Apple Files Trademark For "iWatch" In Japan

An anonymous reader writes "Apple has filed a trademark application for 'iwatch' in Japan. 'The maker of iPhones is seeking protection for the name which is categorized as being for products including a handheld computer or watch device, according to a June 3 filing with the Japan Patent Office that was made public last week. Takashi Takebayashi, a Tokyo-based spokesman for Apple, didn’t respond to a message left at his office seeking comment on the application.' Rumors suggest that the new iWatch is expected to sport a 1.5-inch OLED screen."

Comments

iWatch?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is this an NSA only product?

Re:iWatch?

[bill_mcgonigle]

All Your i.+ Are Belong To Us.

I'd consider a nano

[drinkypoo]

I'd consider just using a nano on a band if they made a waterproof model. They have that spray now, but I'm hesitant to try self-applied. And the professional waterproofing services cost too much.

Re:I'd consider a nano

[Anonymous Coward]

The battery life for the nano is terrible. LCD is a nonstarter for a smartwatch IMO, it uses way too much power! Even with the fact it goes into standby all the time. I have a nano with the wrist strap and I gave up on it because I just didn't care much for the constant charging. And the constant going on standby when the screen turns off means I have to click on it to see the actual time. And the face will turn itself off when you are playing music, so you will have to do some fiddling just to get the time!

Unless they have some sort of no hassle wireless charging, it will just become another device you have to make sure you plug in. Phone is already a hassle in of itself. Adding another gadget to your routine is just not an improvement. My current wrist occupant doesn't need batteries changed for over a year. Why would I replace it with something that requires daily attention? A smartwatch that only needs a weekly recharge would be a start.

Another downside of the nano it's HUGE. Some of us do not have wrists so big to ascetically accommodate such a big face. Not to mention the ridiculous size of the two jacks on it, the headphones and the charging port. It is dated technology, and there is definitely room for improvement.

Re:Will suck.

[Sponge Bath]

Have you ever tried multitouch on a 1.5" device?

It will come with an iMonkey accessory to work the screen with its tiny fingers.

Re:Will suck.

[drinkypoo]

Multitouch is useful for rotation and scaling in a fairly small space. Compare multitouch touchpads on netbooks. Some of them aren't much bigger than 1.5".

Re:Will suck.

[Tukz]

Where does it says it will be Multitouch?
Or even Touch for that matter.

Lets Speculate

[tuppe666]

Have you ever tried multitouch on a 1.5" device? Much less touch?

Why do you need to (multi) touch a watch? Voice and Various Gestures...or simple swipe and touch on a watch covers most of what you want from a device on your wrist if it is connected to a smartphone elsewhere.

Although there is no reason why the 1.5" watch couldn't be 9" Wide :)

Re:Lets Speculate

[Dusty101]

A touch control with buttons can work quite well.

I have a Garmin sports watch that has the usual complement of buttons, but also makes use of the round bezel (not the screen, mind) in a similar way to a 5th-generation iPod: sliding the finger one way scrolls down the menus, sliding it the other scrolls up. Touching it in two places simultaneously toggles the backlight. It locks/unlocks by pressing two of the buttons together, so accidental selections are avoided. It works rather well, actually.

Re:Will suck.

[wonkey_monkey]

Some of them aren't much bigger than 1.5".

I used to bullseye them in my T-16 back home.

Wearable technology is the next evolution

[the computer guy nex]

Countless times per day I'm removing my smartphone from my pocket simply to check today's calendar, today's to-dos, weather, latest emails, latest calls/sms, latest notifications, and of course the time. Quick access to your ecosystem would be a tremendous convenience.

The other big opportunity is sensors. Fitness and health are the obvious ones, but it could even branch into creative uses of an accelerometer.

The key here is the hardware engineering, where Apple has the big advantage. This thing needs to have multi-day battery life with the screen on continuously. It needs to utilize Bluetooth 4/BLE to reduce battery impact to your tablet/smartphone. The screen needs to have more brightness than the typical junk AMOLED. The microphone needs to be sensitive enough to operate at a distance farther than the typical smartphone.

My bet is Apple has a wealth of ideas, but they are still nailing down the hardware engineering aspect. Now that they are custom-designing their own SoCs, I believe this should be sooner than later.

Re:I beat them to the punch for iDiaper!

[ArcadeMan]

That's a crappy thing to pat... ah, screw it.