Apple smart watch efforts confirmed by US patent

Fresh evidence that Apple has been working on a smart watch concept since at least 2011 has emerged in a patent filing.

The document describes a flexible touchscreen display which would communicate with a smartphone or other electronic device.

It coincides with a report from a tech consultancy suggesting there is huge pent up demand for such a gadget.

But ABI Research warns that battery life issues still need to be addressed.

It says assuming such problems can be resolved, about 485 million wearable computing devices might ship by 2018, providing a significant growth opportunity for Apple and the wider consumer electronics industry.

Not all published patents lead to actual products, but Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have all published reports this month saying sources had confirmed Apple was experimenting with a watch-like device.

The iPhone-maker declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.

Slap wraps

The US Patent Office only revealed Apple's filing on Thursday, but the document dates back to August 2011.

The mooted device is likened to a "slap wrap" - a thin strip of metal covered in fabric which snapped around the user's wrist to form a bracelet.

The toy was popular with teenagers in the late-1980s, but fell out of favour after complaints that it lost its ability to retain its shape over time,. There were also complaints that some users had experienced injuries after the fabric wore away to reveal a sharp metal edge.Apple puts a hi-tech spin on the idea proposing a "slap bracelet" featuring a flexible circuit board and display, a touch sensitive user interface and a two-way communication chip, which would curl around the user's skin.

It suggests the gadget could detect which part of its surface was covered so that its readout would be limited to the exposed screen, with information flowing over the join.

Apple suggests lights along the device's edge could be programmed to blink when the user receives an alert, before displaying the details on its screen.

It says the user could then provide a brief response or use the bracelet to command a wirelessly connected smartphone, tablet or laptop to carry out another function such as adjusting the order of a song playlist or reviewing what recent calls had been made.

Apple acknowledges that the relatively thin nature of a wrist band would limit its uses, but suggests a wider armband could also be developed.

"At the width of a few inches the display can function to temporarily view and manipulate the screen of the portable device it is in communication with," says the paper.

"This might be desirable when the portable electronic device is stored in an inconvenient location such as a cargo pocket, or the bottom of a backpack."A larger display is also more desirable for map viewing... as a traveller or explorer can easily reference the information with a flick of the wrist while exploring."

Recharge worries

ABI Research notes that several companies already sell smart watches - such as Fossil, Pebble and Sony - while others (including Samsung and Martian) are known to be working on such products,

For the time being, however, it says the sector is dominated instead by activity trackers - such as Nike's Fuelband and the Garmin Forerunner - which account for an estimated 61% of the wearable tech market.

Some of these devices do tell the time, but they only offer limited functionality beyond monitoring exercise or the owner's sleep pattern.

The consultants instead suggest a much wider range of uses giving the example of linking the watch to a home automation system so that "a quick shake of your wrist can turn off/on room lights".

The idea of a smartwatch has been around for years - but the firm says technology only recently caught up with our imagination.

"Moore's law has driven silicon to the point where it's small enough and powerful enough to drive applications that mean things to consumers," ABI's chief research officer, Stuart Carlaw, told the BBC."Bluetooth Smart has also brought us high-bandwidth, low-energy connectivity at a less than a dollar a chip and takes up little space while offering robust performance.

"But one note of caution is that when we look at wearable technologies the use of power becomes an issue. You don't want to have to be plugging in four or five products a night to recharge - energy harvesting or wireless recharging technologies are going to become incredibly important."

Apple's patent confirms the company is aware of the problem.

It suggests harvesting energy from the movement of the user's arms and only coming out of standby mode when a sensor detects the device has been rotated to face a certain way.

It adds that the use of an AMOLED (active matrix light emitting diode) display would also help since it can allow individual pixels to be turned off, allowing the watch to only activate the parts which are facing the owner's eyes.

Sony unveils "thinnest" tablet

Sony Xperia Z Tablet

Sony has unveiled what it says is the thinnest tablet computer of its kind. The Android-powered Xperia Z is 0.27in (6.9mm)-thick. That is 0.01in thinner than Apple's iPad Mini despite featuring a bigger 10.1in screen.

It coincides with news that LG is releasing a 5in handset - the Optimus G Pro - making it the latest to offer the so-called "phablet" form factor.

Both devices have only been confirmed for release in Japan, but more details are expected next month.

Mobile World Congress is being held in Barcelona from 25 to 28 February and is a popular time to announce global launches of new smart devices. Samsung has already said it would show off a new 8in version of its Galaxy Note tablet family at the event.
 

Sony Xperia Z Tablet is water-resistant

Beyond being thin, Sony's new tablet can also lay claim to being the lightest for its size. The firm says it weighs 1.1lb (495g) - a fraction below the Toshiba Excite 10 LE which previously laid claim to the title.

In addition it is water and dust-resistant - featuring similar plastic covers to protect its ports as are found on the firm's Xperia Z smartphone which was announced a fortnight ago at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

The two Sony devices are designed to work together, allowing photos and other data to be transferred between the phone and tablet using the firm's "one-touch sharing" facility which is activated by waving the machines close to each other to activate their near field communications (NFC) chips.

"It's a good product and on the face of it it should do well, but it is hampered by a potential squeeze on the larger tablet segment as a lot of consumers and other manufacturers are moving to the smaller 7in-to-8in form factor - in part because of their cheaper price," David McQueen, principal analyst at the Informa Telecoms and Media consultancy, told the BBC.

"So the success of the Sony tablet might ultimately be determined by how much it costs as well as whether the firm bundles some of the content it owns from its music, movie and gaming divisions."
Packed pixels

LG Optimus G phone

LG Optimus G phone

LG's new handset is effectively a version of its existing Optimus G phone with a bigger, more detailed screen.

It offers 440 pixels per inch (ppi) - matching HTC's newly-released J Butterfly and Huawei's Ascend D2.

This density of its pixels allows LG's handset to be marketed as offering playback of 1080p videos in their full high definition resolution.

However, the trade-off is the screen is power-hungry. LG's handset features a 3,000 mAh (milliampere-hour) battery as a consequence which is bigger than that of most other smartphones.

"4G high-speed data connections are helping push the adoption of higher definition bigger screens on phones," said Mr McQueen, "but I do think it will remain a small, though high-end, segment of the market."

NEC Casio have Two screens

NEC Casio with two screens

 

Sony and LG's devices were revealed as part of Japanese network NTT Docomo's Spring line-up announcement.

It also featured a more unusual handset from NEC Casio featuring two screens.

The Medias W N-05E's displays are placed on either side of the device, but can also be folded out so that the two 4.3in LCD screens sit alongside each other.

It is the second dual-screened smartphone to be announced in recent weeks - Russia's Yota unveiled a model in December which features one LCD screen and one e-ink display, which it said would go on sale in the second half of the year.

However, recent history suggests such devices might only appeal to a niche audience.

Samsung, LG and Kyocera are among others firms to have released dual-screened phones over the past two years which only achieved limited sales.

article source: BBC.co.u

PS4 is 50% more powerful than Xbox 720'

Sony Playstation 4

A new batch of rumours has surfaced surrounding the next generation games machines from Sony and Microsoft - you'd better get used to this from now on. Gaming site VG 247 has spoken to developers returning from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where they claim to have been briefed on the hardware at secret meetings.

According to these off-the-record discussions, the Playstation 4 processor, apparently based on the AMD A10 APU, will have a run-capability of 1.84 teraflops. In comparison the next Xbox will be capable of hitting 1.23 teraflops – giving PS4 a raw computational advantage. However, it seems that while the PS4 (or Orbis as it has been codenamed) will feature 4GB of system RAM, the 720 (or 'Durango', or indeed 'Infinity) will squeeze in 8GB, 4-5GB of which will be solely for games. This contradicts various rumours the Guardian has heard that both systems will feature 4GB of RAM.

There are also strong indications that both Microsoft and Sony will run their own events this spring, possibly as early as March, to announce their new hardware. It may then be shown off in more detail at the vast E3 exhibition in June. This would seem to make sense, allowing the manufacturers to corner the gaming news agenda without having to compete against the madness of a major trade show.

Other reports have also mentioned that the two machines will be able to read 100GB Blu-ray discs. This would represent a major turnaround for Microsoft, having attempted to compete against Blu-ray in the last generation with an Xbox HD DVD player. It's also likely that we'll see some innovation in the user interfaces. Microsoft is rumoured to be building a new version of its Kinect motion control device into Xbox 720, while Sony may well be experimenting with touch controls, basing its next Dual Shock controller on the Vita, complete with a centrally placed touch pad.

While there's likely to be plenty of truth in all of this, specifications rarely tell the full story, and computing power is only part of the architectural equation in games machines. Just as important tends to be the pipeline between processors, and the way in which memory is managed by the system. Speaking to the Guardian about these performance figures this morning, one developer told us, "that's like asking someone to choose a Lamborghini over a Ferrari, just on top speed."

Richard Leadbetter of Digital Foundry agrees. "The rumours are certainly plausible, but we're essentially looking at singular components in isolation and not in context of the system as a whole. The PlayStation 3 has a graphics core that is basically an entire generation behind that in the Xbox 360, yet no one can deny that it's Sony's first party games that have led the way in the visual arts."

Also, developers the Guardian has talked to have told us that the software and services side will be far more important in the next generation. Which machine will be able to download or stream digitally distributed games the fastest? Which will have the most stable, secure and reliable online infrastructure? With retail sales of physical goods falling, the emphasis is likely to be on downloadable titles – and providing a compelling service rather than raw processing grunt, could be the key to success.

Another factor, of course, is price. In a competitive consumer electronics marketplace filled with desirable gadgets, the Xbox and PS4 machines will need to aim as low as possible. Some analysts have predicted $400 (L250) a piece, which matches the 'pro' Xbox 360 at launch, but is $200 less than the 60GB PS3 when it premiered.

A lower price is realistic though, as it seems both consoles are based on off-the-shelf kit this time round, rather than proprietary hardware that's expensive to design and manufacture. Based so closely on known PC components, however, some will want to compare the systems directly against gaming PCs.

"On a general level, we're looking at medium-level enthusiast PC hardware," says Leadbetter. "My guess is that you could build a PC with equivalent parts for around L400-L450. But the magic of console architecture is that those parts are incorporated into a fixed platform, built principally for games. Just like the PS3 and Xbox 360 before them, these machines will live on for many years – far more than the current-gen PC parts they share equivalent performance to."