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APPLE CEO TIM COOK REFUSES TO REVEAL NUMBER OF APPLE WATCHES SOLD, KEEPS ANALYSTS GUESSING

How many Apple Watches sold last quarter? Apple won't say, but that hasn't stopped analysts from speculating.

A collection of 17 analysts offered Fortune Magazine their predictions for Apple Watch sales last quarter. The numbers varied from a low of 2.5 million to a high of 6 million.

The forecast provides a glimpse into the demand for the Apple Watch, a high profile product in the burgeoning category of wearable devices. Unlike the iPhone or iPad, Apple doesn't break out how many watches it has sold. This has led to a guessing game of sorts by analysts and investors. The Apple Watch, which competes against other wearable tech products and luxury goods, commands a premium price over rival smartwatches.

Despite some of the more bearish estimates, the Apple Watch seems to be doing relatively well, according to research firm IDC. In its latest quarterly report on wearables, IDC gave Apple's smartwatch the No. 2 position, just behind market leader Fitbit. Over the second quarter, Apple shipped 3.6 million watches, said IDC, grabbing 20 percent of the wearables market. Fitbit shipped 4.4 million wearable devices.

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Apple also continues to push the watch, expanding its reach to Best Buy in August and launching an updated version of its Watch OS software in September. Even analysts such as Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, who estimated just 2.5 million in sales last quarter, believes demand for the watch will take time and sees sales surging from 14 million next year to 40 million in 2017.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook refused to reveal sales numbers on the Apple Watch, calling it "competitive information," at a Wall Street Journal technology conference Monday.  He said.

"We shipped a lot the first quarter...then last quarter we shipped even more.  I can predict this quarter we will ship even more."

The Apple Watch is available in three varieties: the entry-level Sport version starting at $349, the Apple Watch starting at $549 and the Apple Watch Edition starting at $10,000.

Apple declined to comment on the analyst projections.

COMMENTARY:  In a blog post dated July 13, 2015, I boldly proclaimed that the Apple Watch was a "big flop" and I am not backing away from that opinion. Honestly, would you pay $10,000 for a watch if it wasn't a Rolex?  Just because the Apple Watch is an Apple product, does not guarantee success.  

Apple originally developed the Apple Watch as a high-tech fashion item, but the design of the Apple watch should've been left up to jewelry and watch designers who really understand fashion.  As a result, the Apple Watch has failed to make a fashion statement, in fact, many fashion designers greeted the watch with a big yawn and called it just another fancy consumer electronics "gadget."

A salesman at the famed department store Printemps treats the watch as a technology gadget, saying his store won't carry the watch, which will range in price from $350 (£232) to more than $10,000 (£6,600) for the high-end Apple Watch Edition in 18-karat gold.

The salesman at Printemps, which carries such brands as Rolex, Montblanc and Longines said.

"You have to understand; we are luxury brands, and [the Apple Watch is] more technology," 

Supermodel Christy Turlington Burns became the timepiece's highest-profile advocate from the fashion world when she joined CEO Tim Cook onstage in San Francisco on Monday, but not everyone is impressed  (Click Image To Enlarge)

The Apple Watch requires that you have an iPhone that runs the apps that gives the watch its functiontionality, so in essence, it is basically an extension of the iPhone or just another electronics gadget.  People who crave luxury and fashion don't want another electronic gadget on their wrist.  

In another blog post dated September 27, 2015, I pointed out that Apple's next watch will be round, not square.  Round watches is what consumers are buying, which is why Fitbit is kicking ass in the smartwatch category.   Will Jones, a Tablets and Computing Buyer with John Lewis, stated that one reason square watches are falling short with consumers, is that.

“People don’t want to look like they’re wearing a computer on their wrist.”

Even Guy Kawasaki, the former "chief evangelist" for Apple, while attending the CeBIT technology conference in Sydney in March 2015, was wearing a Breitling watch, not an Apple Watch. When asked why he didn't wear an Apple Watch, he said.

"This is a real man's watch, not an Apple."

Guy Kawasaki refused to wear an Apple Watch, but proudly shows off his Breitling watch at a recent CeBit Technology Conference in Australia (Click Image To Enlarge)

Guy added that he "might love the Apple Watch someday," that day is not today.

Guy also expressed some reservations about the design of Apple products under the company's new CEO, Tim Cook.

"Some of their decisions, I just scratch my head."  

Take the new MacBook, he pointed out, it only has one USB port.

"What alternate universe are these people living in that they only need one port?"

When the "chief evangelist" for Apple is critical of Apple's new product designs under Tim Cook, you know that Apple's reputation as a technology innovator maybe ending.  In short, Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs. 

I don't believe that Apple CEO Tim Cook is being honest with analysts.  If sales are so good, why doesn't he just provide sales numbers to support his claims.  It's my theory that Apple is just buying time until generation 2 of the Apple Watch is unveiled.  It will be round and rely on leading edge apps to give the watch functionality and appeal.   

Courtesy of an article dated October 21, 2015 appearing in C|NET, an article dated August 27, 2015 appearing in C|NET, an article dated August 27, 2015 appearing in AppAdvice, an article dated March 9, 2015 appearing in the Daily Mail and an article dated May 4, 2015 appearing in Mashable

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THE NEXT APPLE WATCH WILL BE ROUND, AND HERE'S WHY: THE PEBBLE ROUND TIME WATCH FOR ONLY $249 DEBUTS IN NOVEMBER

This week Pebble announced the launch of a new face in its smartwatch lineup: The Pebble Time Round.  Dubbed as the lightest and thinnest smartwatch will debut in November 2015 and retail beginning at $249.00.  The new addition joins a growing number of smartwatches that favour the classier rounded look such as the LG Urbane and G Watch R, Moto360, Withings; with G-Shock, Swatch and even higher end watchmakers like TAG Heuer launching their own versions soon.

 

Apple AAPL -0.88% bucks this trend with its square design, but it feels like a forced attempt to alter how wearers perceive what it means to own a watch, and to show that a square smartwatch can carry its own chic. Consumers prefer round watches, whether a traditional timepiece or a smart variant. 80% of watch sales on sale are made on round faced timepieces, according to Ruth Faulkner, the editor of Retail Jeweller. This was backed up in another interview with Will Jones for Trusted Reviews. Jones, a Tablets and Computing Buyer with John Lewis, stated that one reason square watches are falling short with consumers, is that.

“People don’t want to look like they’re wearing a computer on their wrist.”

Apple is no stranger to playing with design over the life of a product. Remember the iPod Nano? Here Apple changed the iPod Nano in 2007 during its 3rd iteration making it more like the original iPod Classic with a squared off design before returning to the familiar candy bar shape again. With the Apple Watch I predict the same will happen and Apple will release two styles side by side to grab a larger consumer share against the proliferation of rounded Android watches.

Different iterations of the Apple iPod Nano music player (Click Image To Enlarge)

For many a circular watch feels more familiar, and ultimately more stylish. Remember Tom Ford trying to wear the Apple as a pocketwatch ? It didn’t take off.

There are of course pros and cons for designing a square-faced watch over a round version and vice-versa;

• User experience
• Screen design and manufacturing
• App design and usability

One startup is looking deeply into how users can input text on a smartwatch, something which is not possible in the current generation of smartwatches. Tusi claims to make “messaging on small screens simple and fast” via predictive text and abbreviation functionality but on its website it favours text input via round smartwatches.

Apple will have to release a future version, whether Gen-2 or Gen-3, in both variants due to consumer pressure. When Tim Cook revealed the Apple Watch he said 

“The Apple Watch is the most personal device we’ve ever created, it’s not just on you, it’s with you.”

Howevers, Cupertino will need to understand that to win the smartwatch war it can’t just force its design on you, it has to work with you and that may mean finally giving you the choice that should have been there in the first place.

As Pebble say on their website, The Time Round is “the perfect companion for those who like their wearable tech a bit more incognito.”. They say incognito, I say classier.

I’ll take the Apple Watch in round please Tim.

COMMENTARY:   At the present time, most smartwatches need to connect with a smartphone or tablet for most of their functionality.

Wearables also suffer from a perception problem. Is it a computer, a watch or jewelry?  In most important,c0nsumers still don't understand how a wearable might really benefit them.  In a recent report on the wearable computing market from BI Intelligence, we also discuss other barriers to adoption, including price, lack of functionality, and style.

We also look at how how the wearables market will perform in the long run. We forecast out shipments numbers, explain why the smartwatch will be the leading wearable device category going forward, and analyze proprietary results from our BI Intelligence consumer survey on smartwatch purchase intent.

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Here are some key points from the report:

• Wearables will see plenty of growth. The estimated global wearables market will grow at a compound annual rate of 35% over the next five years, reaching 148 million units shipped annually in 2019, up from 33 million units shipped this year.
• The smartwatch will be the leading product category and take an increasingly large share of wearable shipments.  Estimated smartwatch shipments will rise by a compound annual rate of 41% over the next five years. Smartwatches will account for 59% of total wearable device shipments this year, and that share will expand to just over 70% of shipments by 2019.
• The Apple Watch will kick-start growth in the overall smartwatch market.  The Apple Watch will account for 40% of smartwatch shipments in 2015 and reach a peak 48% share in 2017.
• Fitness bands and miscellaneous wearable device types, like smart eyewear, will continue to cater to niche audiences. Fitness bands, because of their appeal to niche audiences interested in health and exercise, will see their share of the wearable device market contract to a 20% share in 2019, down from 36% this year. There will be some blur between fitness bands and smartwatches.
• Now that both Apple and Google are in the smartwatch market, they will dominate, much as they have in the smartphone and tablet markets.  Because these platforms make up over 90% of the entire mobile platform market, many mobile users interested in wearable devices will gravitate toward Apple Watches and Android Wear-based devices.
• Barriers still persist, and these will inhibit consumer wearables adoption and usage. Smartwatches in particular must become standalone computing devices with more robust functionality for the devices to become mainstream. Other barriers include small screen size, clunky style, limited battery life, and lack of a "killer app" that can drive adoption.

In full, the BI Intelligence report:

• Forecasts annual shipments of wearable computing devices between 2014 and 2019.
• Breaks down wearable computing device shipments by device category, including smartwatches, fitness bands, and other wearables like Google Glass.
• Reveals and analyzes BI Intelligence smartwatch consumer survey results.
• Discusses barriers to mainstream adoption including style limited functionality, and lack of a killer app ecosystem.
• Looks at the potential for Apple and Google to dominate with Apple Watch and Android Wear.

Courtesy of an article dated September 27, 2015 appearing in Forbes and an article dated May 25, 2015 appearing in Business Insider

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IDC SAYS 3.6 MIL APPLE WATCHES SOLD IN Q2 2015, GOOGLE ANDROID WEAR SUPPORTS IPHONE, AND INTEREST IN TECH WEARABLES FADING FAST

Although Apple has been touting its Watch’s ability to track everything from minutes of brisk activity to glucose levels, it has been vague about its own sales data for the device since it went on sale in late June. A new report, however, suggests that it burst off the blocks and trails only the much-simpler and less-expensive Fitbit in the wearable-devices race.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker study.

“Apple shipped a total of 3.6 million units in the second quarter of 2015 (2Q15), just 0.8 million units behind Fitbit’s 4.4 million units.” 

And it sprinted to the lead in the “smart wearables” subcategory of devices capable of running third-party apps, according to IDC.

Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers, said in the news release.

“About two of every three smart wearables shipped this quarter was an Apple Watch.  Apple has clearly garnered an impressive lead in this space and its dominance is expected to continue.” 

Ubrani also points out the basic wearables category — Fitbit’s’ bailiwick, at least to date — is expected to lose share in the future, “leaving Apple poised to become the next market leader for all wearables.”

CNET’s Ben Fox Rubin reports.

“Right behind Apple, Chinese firm Xiaomi came in at No. 3 on IDC's report, with 3.1 million shipments. The rest of the top five were well behind those three leaders, with Garmin and Samsung shipping less than 1 million units each.” 

Some observers, however, are wary about IDC’s conclusions.

MarketWatch’s Jennifer Booton points out that the IDC numbers indicate that the “Apple Watch seems to be performing much better than the company’s earnings report led observers to believe,” as well as comments from Apple executives, including CEO Tim Cook.

Booton writes.

“Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster questions IDC’s 3.6 million-unit figure based on Apple’s revenue statement.  Munster, who in a report in July estimated Apple Watch sales of 2.5 million units last quarter, said the kind of growth IDC is suggesting would indicate a sharp deceleration of the other sales with which Apple bundles Watch revenues.”

And Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt “thinks IDC is mushing stuff together,” Barron’s Tiernan Ray reports.  But, McCourt contends,

“The big picture here is the wearables market is growing very rapidly (+223%) y/y, which is impressive growth given the annualized volumes already at ~80 million units.”

Ray reports in another post that R.W. Baird’s William Power feels that the Garmin Forerunner 225 and Fitbit Surge generallyoutperform the Apple Watch on running accuracy and software after personally testing them. But Apple Watch, Power concludes, “wins on most everything else” compared to the other two.

Meanwhile, Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt yesterday filed a story containing what he characterizes as “brave words” from Swatch CEO Nick Hayek. Among them: 

• “The Apple Watch is an interesting toy, but not a revolution”
• “As a watch producer, I cannot accept the responsibility of whether my device warns a customer in time before a heart attack.”

Hayek’s observations were part of an interview with the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger “to hype Swatch’s new line of smartwatches, the Touch Zero One” which, Elmer-DeWitt points out, “seems to have landed in the U.S. without much of a splash.”

Surprising for a device that is said to be “your perfect beach volleyball companion,” no?

Best Buy, which rolled out the Watch at 100 of its stores, is expanding to all of its outsets by the end of September. It also is updating its stores-within-a-store concept by the holiday shopping season; they will “play an important role in Best Buy's Apple Watch strategy,” as Mike Brown reported earlier this week in the International Business Times.

Mike Brown reported what Best Buy CFO Sharon L. McCollam said during the company's quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, August 28.

“I think we can all agree the Apple Watch is certainly iconic and having it in all 1,000 stores by the end of September is a big deal for us.” 

Having earned the “iconic” label after a mere three months in the marketplace, the Watch will clearly need a new goal to push it to the max. Market dominance is probably what comes to mind in Cupertino.

COMMENTARY:   Don't you just love it when mobile industry experts can't seem to agree on how many Apple Watches were sold?  The only person who really knows how many Apple Watches have been sold is Apple CEO Tim Cook, and he hasn't been much help, offering comments full of elation, but no exact figures during Apple Q2 2015 earnings conference call:

• "We started taking pre-orders in 9 countries on April 10, and demand immediately exceeded supply by a wide margin. To prioritize those first orders and to deliver the best experience for our customers, we delayed the availability of Apple Watch in our own retail stores until mid June."
• "We’ve made huge progress with the production ramp across the quarter, and near the end of the quarter expanded into 6 additional countries. And in just the past few days, we’ve been able to catch up with demand, enabling us to expand Apple Watch availability to a total of 19 countries currently, with three more countries to be added at the end of this month."
• "The feedback from Apple Watch customers is incredibly positive, and we’ve been very happy with customer satisfaction and usage statistics. Market research from Wristly measured a 97 percent customer satisfaction rate for Apple Watch, and we hear from people every day about the impact it’s having on their health, their daily routine, and how they communicate."
• "We believe that the possibilities for Apple Watch are enormous, and that’s been reinforced in just the first few weeks since it became available to customers. For example, doctors and researchers at leading hospitals in the U.S. and Europe are already putting Apple Watch to work in improving patients’ lives." 

This all sounds good, but Tim Cook never provided any actual numbers to backup his reasons for such elation over the performance of the Apple Watch.

Consumer Interest In Wearables Fading Fast

After reaching a peak level of interest earlier this year, consumers are becoming steadily less enamored of wearable technology in general (and fitness technology specifically).

According to a new report from Argus Insights that evaluated more than 300,000 product reviews, demand for wearables reached a peak in January 2015 (when it was four times higher than in January 2014), but has since dropped significantly. 

The market, which includes numerous products including smartwatches, glasses, fitness bands and other sensor-enabled devices, is in a unique position where consumers are losing interest in fitness products (which all tend to do the same things), yet they’re failing to see a purpose for smart watches that justifies their expense.

John Feland, CEO and founder of Argus Insights, tells Marketing Daily.

“[Sales] are still growing year-to-year, but interest is sliding.  The fitness band market hasn’t figured out what it can do beyond counting steps, and smart watches aren’t advanced enough yet.”

Though fitness-band category leader Fitbit to gain mindshare with consumers (even weathering competing buzz from Apple Watch’s launch last year), consumer delight (measured from the volume and content of consumer reviews) is dropping.  According to the report, consumers use their fitness devices for a few months before putting them aside, Feland says. 

Feland says. 

“They’re like a smaller, less-expensive treadmill that you use for a few months and then hang your [laundry] on.  They need to stumble on a way to make people wear them on a regular basis. Maybe they need to find a way to use advertising to drive revenue, or make some use of the fitness currency beyond the water cooler.”

Meanwhile, delight is increasing for the Apple Watch and other smart watches. But the products’ consumer base is still largely limited to early adopters. Mass consumers, Feland says, have yet to be shown the killer app that makes the device necessary. 

Feland says.

“It has become more of a coordination device, rather than a consumption or creation device.  The second Apple Watch will tell us a lot about where the market is headed.”

Google Android Wear Raises The Stakes

Very few people have had to bother grappling with the idea of notifications and body vital readings available on their wrists, because not all that many people are buying smartwatches. There’s a real sense that everybody’s waiting to see how things shake out.   Smartwatches aren’t really ready for everybody yet, not the way that smartphones are.   Nothing drove innovation in the smartphone space faster than competition between Apple and Google.  If competition is what it takes to get smartwatches ready for the mainstream, even Apple Watch users should be glad about Android Wear coming to the iPhone.

Android Wear smartwatches come to the iPhone (Click Image To Enlarge)

That’s right: beginning August 31, a select set of Android Wear smartwatches (and all future watches) will work with the iPhone. The app should be rolling out worldwide soon. It’s been a long time coming — and it means that Google will be challenging the Apple Watch on its home turf. Those Android Wear watches will be both cheaper and more varied than the Apple Watch — just like Android itself.  

There’s an important caveat, though: when paired to an iPhone, Android Wear watches can’t do as much as the Apple Watch. Nor can they do as much as they can when paired to an Android phone. Right now, only three watches officially support the iPhone, two of which aren’t even available for purchase yet: the Huawei Watch, the Asus ZenWatch 2, and the LG Watch Urbane. Chang says that Google isn’t supporting older watches because it wants them to work right away, without software updates.  Chang says.

"In order to guarantee a good experience, where out of the box it will work immediately and you don't have to do any fancy footwork, that's why it has to be the newer watches."

But I suspect that the Android community will find ways around that limitation for older watches in relatively short order.

Making Google Android Wear watches work with the iPhone has to raise some concerns at Apple.  If consumers can buy a "cheaper" Apple Watch in the form of an Android Wear watch, and get most of the features they need, this could present problems for Apple Watch sales.  

Apple's growth has become more dependant on China to maintain growth in the sales of the iPhone and Apple Watch.  With the economic situation in China taken a major hit, you can bet that sale of both the iPhone and Apple Watches will be negatively impacted.  

In any event, at some point, Apple will be forced to disclose sales of the Apple Watch.  Apple shares have taken a hit, Apple shareholders are an impatient lot, and if Apple Watch sales are lower than has been forecasted, it's better to fess up, admit that the Apple Watch cannot live up to the hype and was never the gamebreaking product that Apple said it could become.      

Courtesy of an article dated August 28, 2015 appearing in MediaPost Marketing Daily, an article dated August 28, 2015 appearing in MediaPost Marketing Daily, an article dated July 21, 2015 appearing in Six Colors and an article dated August 31, 2015 appearing in The Verge

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WHY THE APPLE WATCH IS A BIG FLOP: OVER-PRICED, TOO COMPLICATED, BORING, BULKY, DOES NOT MAKE A FASHION STATEMENT

The Apple Watch, despite years of hype before it was even announced, appears to be flopping after all.

It wasn't a good sign when Apple announced shortly before the Watch release that they weren't going to be breaking out sales numbers. Now, a new report from third-party analysts Slice Intelligence not only show that Apple Watch sales are down 90% since launch—a big deal, since it implies early adopters aren't regaling more cautious buyers with glowing word-of-mouth—but also that Fitbit is outselling Apple in the wearables space. Apple may have already crushed small time smartwatch companies like Pebble, but the Watch has failed to disrupt the larger wearable marketplace.

Imagine if months after the iPad release, we learned it still hadn't outsold some model of Windows tablet. A couple of million units sold sounds okay, but hardly the sort of smash hit we've come to expect from Apple. A precipitous decline in sales after just a couple of months? Not a good sign.

Will the Apple Watch recover, and sell 100 million units in two years, like the iPad, or three years, like the iPhone? There's still time—but not at these rates. (Which, to be fair, are projections based on email receipts hoovered up by Slice, not from Apple itself.) Even with generous rounding errors, the Watch has failed to become the status quo object in wearables. And for Apple, that's a flop.

So how did this happen? The answer may sound like heresy to those who canonize—or even merely admire—Apple's designers. What if the Apple Watch, for all its its milled and woven metals, all its appearances on the catwalk, isn't actually all that well-designed? So far, the Apple Watch doesn't seem very useful, and it hasn't proven that fashionable.

It Just Doesn't Work That Well

Early reviews were filled with tentative criticism, and convoluted explanations about why you might want an Apple Watch in the first place. The New York Times needed "three long, often confusing and frustrating days" to learn how to use it. Others pointed to poor technical performance and a lack of meaningful apps. Many reviews contained the caveat, "it's not for everyone..." One influential review by TechCrunch pointed to what became a rallying cry for the Apple Watch's utility: the time saved by using a screen at a glance—as if teens and grandmas everywhere would relish the option to spend $500 to save the equivalent a few seconds each day. (Seconds that, more often than not, are consumed by a watch alert instructing its wearer to check their phone.)

Major developers complained to us before release that Apple had constrained Watch functions too tightly to create rich, meaningful experiences. Presumably to preserve the Watch's limited battery life, apps ran on the iPhone, the sensors and Taptic Engine were off-limits, and many graphical elements had to be streamed to the Watch instead of being generated natively. Apple has since released a new SDK to remedy some of these limitations, which will certainly improve the app experience, however un-killer they all, so far, have been.

From a user-experience standpoint, it's unclear that Apple ever figured out how people were really supposed to interact with the Watch. Consider that it contains four different types of notifications: a "glance," a short look notification, a long look notification, and another style of notification that pops up only inside a digital watchface. Sometimes they'll have the information you need. Sometimes they'll prompt you to open an app on your iPhone. Never do they indicate that Apple figured out one perfect way to use a tool of their own invention. And despite having three different types of touch interface—basic touch-screen interaction, Force Touch, and the Digital Crown—the watch still leans heavily on Siri, Apple's voice recognition agent, who remains fairly dense and hard of hearing.

It's Not That Fashionable

Where did your Apple Watch go, Drake?

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What about yours, Karl Lagerfeld? Is it hiding under those cuffs?

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Say it ain't so, Bey!

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Though at least Beyoncé, who made headlines for wearing her gold-band Apple Watch Edition (backwards, by the way; in what, let's all be honest, must be an under-the-table sponsorship we'll read about in a memoir 40 years from now), still Instagrams in it every once in a while.

You can view this in two ways, and neither bodes well for the Watch. Waning celebrity support could mark a cooling cool factor.  Not because there's anything wrong with the Watch, but because Apple is not immune to fashion's whim -- and fashion's whim is a lot faster than your two-year iPhone upgrade cycle.. Maybe the Apple Watch had a moment of limelight, but now seems, if not tacky, at least pedestrian.

And let's ignore the challenge of auguring Yoncé's daily technology and fashion choices solely from images on a highly curated Instagram feed. So she doesn't wear the same watch every day; she's a fashionista who changes her look on a daily basis. When doesshe wear it?

A nice watch for a normal, non-celebrity fits somewhere between a wedding ring and your go-to black leather shoes. You'll wear it a lot, but not all the time.

But the Apple Watch isn't just another piece of jewelry. If you don't wear a Rolex every day, it's not a big deal. If you don't wear an Apple Watch every day, how is it ever going to become an integral part of how you pay for things, identify yourself, and check your emails? For the Apple Watch to replace the functionality of our phones, even in part, it has to be worn all the time. And it's looking like—at least according to my highly scientific celebrity Instagram analysis, cross-indexed with the upturned noses of many of my otherwise perfectly gadget-prone friends—Apple Watch just doesn't fit into every context. (And we're talking about gifted $17,000+ version here, which at least brings the cachet of excess. The entry-level models may be more innocuous, but they're still smartwatches, and smartwatches are still Segways for your wrist.)

Apple Is Still Thinking In ID, Not User Experience

All of this culminates to the Apple Watch's fundamental flaw: it's a myopic masterpiece of industrial design, with microchips under curved glass held firm by Velcro-elegant magnetic clasps, so focused on fit and finish that it forgot about the software experience. And it's the software experience that, ironically, could solve the disappointing UX, along with the stale problem of wearing the same old watch every day.

Click Image To Enlarge

Look at the Apple Watch page and you'll see the pornographic macros of the digital crown  and woven metal band; yet ultimately, the Apple Watch hardware you purchase has just one look. Software barely shapes its aesthetic. Apple hasn't even opened up digital watch faces to third party developers, and even if they do, they won't stop the watch hardware from looking like a dead screen that's too afraid to fire up its own battery, lest it die.

The Apple Watch is flopping because it's very well executed, but not very well designed. In terms of utility, it's hard to use, and not solving meaningful problems. In terms of fashion, it's a piece of technology that inherently falls short of timelessness, and yet doesn't keep up with fast fashion, either.

I'm not sure that the Apple Watch needs to rectify all of these problems to be a monster hit, but it certainly needs to solve one of them. Until then, the Apple Watch still "isn't for everyone." And apparently not as many someones as had been expected.

COMMENTARY:  Apple hasn't revealed specific sales figures for the Apple Watch since its launch in April.

However, analytics firm Slice Intelligence has pulled together some data that claims to give us an idea of what sales have been like over the past few months.

And it doesn't look good.

Slice Intelligence shared a chart with Business Insider that shows how sales have progressed day-by-day from mid-April through the beginning of July.

On April 13, Apple was selling about 35,000 watches per day, according to Slice. But that number has dipped significantly since then. On July 2, Apple sold more than 5,000 Apple Watches per day, the chart indicates.

It seems as if there's been a steady decline in day-by-day sales except for a few noticeable spikes, such as one on June 2, which you'll notice in the chart below.

Click Image To Enlarge

Slice Intelligence bases these numbers on e-receipt data it received from its panel of 2.5 million online shoppers in the U.S. 

The data may not be perfect, but it backs up what some Wall Street analysts have previously said about the Apple Watch. In a note to clients, Andy Hargreaves from Pacific Crest wrote:

"Store visits, Google search volume, third-party data and recent supply checks all suggest demand for Apple Watch has fallen sharply from initial levels."

Apple has remained quiet when it comes to sales numbers for the Apple Watch. It didn't issue a press release to announce opening weekend sales like it does with the iPhone, but Slice Intelligence previously estimated that there were 1 million orders for the Apple Watch in its first weekend on the market.

When Re/code's Walt Mossberg asked Apple's Jeff Williams how many watches have been sold, Williams replied:

"A lot, but not enough. The only number I’ll give you is that demand divided by supply is greater than one, and so that’s all I’ve got for you, Walt. It’s a lot."

Apple declined to provide comment for this story.

The list of celebrities sporting the wrist piece isn’t extensive but is lengthening. Pharrell (rapper), Katy Perry (singer), Drake (singer), Christy Turlington (fashion model), Dmitry Medvedev (Russian Prime Minister), Karl Lagerfeld (fashion designer), ( Liberty Ross (actress), Beyonce (singer), Kid Kuni (rapper), Frank Ocean (rapper) Tom Brady (pro athlete), David Beckham ((pro athlete), Robert Murdoch (media mogul), Sophie Turner (actress), J.J. Abrams (film director), Simon Pegg (actor), Will Carling (actor), Sam Smith (singer), Anna Wintour (Vogue Editor) are amongst the top names.  Keep in mind that Apple executives gave away numerous Apple Watches to celebrities to create marketing hype and word-of-mouth.

Reactions to the Apple Watch from the fashion industry have been mostly mixed to negative.  Here are a few responses from fashion designers who were asked if they would buy an Apple Watch, whether they considered a tech gadget or fashion item and if they would integrate wearable technology into their business.

• Robert Geller - "Not yet. Just like I did with the IPad, I don't see the need.  Now I own 2 IPads. Let's see.  I think that the integration of tech and fashion has not been very successful. It always ends up being very gadget-y.  "
• Ryan Babenzien - "I haven't ordered one. I'm not entirely sold on the idea just yet since you need your phone with you to make the watch function in a real way.  Carrying a device to make another one work to it's full capacity seems like a hassle to me. I'm going to wait and see how this might enhance one's life for the better and if it does, I'll get one. It's got to offer function first and enhance my life. I think there are some interesting applications for the Apple Watch at the retail level that we at Greats are keen to see happen."
• Josh Cooper and Laurence Chandler - "Nope, with a growing design schedule and constant travel, we find ourselves looking at ways to disconnect, rather than being connected even more.  We created a 3M infused "Paparazzi Blocker" for Cara Delevingne after having a conversation on ways to throw off photogs.  This has led to a lot of brands running with this idea.  We were approached by 3M and are pushing them for alternative materials that don't need a flash to expand on this idea.  We've had tech companies approach us about using their tech and our design but have been in no rush to do anything that feels forced. There's potential but I don't think we're The Jetsons just yet."
• Kerby Jean-Raymond - "Hell no. I’m desperately trying to unplug. The last thing I want is a watch that connects to my phone which connects to my iPad that connects to my computer that airplays to my TV.  It’s a gadget right now. I’ll see style value in it once brands and jewelers start making cool wristbands and straps for it. I still won’t get one."
• Shimon Ovadia - "No I did not. We're already so connected with our computers and phones throughout the day. Although the watch looks cool and the technology is impressive and ground-breaking these days I'm personally more interested in disconnecting a little more. Apple is so great with their branding and marketing that the products appeal to both the tech geeks and someone who just wants to say they have the latest hot gadget. I think you'll see both of those types of people wearing it."
• Jason Geter -  "No, I didn't pre order the Apple watch, although I'm sure I'll get one at some point. I certainly see ‎it as more of a tech gadget versus style. I've worn classic watches such as Rolexes, Grahams, Audemars, etc. For quite some time. But, I can see rocking the Apple watch on certain days, during travel or on vacation."
• Scott Sasso - "No.  Not really.  I'm trying to reduce the tech in my life right now.  It's a tech gadget. Maybe one day it—or something like it—will become a style accessory, but it's too soon to call it a style accessory. We don't even know if the thing is useful yet, to know if it will be adapted widely enough to become a style accessory. I don't know of anyone who has one yet."

As you can see from the above responses, most if not all of the designers interveiwed have not purchased the Apple watch as of April 24, 2015.  Many are "sitting on the fence." to see how the watch will be used.  The majority do not view the Apple Watch as a fashion item, but more of a tech gadget.  A few want to be less connected or cutting back on the number of mobile devices.  Some don't see a real need in the marketplace and find the Apple Watch too complicated or reliant on the iPhone for its functionality.    

As for myself:  I always thought that the Apple Watch did not fill a real need in the marketplace. At best the new Apple time piece is a "nice to have," but not a "must have" purchase.  From a design standpoint, the Apple Watch is not a "cool" device like the iPod, iPhone or iPad were when they first came out.  It fails to make a fashion statement.  It's too bulky and plain looking.  No pizzazz or glitz. Boring.  Over-priced and does not deliver an out-of-this world customer experience at its price points.  There are already too many wearables offering similar features at half the price. The fashion designers agree with me.  It is not the type of device that Steve Jobs said Apple customers would "lust for."  In fact, I think that Steve would've designed something completely different or not done it.  I think that it's too complicated to use.  This violates Steve Jobs rule of simplicity in design.  It requires that you already have an iPhone.  This kills the customer experience.  The Apple Watch should stand on its own.  It's more of an accessory to the iPhone.  

Courtesy of an article dated July 12, 2015 appearing in Engadget, an article dated July 6, 2015 appearing in TechRadar, an article dated July 7, 2015 appearing in Business Insider, an article dated April 20, 2015 appearing in Forbes, an article dated March 9, 2015 appearing in Vox Technology, an article dated April 24, 2015 appearing in Complex Style, and an article dated June 1, 2015 appearing in Business Insider

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APPLE UNVEILS THE NEW APPLE WATCH, PRICES START AT $349, AVAIL EARLY 2015

 

Apple CEO Tim Cook introces the new Apple Watch at a special announcement event in Cupertino on April 9, 2015

After years of rumors and speculation, Apple on Tuesday unveiled its first wearable device, officially called Apple Watch. It starts at $349 and will be available in early 2015.

There are two different sizes of Apple Watch for men and women, and three distinct collections: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition, which is made from 18-karat gold — rose or yellow.

The Apple Watch Edition with a wide variety of wristbands. 

You can personalize the watchfaces and their capabilities. You can choose a modular watchface with digital information showing the time, date, and weather; a watchface that shows you astronomy, or where the sun is in the sky; animated watchfaces with butterflies or Mickey Mouse; a simple watchface that simply shows you the time; and many more.

You can also choose from up to six differently designed straps, which offer different types of functionality: A sportband is sweat- and chemical-resistant, while the leather loop is soft and quilted for fastening and adjustment. The modern leather buckle closes with a solid metal clasp that goes symmetrically around the wrist. There's a classic buckle, too, and there's a stainless-steel link bracelet. 

 

There's also a Milanese loop that's formed from stainless-steel mesh that's "infinitely adjustable."

With a crown on the side, which allows you to navigate the watch without blocking the screen, the Apple Watch features a shrunk-down version of iOS 8, highly specialized for Apple Watch. The digital crown, when held down, will activate Siri.

You view all of your apps as tiny circles on the screen, and touch each one to open it. To zoom in to objects, you use the Apple Watch's digital crown.

You can also swipe through information efficiently, and you can even share data with other watches nearby. You can send drawings and taps to friends in a Snapchat-esque way, since the drawings almost immediately disappear after they show up on the receiver's Apple Watch.

"We're not quite finished yet," Apple CEO Tim Cook said, before introducing the Apple Watch. "We have one more thing."

"We love to make technology more personal and allow our users to do things they never have imagined," Cook said. "We have been working incredibly hard for a long time on an entirely new product."

Besides the digital crown, it senses touch and the display also senses force. Tiny electrodes around the display recognize the difference between a tap and a press, which provides instant access to a wide set of contextually specific controls.

There's something called the S1, which encapsulates the electronics inside and basically miniaturizes the entire computer system into the size of a single chip.

There's a gyroscope, accelerometer to give you an idea of your fitness milestones. There's also a unique charging solution: It's not wireless, but a magnetic plug can attach to the Apple Watch at any orientation.

"A precise, customizable timepiece: It's completely customizable so you can find one that reflects your personal style and taste," Cook said.

"I am so excited and so proud to share it with you this morning," he said. "It is the next chapter in Apple's story. And here it is."

There's also a huge focus on fitness. It'll keep track of your fitness goals, as well as how long you've been sitting or standing. You can create and set workouts based on distance or calories you want to burn. And during your workout, you can see from a glance how far, or how long, you've been at it.

There are a ton of other features as well: You can control your Apple TV with the Apple Watch, or use it as a viewfinder for your iPhone's camera.

The Apple Watch requires an iPhone to work. It will work with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, and iPhone 5. This means 200 million people can already use Apple Watch.

The device was rumored to be called iWatch or iBand.

Previous reports said the iWatch would run on iOS 8, the company’s latest software update for mobile devices, and connect and communicate with the company’s other gadgets, such as iPhones, Mac computers, and Apple TV.

It was rumored the device would connect to those devices using Bluetooth 4.0, which has been included in every iPhone since the iPhone 4S. There were also rumors the new watch would complete stand-alone functions like tracking and measuring one’s biometrics like heart rate and oxygen levels, as well as control aspects of one’s home environment via HomeKit.

Earlier reports said the iWatch would start at $399, the same price point of Timex's Ironman One GPS+ watch, which will arrive in November. Competing fitness bands from Nike and Jawbone cost about $100, while the first Android Wear devices from Samsung and LG cost about $200.

COMMENTARY:    Customers preordering Apple smartwatch on Friday, April 10, will have to wait at least a month for delivery, a sign of strong early demand for company chief Tim Cook's first new major product.

People flocked to Apple's stores and selected boutiques around the world to get a close-up look at the Apple Watch, the tech company's foray into the personal luxury goods market, with Apple predicting demand would exceed supply at product launch.

Cook, interviewed on cable television channel CNBC, said initial orders were "great" for the device, available for preorder online and to try out in stores by appointment, but not to take home.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a note to clients.

"We view this as an indication of solid demand paired with very limited supply.  We continue to expect modest sales in the June quarter as demand ramps over time."

A key factor in the watch's success will be from majority adopters once an initial wave of interest from early adopters subsides.

The Watch goes on sale officially on April 24, online and through appointments in shops, including trendy fashion boutiques in Paris, London and Tokyo, part of Apple's strategy of positioning the wearable computer as a must-have accessory.

But soon after online preorders opened on Friday, Apple's website listed shipping times in June for some models of the watch and four to six weeks for others.

There was immediately brisk bidding on eBay for confirmed orders for watches, with hundreds of sellers looking to make a few hundred or even thousand dollars by passing on their watches, once received.

Testing Apple's mastery of consumer trends, the watch is an untried concept for the Cupertino, California-based company. It straddles a technology market accustomed to rapid obsolescence and luxury goods whose appeal lies in their enduring value.

The Apple Watch sport starts at $349 while the standard version comes in at $549 in the United States. High-end "Edition" watches with 18-karat gold alloys are priced from $10,000 and go as high as $17,000.

At a San Francisco Apple store, dozens of customers crowded around newly installed wooden cabinets, snapping pictures of the gadgets on display under glass. Apple employees, admittedly still unfamiliar with the watches' finer points, guided customers through features like text messaging, maps and fitness tracking.

At Apple's flagship store in New York, Jack Weber, who was visiting from Charlottesville, Virginia, said he would give his wife a top-of-the-line "Edition" as a 50th-anniversary gift.

He said.  

"What more perfect wedding present could there be than this watch?"

Apple Watch Forecasts

Sales estimates for the Apple Watch for the year 2015 vary widely.

• Piper Jaffray predicts 8 million units.
• Global Securities Research forecasts 40 million.
• Morgan Stanley forecasted 30 million units back in November 2014.

By comparison, Apple sold nearly 200 million iPhones last year.

Apple's watch is widely expected to outsell those by Samsung, Sony Corp and Fitbit. It will likely account for 55 percent of global smartwatch shipments this year, according to Societe Generale.

"Apple will outsell its wearable rivals by a very wide margin but it will do this on the power of its brand and its design alone," independent technology analyst Richard Windsor said.

Courtesy of an article dated April 9, 2015 appearing in Business Insider and an article dated April 12, 2015 appearing in The Telegraph

GOOGLE GLASS' SHORTCOMINGS, AND WHY MOTOROLA'S MOTO 360 SMARTWATCH WILL KILL GOOGLE GLASS

In November of 2013, I became a Google Glass Explorer. Part of this endeavor involved forking over $1,500 and tax for a technology device that was still in beta. The hardware was beyond prototype, but not in the mass production scale that would be necessary for worldwide distribution.

 

Just a few years ago, smart watches such as those made by Sony and Pebble were very limited in their functionality, battery life and technical specifications. When Project Glass was announced in 2012, it was seen as a revolutionary technology. It was wearable computing to the next level. Google Glass enabled people to have the information they “needed” in the corner of their eye and gave them instant access to the world wide web with just a simple voice command.

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In theory, the technology is great. However, in practice, it’s a different story.

I have been a Glass Explorer for just shy of six months and I have to admit that I (like many other Glass Explorers) use the technology much less than I ever thought I would and here’s why:

Battery Life:

Most of the applications for Google Glass can be a battery hog. However, with “regular” use throughout the day, I can usually squeeze a good 6-8 hours of casual use before the battery is depleted. Many of the augmented reality applications such as World Lens, require a lot of battery use because they involve the use of the camera, display, wireless data and heavy processor use. Doing something as simple as taking a video can deplete the device’s battery in just 20-30 minutes. Granted, Glass isn’t designed or intended to record long form content, but more or less “moments” which is why the device records 10 second video clips by default.

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Security “Issues”:

Many workplaces will not allow the use of Google Glass because of exposure to sensitive information and PII (Personally Identifiable Information). I would not be surprised to see if the PCI standards change to ban the use of wearable cameras in areas where employees are able to see credit card numbers. Sadly, most of the concerns about Glass are around it’s camera, which brings me to my next point.

Social Acceptance:

Wearing a computer on your face is about as acceptable as riding a Segway around your office. The simple truth is that we aren’t there yet. The fact that we recently learned about the largest government surveillance scandal in recorded history doesn’t help either. People feel that their privacy has been invaded enough by companies reading their e-mail, governments listening to their phone calls and more surveillance cameras than we realize. Until these fears are settled, wearing around a camera on your face will remain a faux pas in many settings.

Google Glass' facial recognition capabilities presents controversial privacy invasion issues (Click Image To Enlarge)

Reliability:

Google Glass is not reliable. Plain and simple. Switching between Bluetooth and Wifi data is never seamless. The device is incapable of connecting to Wifi networks that require TOS agreements or have any sort of splash page login method. If you leave the device turned off and unplugged for a period of time, the battery mysteriously depletes itself. The most frustrating reliability issue is related to connectivity. You can have Google Glass successfully paired to an LTE device with great signal strength and still see the dreaded “can’t reach Google right now” message.

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Moto 360 Won’t Have These Problems

The most exciting thing about the Moto 360 is that it won’t have most of the problems that I encounter on a daily basis with Google Glass. First of all, it’s on my wrist, so it’s much less conspicuous than a face-mounted computer. This definitely helps us in the social acceptance arena, and makes it a wearable that I’m comfortable wearing everywhere (except maybe not the shower). Battery life may be a problem, but not in a way that it is for Glass. I expect overnight charging for my smart watch and would love to see wireless Qi charging integration to make that process just a little bit easier.

 

Better App Development

I don’t think I’m alone in assuming that there will be more and better apps designed for wrist-mounted wearables. Although the Android Wear platform may look completely analogous to Glassware, it’s a much more practical form factor which means more users and more potential for success of any certain app. Also, apps can be designed to work on a number of devices, not just Motorola’s upcoming offering. Developing for a multi-device platform is a no-brainer when compared to developing for a single device on a different framework.

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Sex Appeal

Men love watches. It’s really the only jewelry that most guys wear, and a lot can be inferred by the watch someone wears. For example, during the work week, I wear a Seiko stainless steel watch with a black face and very minimalist design. It shows that I am polished, responsible and punctual. On the weekends I like to wear a leather-banded “easy read” by Timex that is reminiscent of a standard GI watch from decades before.

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With the ability to instantly change the face of your watch and select a stylish band, this wearable becomes less of a computer and more of an accessory.

Safety

With Moto 360, you don’t have to brag to the world that you’re wearing a computer. A fringe benefit of this design is safety, as we recently learned from the woman wearing Google Glass that was allegedly mugged inside of a San Francisco bar.

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Affordability & Luxury

$1,500 was a lot of money to thrown down on a prototype. Especially something that won’t get daily wear. I don’t expect that Google Glass will dip below $800 any time soon, either. Moto 360, on the other hand, is likely to come to the market with a sub-$500 price tag. The competition in the market will surely help keep prices down as other manufacturers continue to innovate.

However, as in the world of watches, history tells us that consumers will spend thousands of dollars for a rare timepiece. If any of the major watch makers join the game, we might see an emergency of luxury smart watches which will only drive more consumers in the middle class to pick up a lower priced model.

I wanted Glass when it was announced. It was new, it was fresh and it was unexplored territory in the real world. Now that I’ve seen Moto 360, I see elements some elements of Glass that I love that will fit much better into my daily life.

COMMENTARY:   I always thought that Google Glass was a cool wearable android device,  but upon reading McDermott's comments about Google Glass' shortcomings, and Moto 360's strengths, I have come to the realization that Google should rethink the design of Google Glass. I knew that battery life was a serious problem with Google Glass if you constantly use it to video things you see or run online queries constantly.  There should definitely be a "sleep" feature built into wearable devices.  Wireless power sources are now within reach, and Google should consider acquiring one of three or four startups that are innovating in the wireless power source space. This could be a possible solution to the problem. 

Peter G McDermott is a technology enthusiast and community builder dedicated to helping small businesses connect with their customers online.

Courtesy of an article dated March 20, 2014 appearing in Mashable 

TIKKER: A DIGITAL "DEATH WATCH" THAT WILL REMIND YOU OF THE MORTALITY OF MAN, BUT MAKE YOU FEEL MORE ALIVE

Not only does the Tikker tell time, it tells you your (predicted) time of death (Click Image To Enlarge)

NOW ON KICKSTARTER, THE TIKKER IS A WRISTWATCH THAT CONSTANTLY COUNTS DOWN TO THE DATE OF YOUR DEATH.

If he wore a digital wristwatch, the Grim Reaper might very well strap a Tikker around his sepulchral radiocarpal. Ebon and unadorned, the Tikker tells more than just the time. It tells you the time you have left.

Now on Kickstarter, the Tikker, a digital watch that reminds you to live life to the fullest (Click Image To Enlarge)

Currently raising funds on Kickstarter, the Tikker is the creation of Fredrik Colting, a Swedish publishing creative who found himself staring blankly at the prospect of death after his grandfather passed away. An atheist, Colting did not see death as a voyage, a liberation, or a reward. Instead, he saw only obliteration.

 

Death will inevitably make us forget even ourselves.  Colting says.  

"My grandfather's death made me think about the transience of life.  I realized that nothing matters when you are dead. The only thing that matters is what we do when we are alive."

The Tikker is probably best described as a reminder of mortality that you wear on your wrist.  Although the watch tells time well enough, it contrasts the hours of the day with a countdown to your death, calculated based on data like age, activity, BMI, and where you live. In other words, the Tikker takes data about you and then compares it to the average life expectancy of people in your demographic.

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Once that number has been set, the countdown begins: Every second of the day that passes on the Tikker's face is subtracted from your life-expectancy until you either beat the odds (one way or another) or keel over and die. The idea sounds morbid, but Colting's motivations are hardly ghoulish. Rather, Colting's hope is that by putting the time of a person's unavoidable death right on their wrists, they will have a deeper appreciation of the life they are living.

Tikker's creator hopes that his creation will create contrast, and encourage users to live life to the fullest (Click Image To Enlarge)

Colting says.  

"We've all heard about people who come close to dying through accident or disease, and come out of their near-death experience with a new appreciation for life.  They tend not to sweat the small stuff anymore, because they have learned that life is something that is precious. If the Tikker helps even one person do that, I would be happy."

The Tikker is less about death than about contrast. Like a galaxy, the seething luminance of life itself might fill our eyes with brightness, but it's only when we zoom out and put it against the black backdrop of oblivion that its detail can be seen, or the place of our own sun can be seen in its structure.  Colting says.  

"Life isn't about having more time, it's about appreciating the time you have."

The Tikker is a little piece of death that you wear on your wrist, and maybe that's all you need to make you feel more alive.

If that sounds like what you need, you can pre-order a Tikker on Kickstarter for just $39. And if a constant reminder of death's hideous encroachment doesn't seem like your cup of tea, but you're still curious how long you've got anyway? You can find out on a one-off basis for free.

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COMMENTARY:   "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, death and taxes," is a famous quote.  I think the Tikker death watch is needed more than ever before.  If anything is to remind us of our mortality, the Tikker is the ticket.  Knowing when we will die is a reminder of that mortality.

Courtesy of an article dated October 10,2013 appearing in Fast Company Design 

KICKSTARTING: THE THINNEST WATCH EVER MADE AT ONLY .008 MM THICK, WITH AN E-LINK DISPLAY

THE CST-01, A FLEXIBLE, MINIMALIST TIMEPIECE FROM A PAIR OF IDEO DESIGNERS, USES AN E-INK DISPLAY AND IS LESS THAN A MILLIMETER THICK.

As laptops continue to become smaller and smaller rectangles and smartphones, illogically, continue to become bigger and bigger ones, another high-tech product segment is evolving with far less predicability. High-tech gizmos intended to be worn on the body, from the Nike+ FuelBand to the Fitbit One, are already staking out the next frontier of consumer tech, and even though the CST-01 is just a watch--no Internet connectivity, no fancy sensors, no pedometer--its design, and the technologies that make it possible, are worth getting excited about.

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The CST-01 is a thin, stainless-steel cuff, just over an inch wide. It looks more like one of those '90s slap bracelets than anything resembling a typical wristwatch. It’s also incredibly thin--less than a millimeter thick, which is almost impossible to believe--and it’s physically flexible, bending ever so slightly to wrap snugly around wrists of all sizes. The timepiece has no buttons whatsoever. Even changing the time has to be done from an included dock, which doubles as a magnetic charging station. A single 10-minute charge will power the watch for about a month.

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What makes the unique design possible--and what allows it to claim the designation as the thinnest watch ever made, according to the designers--is its novel use of an e-ink display, the same kind of low-power tech used in e-readers like the Kindle. The CST-01 isn’t the first watch to tap e-ink, but previous units tried to apply the technology to more conventional smartwatch designs. It was never a very compelling match.

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The duo behind the CST-01--Ideo designers Dave Vondle and Jerry O’Leary--have wisely tried to build a watch around e-ink, not the other way around. Having worked with the technology for a number of projects at Ideo, Vondle and O’Leary agreed that they hadn’t seen a timepiece that "really celebrated its uniqueness," O’Leary explains.

"We appreciated how it looked but became more fascinated with its other values. E-ink is thin, flexible, low power, and robust."

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So the watch, too, would be all those things. And after finding the other necessary componenets--a Thinergy energy cell and a Seiko Epson microcontroller--they realized that in addition to being flexible and low power, their watch would be very thin indeed. O’Leary explains.

"We explored adding as little mechanically and aesthetically, so that the qualities of these partners could shine through."

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Next they made the bold decision to remove the ability to change time from the watch itself. O’Leary says. 

"This would only add complexity and thickness to the watch, and all for the sake of an interaction that was rarely used by the owner."

So, continuing down the button-free path, a stainless-steel band was decided on as the foundation for the timepiece, and a thin polycarbonate mask was added as a face. Total thickness: 0.8mm

The designers, which are launching their new venture under the moniker Central Standard Timing, sagely launched a Kickstarter campaign for the watch right in the middle of the mega-trade show CES, which they attended with their working prototype. In a sea of uninspired new gadgets and chintzy accessories, the CST-01 was something truly novel, and it blew past its funding goal of $200,000 (the watch is slated to retail somewhere around $170). Currently, with over a month left in the campaign, the watch has reached nearly half a million dollars in funding.

Aesthetically, the CST-01 will not be for everyone. Though decidedly minimalistic in functionality, it definitely makes a statement (and you wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that statement might be something like "I love Star Trek!"). But at a point where it’s hard to get excited about new gadgets, where most new consumer electronics products are noteworthy for being a little smaller or a little faster or a little sharper, the CST-01 is a peek at some exciting things around the corner.

For one thing, it hints toward the arrival of flexible devices, like e-ink readers we could roll up like paper newspapers (fly swatting discouraged, maybe, until things get even a bit more robust). It also continues the exciting trend of exploring new ways to put technology not just in our pockets but on our person. But most notably, it takes an evolving technology, in e-ink, and imagines an entirely new design around its unique qualities, instead of relying on old forms and outdated thinking. And whether you’re keen on wearing a Star Trek snap bracelet or not, that type of innovation is a good thing.

Check out the Kickstarter page and find out more on the Central Standard Timing website.

COMMENTARY:   Now that's what I call a watch for the 2nd Millenium.

Courtesy of an article dated  January 18, 2013 appearing in Fast Company Design

DUTCH DESIGNERS CREATE INTIMACY 2.0, A SUPER-SEXY, E-DRESS THAT BECOMES SEE-THROUGH WHEN THE WEARER GETS TURNED-ON

The Intimacy 2.0 hyper-sexy e-dress by Dutch designer Studio Roosegaarde

Granted, it takes a mountain of courage to wear.

For ladies who don’t have the patience for coy flirtation, here’s something that gets the job done quickly: a sensor-enabled cocktail dress that flashes a whole lot of skin the more excited you get.

 

So say you meet some guy who sends your heart aflutter. The dress responds to your elevated pulse by growing transparent around the (already plenty skimpy) plunging neckline. Conversely, if he’s such a snooze that you’re about two seconds away from flat-lining, the dress stays opaque, sending an instant “no, thanks!”

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Intimacy 2.0 is latest in a series of hyper-sexy e-dresses from the techie Dutch designers Studio Roosegaarde in collaboration with V2_Lab and fashion designer Anouk Wipprecht. Each dress combines embedded sensors and conductive “smart foils” that become see-through when zapped by electricity. But whereas previous iterations would’ve landed you in jail for indecent exposure (one dress went transparent simply by being around other people and covered less than a pastie), Intimacy 2.0 is designed to be flaunted outside of the bedroom. It's still pretty damned racy, though. Big up to anyone who's daring enough to wear it. The rest of us will have to stick to batting our eyelashes.

The secret to the Intimacy 2.0 e-dress is the technology underneath that reacts to the sensual mood of the wearer.  

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Dresses are available in black or white on custom order through Studio Roosegaarde. More info here.

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COMMENTARY:   The Intimacy 2.0 e-dress is from out-of-this world.  I do hope that see-through e-dresses are the next big thing in fashion.   I truly expect Lady Gaga to add one to her dress collection.

Courtesy of an article dated October 24, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design 

 

MUTEWATCH: A SLEEK, MINIMALIST TOUCHSCREEN WATCH THAT'S EQUIPPED WITH A SILENT, MOTION-SENSING ALARM

Mutewatch responds to swiping, tapping, and pinching just like a touchphone. But its real appeal is a silent, motion-sensing alarm so that you--and only you--wake up naturally.

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Is stabbing at an iPhone more intuitive nowadays than glancing at your wrist? The makers of Mutewatch seem to think so. A sleek, minimalist timepiece, Mutewatch behaves more or less like your iPhone. To access the functions--the clock, the alarm, the timer--you swipe. To set the alarm, you tap directly on the digits. To turn off the alarm, you pinch.

 

Call me an old fogy, but I prefer good old-fashioned analog knobs. I don’t find swiping and tapping particularly intuitive, especially since it usually takes a few taps and a few swipes to get my iPhone to do what I want it to do. Why would Mutewatch be any different?

Mutewatch comes in three colors: white, charcoal black and red

The timepiece has one advantage that your standard strap-on watch does not: a built-in motion sensor that adjusts the strength of the alarm, which pulses silently against your wrist, in response to your movements. So the more you stir, the more it vibrates, gently rousing you from slumber. That means you wake up naturally--and don’t wake up your partner (or whoever’s in bed with you).

Mutewatch comes in red, white, or gray and costs $259. Available at the A+R Store and elsewhere.

COMMENTARY:   Mutewatch is a Swedish company based in Stockholm.  The company works at the center of a constantly growing international network that includes people from the film, design, fashion and music industries as well as young entrepreneurs and professionals.  They are driven by curiosity and have a simplistic and human approach to technology. This is why this network is the perfect place for the company to develop and test their innovations and designs, letting them have a conversation about how they can adjust and improve their products. 

The comany's goal is to develop products that give people the tools they need to manage their time in a sustainable way.  They believe in the pursuit of dreams, ambitions and personal fulfillment - whatever they may be - and embrace the possibilities and opportunities of contemporary life. The Mutewatch works for everyone who has a set of tasks, a goal to achieve and only 24 hours a day to do so.

FEATURES

The Mutewatch is designed to be simple and intuitive. Just tap the flat surface and the touch screen lights up, then swipe through the functions clock, alarm and timer. 

You set the time for your alarms by tapping directly on the digits – tap on the top of the digit for a higher number or on the bottom of the digit for a lower one. When you want to erase an alarm, simply pinch the touch screen. 

The Mutewatch also features a built-in motion sensor that registers your movement and automatically adjusts the strength of the vibrations. So, whether you're sleeping, on stage giving a presentation or doing your work out, the Mutewatch will keep you updated on your next step.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATONS

Display - Glowing Perfection

• LED display at 100 Hz rate
• Capacitive and easy-to-use touch screen
• Automatic adaptation to the surrounding light intensity for optimal glow

Model & Dimensions - The One Size Adjustable Wristband

• Total weight: 40 grams
• Minimal wrist size: 14 cm
• Maximal wrist size: 18,5 cm
• Bracelet width: 25.4 mm
• Bracelet thickness: 12.5 mm

Battery Power - Energy Management

• Normally around 1 week of operation depending on usage
• Device warns when battery level is low (by showing “BATT”)
• 2 hours charging (from USB-port) refills battery
• Enters into hibernation mode when battery is too low
• 1 week without usage automatically sets device in hibernation mode
• Plug device in USB-port to awaken from hibernation mode
• Device arrives in hibernation mode

Motion Sensor - Detection of Your Motion

• High level of movement, triggers an increase in the intensity of the vibrating alarm
• A simple flick of the wrist activates the glowing display

Product Care - Give A Little Love

• Hand wash
• Protect from strongly colouring substances (for example: soy sauce, tomato, jeans)

Software - Upgrade and Move On

• Mutewatch firmware can be upgraded via USB
• See webpage for news: mutewatch.com

That's what I call one sweet watch.

Courtesy of an article dated October 19, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design