Lenovo’s new Magic View concept smartwatch has a ‘private’ second display

At its tech world event held in Beijing, Lenovo announced a new concept design ‘Magic View’ for its smartwatch. The Magic View concept features dual displays – the main round traditional display and the second small display below it, just above the strap. The secondary display, also called the Virtual Interactive Display (VID), offers you a new way to watch pictures and videos.

According to a report by Android Central who tested out the prototype of the Magic View concept watch at the event, the watch face is round like the Lenovo-owned Motorola’s Moto 360 (flat-tire cut-off, thin bezels)  and its size is the same as LG’s Watch Urbane LTE. The watch doesn’t run Android Wear but an Android-based custom software.

The VID of the concept watch is located below the main LCD panel. It looks opaque from far but when you hold it near your eye, you can see the images. Lenovo gave a demo of the VID in the prototype watch. The image clarity was quite good indoors but it can’t be said how it will fare out of doors in daylight. They also showed a 360⁰ panorama view of a stadium with sensors of the watch controlling the image motion. This view was also impressive. The only thing is you have to hold the screen right up to your eye as this is a private view which only you can see.  The optical reflection technology enables the viewers to see the images up to 20 times the size.

Well, this is only a concept smartwatch and we can’t say when it will be available to consumers. Also, how the second display impacts the smartwatch battery life remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, have a look at the Magic View concept smartwatch video below:

 

Lenovo’s new Magic View concept smartwatch has a ‘private’ second display

Samsung Gear A Rumored to Launch in September Together with Note 5

Samsung has announced earlier that the company will take its time to launch the new Gear A smartwatch. It was rumored to be shown to public in the upcoming IFA 2015 together with the Galaxy Note 5. However, there is no official confirmation from Samsung itself.

Gear A will be known with the codename Orbis. It is the first round smartwatch from Samsung and it will come with a new user interaction whereby the user will need to rotate the bezel ring to browse the apps within the device. On top of that the power button will come with a crown shape and users will be able to do wireless charging of the device.

There are a few speculations on the reasons why Samsung decided to wait until September to launch the product. Apparently, one of the reason is to wait until the market has settle down with the release of Apple Watch, which is released recently and has already becoming the limelight  in the technology industry these days. Another reason is to give the company more time to make some improvements on the smartwatch itself and make it as perfect as it can be if it is going to compete with Apple Watch.

On the separate note, Samsung is working on  a few things such as the Bluetooth version of the smartwatch, a 3G data and standalone voice calling smartwatch.

Samsung Gear A Rumored to Launch in September Together with Note 5

Apple releases three new Apple Watch Ads ‘Rise’, ‘Up’ and ‘Us’ highlighting its usefulness

Apple has released three new Apple Watch ads on its YouTube channel just prior to its official worldwide launch. The new ads titled ‘Rise’, ‘Up’ and ‘Us’ focus on three important uses of the device: Time, Health & Fitness and Communication. These are the three aspects which Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted while introducing the Apple Watch.

Many feel that there is really no need for a smartwatch, that it is more of a style statement. The entry of Apple Watch has surely generated some excitement in the smartwatch market and Apple is highlighting its functions through ads so that people get interested and convinced to buy one.

The first ad “Rise” shows people using their Apple Watch for their morning activities, to wake up, see & answer incoming messages and use it when they commute.

The second ad “Up” shows people using the health and fitness features of the watch for working out and other activities like setting up fitness goals or using it while exercising etc. It also highlights the “stand” notification which alerts users with “Time to Stand” when they are working or commuting.

The final ad “Us” focuses on the Apple Watch’s communication features such as draw pictures, send animated emojis, heart beats or taps to the wrists of others wearing the Apple Watch.

At the end, all the three ads declare “The Watch is here”. Apple’s earlier marketing campaign focused on showing Apple Watch on the wrists of celebrities, models and athletes but now it appears that Apple is showing the device being used by common man.

Apple releases three new Apple Watch Ads ‘Rise’, ‘Up’ and ‘Us’ highlighting its usefulness

Android Wear App updated with new design and features

Google has announced updates for its Android Wear app which is now available on Google Play Store. Android Wear is Google’s operating system for smartwatches. Google had earlier announced a major Android Wear firmware update which includes Wi-Fi support, always-on app support and other usability upgrades. Your smartwatch will first have to receive this firmware update for some features of the new Android Wear app update to take effect. The firmware update will be rolling out for all the Android Wear smartwatches starting with LG Watch Urbane.

The new Android Wear app update comes with several changes to the settings of your smartwatch.  General settings will be just a click away and through them, you will be able to block notifications and choose which calendar you want shown on the watch. You can adjust settings to show card previews. Your watch will remain always-on although its battery life may decrease somewhat.

In the settings, there will also be a new “Cloud Sync” feature which you can opt for, but it will work after you have installed the latest firmware on your Android Wear watch as it will enable Wi-Fi connectivity on it.  If you enable the Cloud Sync feature, you can receive notifications and also search even though your watch may not be connected to your Android phone via Bluetooth. If you disable Cloud Sync, the Wi-Fi connectivity will be turned off on all the Android devices you have. On turning Cloud Sync again, your watch will get back its WI-Fi connectivity.

You can install the Android Wear app update on your Android phone through Google Play Store.

Android Wear App updated with new design and features

Samsung’s next smartwatch could sport a much more flexible display that could turn into a smartphone!

The South Korean giant Samsung has been working on curved and flexible display technology for several years now. Samsung’s Gear S smartwatch, Galaxy S6 edge and  Galaxy Note Edge all have curved displays but the company is working to achieve something much more than that.

A new patent filed by Samsung has been revealed by the US Patent and Trademark office. It shows a device with a great amount of flexibility. This new invention is a wearable device that can transform from a curved wrist band to a flat device like a smartphone.

 

It can be seen in the pic above that the device can be wrapped around a wrist like a smartwatch or a smartband. However, when it is removed, it becomes flat and can work just like any regular smartphone. The device will support phone calls as well as other multimedia functions like games etc.

The device consists of a flexible display panel, a transparent protection panel and a touch panel for inputs. The body will have a processor, an input-output unit, a communication module and an image and audio processing unit.

Several small segments would be connected together sequentially below the OLED screen so that they are rotatable and can curl up into a bracelet form to fit on the wrist of the wearer. They could also straighten up into a flat shape to become a smartphone.

According to PatentlyMobile, Samsung has filed this patent application in the third quarter of 2014 but it is not known when this product will come into the market. It is a cool concept though.

 

Samsung’s next smartwatch could sport a much more flexible display that could turn into a smartphone!

A New Startup Company Olio to Compete with Apple Watch

Olio is a new startup company in San Francisco which has been around for a couple of years now.  It has been working on its own version of smartwatch which includes the hardware and software.  The smartwatch is made of stainless steel body and measures in 48mm wide and weighs just 2.36 ounces.  Similar to Apple, Olio will offer two types of watch face material, a steel or black steel. The steel material will be priced at $595 while the black steel will be priced at $745 respectively.

Olio watch comes with Bluetooth radio which is able to sync features with a compatible iOS or Android smartphones. On top of that, the device will offer a number of hardware sensors such as gyroscope and accelerometer as well as an audio capabilities which will allow users to interact with Google Now or Siri depending on the platform which the smartwatch is connected with.

What makes Olio different than other smartwatches from other companies is that Olio does not comes with app store or additional apps for the watch.  This is because Steve Jacobs, the CEO and founder of Olio believes that Apple and other manufacturers had made a mistake by trying to repeat the success of the smartphone app store into smartwatch as the display size of a smartwatch is much smaller than smartphone.

Olio currently has 14 employees in the Bay Area with the smartwatch manufactured outsourced to Flextronics in China. Olio will be available to pre-order today in limited numbers and it will start shipping in summer.

A New Startup Company Olio to Compete with Apple Watch

Huawei officially unveils Huawei Watch, its first Android Wear Smartwatch at the MWC

After yesterday’s teaser videos, Huawei has today officially announced its first Android Wear smartwatch dubbed the Huawei Watch. It is quite an impressive looking watch having a circular display and a design which the company says has been “Designed by a team of experienced watch designers that have a rich history in creating fashionable and timeless watches”.

The circular Huawei Watch sports a 1.4-inch AMOLED display with 400 x 400p resolution (286 ppi) at a high contrast ratio of 10,000:1. It is made from high quality stainless steel and is a scratch resistant. There is a 2 o’Clock press button for control.

Specs include a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, and Bluetooth 4.1 for connecting to smartphones. Huawei Watch is Huawei’s first Android Wear smartwatch and is compatible with smartphones that run Android 4.3 or a higher version. The watch also has a 6-Axis motion sensor, a barometer sensor and a heart rate monitor that monitors wearer’s activities such as heart rate, calories burned, steps taken, distance travelled and height climbed.

The Watch is available in 3 colors – Gold, Silver, and Black. There are 40 different watch faces and a whole range of straps of various materials and styles to choose from. The Watch will also have a magnetic charging station.

The Huawei Watch will become available in over 20 countries which includes US, UK, Australia, Russia, France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, , Norway, Philippines, South Korea, and UAE. The company has not disclosed its price yet and has said that it will be announced in the local markets when it hits the shelves there.

Have a look at the Huawei Watch:

Via PhoneArena

Huawei officially unveils Huawei Watch, its first Android Wear Smartwatch at the MWC

New Pebble Time Smartwatch Presented on Kickstarter

The latest Pebble Time smartwatch has been launched publicly, and it consists of latest kind of Timeline user interface with a colorful screen along with similar battery life of 7-days.

The new remarkable timeline UI has got everyone talking about the Pebble Time, having overwhelming animations and visibly faster working with improved responding made it even better than Pebble’s original interface.

Fortunately the same awesome interface will be included in the upcoming Pebble Steel smart-watches and is integrated in the present Pebble. Another unique feature included in the Pebble Time is the microphone.

This enables a user to leave short voice mails, which is an efficient quality, but it should be kept in mind that the company is not marketing the smartwatch as a replacement of mobile phones.

The weight and size of the Pebble Time has also been reduced.

On comparing it with original Pebble the thickness of the Pebble Time is 20% less and its body measures 0.37″ (9.5mm).

However the appearance of Pebble Time is quite toy-ish plastic, but metal is used to make the bezel.

From beginning one thing is understood clearly that visual of this smart-watch resembles famous standard wristwatches.

A little bit of curve is added in its structure so it sets correctly on natural shape of the wrist and fit more comfortably.  It has a scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass screen.

It is somewhat water resistance and it can be wore while surfing and swimming but taking it for a dive or staying underwater for a long time would not be a good idea.

New Pebble Time Smartwatch Presented on Kickstarter

LG releases the first promo video for its new Watch Urbane

About a week back LG had announced that it would be introducing its new smartwatch, the LG Watch Urbane at the MWC to be held in March in Barcelona. The South Korean company has now released a 60-second promo video that showcases the beautiful watch.

LG Watch Urbane is an all-metal luxury smartwatch powered by Android wear. The stylish watch is designed for the urban user and comes in polished gold and silver finish. It has a 1.3-inch P-OLED with a resolution of 320 x 320 and 245ppi, same as LG’s earlier G Watch R. However, the new watch is thin and has narrow bezels, and it can be worn by both men and women. Other specs include a Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory and a 410mAh battery. It also has a heart rate monitor. The watch is dust and water resistant with IP67 certification.

The Watch Urbane video shows it to be a watch where “Contemporary and Classic Unite”. The video also shows the various watch faces and strap options available.  Any 22mm band of users’ choice can be fitted onto the watch.

LG says, “LG Watch Urbane will bring endless beauty, long-lasting ingenuity and essence of luxury to your life.”

LG Watch Urbane is available for pre-order at online retailer Expansys and the watch will be reserved for you for $410.50 which seems quite expensive. However, this is not the official price which remains undisclosed as yet.

Well, we will know more about the LG Watch Urbane at the MWC in a few days. Meanwhile, check out the promo video:

Source LG Mobile Global

LG releases the first promo video for its new Watch Urbane

JDI Announces New Smartwatch Screen

JDI is counted in the category of big mobile phone developers; now the Japanese firm has declared about the launching of its new smartwatch screen. As it is visible in pictures that it has a round appearance and is of a reflective kind.

The developers of the device state that such design will provide the smartwatch with enhanced battery life. The reason behind it is that JDI’s smartwatch power consumption can reach as low as 0.5% or less, on comparing it the with other standard LCD module.

According to the company the smartwatch’s reflective design can attain this due to the reason that it is different from a normal LCD panel, which uses up 80% of its battery life on backlight.

Other than that, the display of the device remains bright even in bright sunlight. All of this sounds quite good to be correct, and apparently if there will be any big or small cautions to be concerned about, then the company might have thought they weren’t important to be told at its press release.

Now let’s just wait until company starts shipping this smartwatch, because only then it can be reviewed and improvements about its battery life can be told.

Talking about specifications is that it has a screen of 1.34 inches with a resolution of 320×300p.

The samples will be available in March while the mass production of the smartwatch is planned to start in the month of July.

JDI Announces New Smartwatch Screen

Neptune Duo – A Smartwatch Having Lollipop OS and Many Features

For users, the prices of wearable devices are higher than the features they provide. The problem is that the screens of such devices are so small that they can only be used for notifications checking which can also be done simply by taking mobile-phone out of pocket. Other than that wearable gadgets require connection with smartphones.

A mixture of smartphone and smartwatch was introduced by two different companies Samsung and Neptune. The Korean Giant introduced Gear S while the less popular Neptune brought in its Pine.

Both gadgets consist of smartphone-oriented OS; the Gear S uses Tizen while Pine runs on Android 4.1. The devices of both companies have bigger screens and have excessive hardware, which match with the level of smartphones.

It has been said that smartwatches can support SIM card and are able to connect to internet alone, also the devices can make calls, whereas Pine supports a front and back camera.  The display of Gear S is 2-inch with 300 mAh battery while the Pine has a battery of 810 mAh with a 2.4-inch display, which make both of the gadgets bigger than usual devices but still both have small batteries.

The Neptune Duo is a combination of smartwatch and remote, it’s a single unit, which requires to be attached with wearable in order to work. It provides easy navigation during interface, cameras and handset functionality.  Neptune Hub has a display of 2.4 inches and its shape is just like a band which keeps the device from looking really big.

It uses a quad-core processor with Android 5.0 Lollipop as an operating system, which is adjusted to be used on the screen of Hub. The device supports Bluetooth, GPS, LTE, NFC and Wi-Fi; it also supports handwriting on display to type messages.

Neptune Duo – A Smartwatch Having Lollipop OS and Many Features

Pebble working on a new thinner smartwatch with color display?

Pebble has put out a teaser on its website showing a countdown timer below the picture of a watch, hinting that there will be some announcement from the company when the timer becomes zero i.e. at 10AM EST on next Tuesday. Earlier in the month Pebble’s CEO Eric Migicovsky had said that the company would be releasing a new software platform and a new product line this year.

Now 9To5Mac has received information from multiple inside sources that Pebble has been working on major updates to both the hardware and the software of its watch and they will be ready to roll out next week on Tuesday. Pebble’s new smartwatch is reportedly thinner in size but with a wider screen and a color display looking like e-paper. However, it will not be a touch screen like the Apple Watch is supposed to have.

Although the new watch will be thinner and brighter than the earlier models, the battery will reportedly remain the same as the current models. It will sport an improved backlight for the display and a microphone which could lead 3rd party developers to create new apps for the Pebble platform. A heart rate monitor is a part of the company’s long term plans but not just yet.

The new Pebble watch will have a redesigned brand new Pebble OS. It will offer a timeline view showing recent notifications and several new animations in the user interface. The watch will have a new Cortex M4 chip and a 6-axis gyroscope. Its pricing is expected to be similar to that of Pebble Steel.

Of course, the Tuesday’s announcement may be for entirely another reason, we can’t say for sure. But if not now, Pebble’s new smartwatch is certainly expected sometime in the near future. So far, Pebble has been facing tough competition from Android Wear smartwatches and now it will have added competition from Apple Watch that is expected to release in April this year.

Source Pebble

Via 9To5Mac

Pebble working on a new thinner smartwatch with color display?

LG to introduce luxury all-metal smartwatch Watch Urbane at MWC 2015

The South Korean company LG Electronics has announced that it will unveil a new all-metal Android Wear luxury smartwatch LG Watch Urbane at the MWC 2015 to be held next month in Barcelona, Spain. It is a stylish and elegant smartwatch designed for the sophisticated urban user.

LG Watch Urbane will have a full metal body and a changeable natural leather strap giving it a classic look. It will be available in polished Gold and Silver finish. The strap can be swapped with other 22mm wide bands.

President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, Juno Cho said, “The LG Watch Urbane’s classic design and smart features make it the perfect smartwatch to complement our G Watch and G Watch R, which were designed as more casual and active devices”.

The Watch Urbane has 1.3-inch full circle P-OLED (320 x 320 resolution, 245ppi) display similar to the G Watch R but has even more narrow bezel and thinner profile so that it could be worn by both men and women. This smartwatch has a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor to measure the wearer’s pulse and heart-rate during exercise. It has an ‘always-on’ ambient mode that shows the time continuously in dim mode and saves battery life. LG Watch Urbane has a touch-based UI and is compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3 or more.

Other specs of the device include a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB of LPDDR2 RAM, 4GB of internal storage and a 410mAh battery. The watch is dust and water proof with IP67 certification. Its dimensions are 45.5 x 52.2 x 10.9mm.

LG says that pricing and other details will be announced when the watch is made available in local markets.

Source LG

Via PhoneArena

LG to introduce luxury all-metal smartwatch Watch Urbane at MWC 2015

Huawei’s MWC teaser hints at a new 4G LTE standalone smartwatch

Just a few days back Huawei had revealed its roadmap for 2015 informing that it would be releasing several new devices during the year which also included an Android Wear smartwatch among others. Now the Chinese mobile maker has released a couple of teasers on its official Weibo profile, both containing the phrase “Next is here”.

One of the teasers could very well be for a smartwatch that Huawei may be planning to unveil at the MWC 2015 in Barcelona next month. This teaser shows a crescent shaped design with a star at one end which might be hinting at Huawei’s upcoming smartwatch with such a curved design. The phrase “Next is here” could mean that the next upgrade version of its smartband is here. Huawei had released its smartband TalkBand B1 last year which is a fitness band that also doubles as a Bluetooth headset.

The teaser also has the words “4G LTE” on top left hand corner which could mean it could be a standalone smartwatch supporting 4G LTE networks, a step ahead of Samsung’s Gear S which is also a standalone device but supports 3G. Huawei’s CEO Richard Yu had hinted in September last year that the company’s smartwatch will be a standalone piece like the Tizen-powered Samsung Gear S.

The second teaser could be that of Huawei’s Honor X2 (MediaPad X2) tablet, a successor to Huawei MediaPad X1. This teaser too has the words 4G LTE suggesting that the tablet phone will support it. This new tablet is also expected to be introduced at the MWC. Latest rumors suggest that this next gen tablet will feature a 7-inch display with 1920 x 1200 resolution, Huawei’s own Hisilicon Kirin 925 processor, 3GB RAM and a 5500 mAh battery. The tablet is said to be priced at about 1999 Yuan ($320).

Well, MWC 2015 is just round the corner and we will know more then.

 

Source Weibo

Via GizmoChina

Huawei’s MWC teaser hints at a new 4G LTE standalone smartwatch

Moto 360 tops Android Wear sales in 2014, Apple Watch to drive major wearables growth in 2015

The year 2014 has seen 4.6 million smart wrist wearables shipped globally of which about 720,000 were Android Wear devices, according to research and analysis company Canalys. The low sales of Android Wear devices can be attributed to the fact that this was the first year of existence for the platform.

Motorola’s Moto 360 topped Android Wear sales although no specific figures have been given. Canalys also says that the performance of LG’s round smartwatch G Watch R was “significantly better” than the company’s original G Watch. Asus and Sony entered the Android Wear market in 2014 with their Zenwatch and Smartwatch 3 respectively.

Samsung launched 6 devices in 14 months and clearly leads the smart wrist wearables market. However, of the 6 devices released by Samsung, only the Gear Live runs Android Wear, the rest are Tizen-based.

Apart from Android Wear devices, other smartwatches and bands that did well include those of Pebble and Xiaomi. Pebble sold its 1 millionth unit in December 2014 since its launch in 2013. Xiaomi shipped more than 1 million units of its affordable Mi Band that includes over 103,000 pieces sold in a single day. However, Fitbit topped the basic wearable bands market globally.

Apple is expected to launch its Apple Watch in April this year and according to Canalys, “The product will dramatically grow the market for smart bands and wearables overall”.

 

Source Canalys

Moto 360 tops Android Wear sales in 2014, Apple Watch to drive major wearables growth in 2015

Swatch Group AG to Sell Smartwatch within the Next 3 Months

Swatch Group is planning to go into smartwatch industry, potentially competing with Apple Watch. The Swatch smartwatch will be operating on a NFC platform and the difference with the Apple Watch is that it does not have to be charged. On top of that the Swatch smartwatch will be able to support mobile payment feature and works with Windows and Android software.

Swatch has a long time experience in developing technology that able to support smartwatch such as long lasting batteries so thin that they can be bent.  Apple smartwatch was having issue with its battery which is currently the company is fixing before the launch of the device. Swatch’s Tissot brand for example, is a product with touch screens since 1999 which is now also offering altimeter, a compass and sensors to record diver’s descent.

Swatch CEO Nick Hayek, did not planned to go to smartwatch industry two years ago. Since his concern is that the watch screens are too small for communication and it might need too much charging. However, recently, the CEO is planning to join the smartwatch industry which Citigroup analyze that it could hit $10 billion in annual sales by 2018.

Swatch is currently in talks with retailers on its payment system. The device is expected to be released in the market in the next two to three months.

Swatch Group AG to Sell Smartwatch within the Next 3 Months

Apple Watch battery life targets revealed, to have a powerful CPU and Retina-class display

Tim Cook announced Apple Watch in September 2015 and since then everyone is curious about what Apple’s smartwatch would really be like. The phone’s battery will reportedly last only for a day and it will need charging every night. This has been mentioned by the Apple’s CEO himself but there is no mention about how long the battery will actually last.

9to5Mac has got information about specific performance targets that Apple is keen to achieve regarding the Apple Watch battery, but it remains to be seen how Apple actually fares. According to sources, Apple has opted for a powerful processor and a high quality screen in its smartwatch but both would need more power. The Apple S1 chip in the Apple Watch runs SkiHill, a stripped-down version of iOS. Its performance is quite close to that of Apple’s A5 processor used in iPod Touch. The watch screen is “Retina-class” color display updating at 60 FPS. It is obvious that both will drain out the battery quickly. However, when the watch screen is not in use, the display turns off, saving power.

Apple has been stress-testing the watch’s battery life with various applications. Apple is targeting 2.5 hours of heavy app usage such as gaming; 3.5 hours of usage for standard apps; 3 hours for clock face display and watch-ticking animations; 4 hours for fitness tracking; 2-3 days for low-power or standby modes and 4 hours for sleeping mode. Apple is targeting 19 hours of mixed (active/passive) usage per day but it may not achieve this target in the first version of Apple Watch.

Apple has been concerned over the short battery life and this is one of the reasons why Apple has pushed back the retail launch of Apple Watch from 2014 to early 2015. Latest reports suggest that Apple’s smartwatch will now start shipping only in April. Meanwhile, the company has circulated around 3,000 units of the watch to test its real-world performance.

Source 9to5Mac

Apple Watch battery life targets revealed, to have a powerful CPU and Retina-class display

Samsung Orbis round-dialed smartwatch, MVC launch likely

Samsung is about to launch their modified Gear products in the coming MWC expo. However , it has released various Galaxy brand smartwatches but none got the expected accolades.

Samsung is working hard in prepping its own smartwatch blockbuster with rumored name Orbis. It is said that Samsung started working on a new round piece since Apple announced its own iWatch last quarter.

The Orbis device will be more appealing and stylish compared to the current Samsung Galaxy Gears. It will sport a rotating ring on its top eradicating the pressing and navigating issue of smartwatch on their tiny displays. However, Orbis is expected to have a “crown-shaped power button” which will be reserved for rotating the bezels at the top. Apple’s iWatch already have this button for scrolling and zooming purpose. The power key will be utilized eventually for S Voice , for waking up the device, for launching stuff and so on.

We definitely can’t wait for the new leaks to come up, since Orbis device is the question of Samsung’s reputation in the smartwatch arena.

Samsung Orbis round-dialed smartwatch, MVC launch likely

Samsung’s Orbis Smartwatch: Some features of its top Rotary Ring leaked

Wearable devices are much in news lately. Samsung is rumored to be working on its new round smartwatch for a while now. The project is codenamed ‘Project Orbis’ just like the ‘Project Zero’ for Samsung’s upcoming flagship Galaxy S6. We have recently heard rumors that Samsung might announce its round Orbis smartwatch alongside Galaxy S6 at the MWC 2015 in March.

Samsung’s new round smartwatch will supposedly have a rotary ring on the top that will allow users to interact with the device. Sammobile has come up with additional information about some of the features that might be incorporated in the Orbis smartwatch.

Although most Gear smartwatches support call making, the new Orbis smartwatch will not support this feature. You will be able to accept phone calls or dismiss them, but you will not be able to talk or handle them from the smartwatch.

On the Homescreen, you can swipe from top towards the bottom to get the drop-down menu that holds icons for brightness, Bluetooth and battery; brightness control; and do not disturb mode. When you swipe the screen from bottom to top, you get the recent apps menu like in the Gear S.

The rotary ring has some special functions. When in the recent apps menu, rotating the ring to the right slowly will display 1 app at a time while faster rotation will show you 3 apps at once. You can close the recent apps menu by using the crown-shaped power button.

On the home screen, when you rotate the ring towards the right, you will see widgets in use. After reaching a widget, left rotation will give you the contents of that particular widget. Rotating the ring towards the left will show you notifications and you can run through them.

You can also control the on-board music player with the rotary ring – pause, mute or run through the songs. The ring will allow you to control the alarm, time, find your device or know the weather forecast.

Sammobile says that all this is just “the tip of the iceberg”. The watch will have a lot many other functions. Orbis is surely going to be one amazing smartwatch!! It could be Samsung’s answer to the Apple Watch. What do you think?

 

Source SamMobile

Samsung’s Orbis Smartwatch: Some features of its top Rotary Ring leaked

Blocks, a Modular Smartwatch that you can customize according to your needs

After introducing a modular phone concept, Phonebloks is now entering the wearables market with the creation of a modular smartwatch “Blocks” in which you can mix and match features to create your own unique personal smartwatch.

“Wearable devices are very personal devices, so naturally being able to customise yours would be amazing, as you could make it unique to your own lifestyle!” writes designer Hakeem Javaid in his Phonebloks blog. He says that after “months of research” they finally managed to build a “simple display, processor, motion sensor and temperature sensor blocks, and we could connect them in any combination we liked!”

Blocks was originally supposed to use a special version of Android Wear like the Project Ara smartphone that uses a customized version of Android. However, the company now plans to use Samsung and Intel’s Tizen OS that will support iOS, Android and Windows Phone. The Blocks team was one of the 10 finalists in Intel’s “Make It Wearable” contest that has won them funding of $50,000 as well as access to Intel’s latest processors.

Modules of Blocks will have circular and rectangular touchscreen and E Ink faces, microphone, gesture control, motion sensor, heart monitor, blood oxygen monitor, environment sensor, GPS, NFC, fingerprint scanner, audio jack, camera, sim card and many other features. Each module will feature removable covers that will allow you to customize the look and functionality of your smartwatch.

Have a look at the Blocks video:

 

Source Phonebloks

 

Blocks, a Modular Smartwatch that you can customize according to your needs