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Microsoft Gearing Up To Release a Smartwatch of Its Own
SmartAboutThings writes The smartwatch market is still in its nascent form, but with Apple releasing its AppleWatch in early 2015, things are going to change. And Microsoft wants to make sure it's not late to the party, as it has been so many times in the past. That's why it plans on releasing its own smartwatch, which would be the first new category under CEO Nadella. The device could get launched with two specific features that could make it stand apart from other similar devices — much better battery life and cross-platform support for iOS and Android users. A release before this year's holiday season is in the cards, with no details on the pricing nor availability. (Also at Reuters and The Inquirer.)
Can't be as bad as Apple's.
I'm normally in line with what Apple produces (and potentialy biased too) but their watch is a total let down. Pebble has been doing this for long.
Also, Windows works on all PCs with all hardware supported.
Did it? Who declared that? They seemed to be selling fairly well when I was in my local EE store yesterday, buying my two Lumia 930s :) At least another 5 Windows Phones were sold while I was being dealt with, and the store had a full display and demo area set aside for Cortana, which was drawing some interest.
I am seeing more and more Windows Phones in the wild these days - yup, anecdotal evidence etc, but its something to be noted none the less.
* The Windows 10 Fisher price edition is limited to 1 running process.
Can somebody explain why the links I have included have been modified? Not fair from /. to remove links and direct the traffic to already big outlets. Slashdot is also about diversity and supporting smaller publications, from what I remember.
Are you new to submitting? I've had a bunch make it to the front page... the mods Heavily modify your submission. To the point that, you might as well not even bother spending time typing it up nicely. I got concerned when they not only corrected things but wrote their own diatribes into the submission, made their own mistakes and such, and then attributed the post to me. So I don't submit nearly as much anymore.
If you're going to quote me with "Charliemopps writes" then it should be cut&paste. If you're altering it, Slashdot needs a different statement like "Submitted by..." etc...
At least another 5 Windows Phones were sold while I was being dealt with.
Was this some kind of fire sale to get rid of stock?
I've never been to a "local EE store" on a non-launch day and had that many customers waiting in line to buy the exact same product, of any product.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
If it works when you bought it, then it's your fault if you change the OS and it no longer works. You should have thought about that before changing your OS.
On the other hand, if a manufacturer doesn't provide you with all the drivers that you want, then don't keep buying from that manufacturer.
You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
" Refreshing, no question, and in direct contrast to Google and Apple as you point out."
Actually no it isn't in direct contrast.
When Apple first entered the mobile market they only had to worry about Blackberry, Wince, and Palm. In the smartphone market there was no real dominate player. It was in many ways a lot like the early days of micros with Atari, Apple, Commodore, Radioshack, Ti, and the CP/M machines fighting it out.
Apple and Google where friends and Google got Maps, search, and youtube on the iPhone.
When Android came out IOS was pretty much king. so Google kept putting their products on IOS to keep market share. Apple having the marketshare did not feel the need to put any services on Android. They used their services to keep market share.
Now Microsoft to get market share supports Android and IOS. Android and IOS see no reason to help Microsoft gain marketshare. It is the exact same pattern.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
It seems as if an always on OLED display would be the major source of battery drain - and so I don't get why watch makers haven't used e-ink. Come into the market as Timex and not a Rolex. A simplistic device which displayed time and push notifications at a $50 price point seems like it'd quickly dominate the market. Heck, you could even make it an e-ink background to a nice analog watch for that matter (although that'd probably up the total price). This sort of thing wouldn't need the processing power (i.e. more battery drain) as the current giant glossy types either. Perhaps I'm being naive, but I don't get the high-end luxury approach.
Open API would be natural too; especially given a low price point this type of watch could quickly be a community favorite.