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Intel Recalls Basis Peak Smartwatches Due To Overheating (techgage.com)
Deathspawner writes: Intel's Basis has just sent an email to customers who own a Basis Peak smartwatch with some bad news: it's being recalled. In mid-June, Basis admitted that its flagship (and only) smartwatch had the chance to overheat, and then asked them to wait for a firmware update. Ultimately, a firmware update couldn't have been issued that wouldn't have compromised the user experience, and as such, the company is asking for every single Basis Peak to be returned for a full refund -- it will even handle the shipping. Users can still access Basic Peak services until December 31, 2016, after which they will be turned off and the watch will be rendered useless. If you own a Basic Peak, you can visit the support site and follow the instructions to return your unit and claim your refund.
Oh wait, that's because they really did get burnt and was super painful. But nonetheless.
Their recall website says it's for the Peak recall "and B1 returns"... I've entered my data to return my B1 and it accepted it, but it doesn't say what the terms for that are (how much they'll refund, etc.). Everything I see online only mentions the Peak.
Does anyone have more info on the B1 return? I used mine for a while but really didn't like it for several reasons so it's been sitting in the drawer. It'd be great to get a refund so I can invest in something newer/better!
I used to have a sig, but I set it free and it never came back.
Considering Intel bought the company after they had designed these watches and there isn't a single Intel hardware product inside the watches, I'd say this is more indicative of the fact that ARM chips are more than capable of overheating when asked to do too much.
AntiFA: An abbreviation for Anti First Amendment.
I guess I'm not reading /. enough.
Even if you have no problems, they can kill the device by killing the remote platform.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
From what I read, it's the heartbeat-sensing LED on the watch's underside that overheats.
I've never heard of this company, but it's called "Basic" twice in the summary, and "Basis" four times. Consistency?
Normally I'd make some comment about "are you new here?", but I know you've been around for a long time and should know better.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
In the recent Apple WWDC Keynote, Apple demonstrated the coming Update to their WatchOS (WatchOS 3). Performance across the board increased, with App Launches happening around EIGHT TIMES faster, and several other actions "snapified"(tm).
And that was WITHOUT changing the hardware.
So, clearly, Apple knows how to design a SmartWatch, and Intel needs to stick to desktop and server CPU design.
An AC shooting from the hip that wasnt miles off? Mark your calendars, folks!
Looks like Intel is closing shop in 7 countries. In Rio Rancho, NM, alone, they've shrank their workforce from over 3k in 2013 to 1800 this year, with more layoffs incoming. Rio Rancho is a 30nm fab that hasn't had updates in many years... and no tax incentives to stay.
I own one of these, so I'm sad to see that the service is being stopped. I initially got it just for sleep tracking, since it was the best in that category at the time. But after I got it, I also started wearing it during the day because it was just a damn decent watch; that is, it was good at telling the time. The LCD display was large and clear, and the band was very comfortable. It's actually one of the best and watches I've ever owned, just as a watch. I would charge it for a few minutes each day when I took a shower, and this was enough to top up the battery.
I also had a minor knee surgery in December, and I found that it was very useful for tracking my steps during my recovery. Finally, when they updated it to receive notifications, I was surprised at how convenient it was to get text messages on my watch.
So all in all, it was a great piece of hardware and I'm sad to see it go.
The Basis watches were an acquisition. If I understand correctly, they were having a hell of a time onboarding the design (pretty common when you buy up a small company with one product--it's usually hard to manufacture, full of "we'll do it later" design flaws, poorly documented, and only fully understood by a few key engineers). I don't think that Intel had a hand in designing any of the watches currently on the market. Looks like they found out it's too big a mess to fix and are doing the smart thing by killing it off. Even if they could redesign and fix it in the next rev, the brand is badly tarnished. Might as well cut your losses and walk away.
An interesting anagram of "BANACH TARSKI" is "BANACH TARSKI BANACH TARSKI"