mak...

In "iPhone Killer: The Secret History of the Apple Watch," David Pierce doesn't reveal any serious secrets -- because Apple never does -- but he does illuminate the early days of the Apple Watch, centering on an interview with Kevin Lynch, Apple's vice president of technology. It's an interesting re...

Someway, somehow, it's apparently legal to own the XM42 flamethrower in the United States, unless you happen to live in California or Maryland. I can't fathom any circumstance under which a weapon -- let's not mince words here -- capable of shooting flames 25 feet should be available for anyone to p...

Google hasn't killed Glass, its controversial Internet-connected eyewear, CEO Eric Schmidt said in an interview published Monday. In fact, Google plans to bring out a new version of Glass later this year, he said. Rumors of its demise seemed to be confirmed in January, when Google abruptly stopped s...

SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITY

How Secure Is the Apple Watch?

Apple typically has impeccable timing for its new product introductions, but that may not be the case with its new smartwatch. In a gala event last week, the company announced model and pricing details for its Apple Watch. That came just six days after questions were raised about the security of its...

By the end of this year, Apple fans won't be the only ones who can flash a smartwatch worth thousands of dollars on their wrist; Android aficionados will be able to do the same. Google, Intel and Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer on Thursday jointly announced plans to make a luxury Swiss smartwatch. They w...

OPINION

Apple Drifts Away From Jobs

Steve Jobs' Apple displayed a rather fascinating balance between design and utility. Granted, it often shifted more toward the design side, which resulted in problems like Antennagate, but that tended to happen when Jobs wasn't around. He made sure the products worked well and looked good -- he unde...

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