watches

When product designers at Martian Watches began development of their Martian Passport smartwatch, they made a risky decision to give the watch a traditional, stylish, and very analog look.

It's a design decision that, not surprisingly, has led the consumer-electronics crowd to ding Martian Watches and prompted the fashion-focused crowd to applaud the Irvine, Calif.-based company. It also captures the inherent challenge facing the "next big thing" some believe is coming to your wrist: Unlike a laptop computer or even a phone, a watch is a fashion statement. And for the tech crowd, a smartwatch -- … Read more

I've lived with a smartwatch, in one form or another, for several periods over the past few years. Recently, with the Martian Passport. Further back, with the iPod Nano and a Hex wristband. Before that, a SPOT watch.

I love the idea of a smartwatch. Certainly, so does the media as of late. Bloomberg reports and iWatch rumors galore, plus various wearable watch-type items at January's CES, have started to give this territory the sense of a category.

Between the Martian and the Nano watch, I loved aspects of each -- and also found them both lacking. There'… Read more

Successful health technology startup Fitbit has just gained access to a new round of investment funding, to the sweet tune of $30 million.

According to a report by venture capital watcher TechCrunch, multiple sources have told the outlet that Fitbit is in the process of raising over $30 million. This influx of additional cash has helped the company notch an impressive $300 million in valuation.

While the extra funding is eye-popping, these figures should not come as a big surprise to those following the personal fitness space closely. The category is exploding with a flood of players, from device makers … Read more

On October 23, 2001, Steve Jobs introduced the iPod. "With iPod, Apple has invented a whole new category of digital music player that lets you put your entire music collection in your pocket and listen to it wherever you go," he said. "With iPod, listening to music will never be the same again."

On January 9, 2007, the iPhone made its debut. "iPhone is a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone," Jobs said. "We are all born with the ultimate pointing device -- our … Read more

Apple's rumored iWatch may get its unveiling sooner than later.

The company is seeking to introduce the device as soon as this year, according to Bloomberg. The wire service previously reported that Apple had roughly 100 people working on the project.

CNET contacted Apple for comment, and we'll update the story when the company responds.

The iWatch may end up being more profitable than Apple's other rumored new business, the television. While the television business is saddled with low margins, a long replacement cycle, and high costs, the watch business boasts higher margins and growth.

The popularity … Read more

For whatever reason, the iPad originally lacked a handful of features included on the iPhone, including a calculator and a clock function, both of which are extremely useful. A Clock app with a stopwatch option became available as part of iOS 6, but in the meanwhile to fill the gap arose hundreds if not thousands of basic apps in the App Store -- some free and others premium. One such free tool is Stop Watch Free. Available for the iPad, Stop Watch Free mimics the basic interface and functions of the stopwatch included with the iPhone's operating system. With … Read more

If you're nostalgic for the old days when phones were dialed and you told time with a watch, this single-function app may one of the least expensive ways to hold onto the past. Anthony Campisi, who created the Key Wind Pocket Watch, does not promise the moon. He has created a simple, easy-to-use pocket watch that opens quickly on your iPhone and features a realistic ticking sound. That is all -- if you expect more, you will be disappointed.

The free app installs easily, requires no registration, and features no ad. It has only two features. One, it tells … Read more

In the category of "one day people, will ask, 'How did you ever exist with just an iPhone?'," I recently visited the Old Town Music Hall, a little movie theater built in 1921 in El Segundo, Calif., which is near Los Angeles, and marveled at the technology and talent that went into playing live music for silent films.

That technology was the mighty Wurlitzer. That's right, before talking pictures, audiences were entertained by silent films that used title cards and, in many theaters, live music accompaniment. The Wurlitzer is a brand of organ, but also much more. … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Track your heart from your wrist with the Mio Alpha, yet another smartwatch launched by Kickstarter and shown off at MWC 2013. For $199 the Alpha is water resistant and built to reliably read the rate of your ticker.

With clean lines and smoothly rounded curves, the Mio Alpha looks and feels both futuristic and sporty. As well it should since the Alpha is essentially a timepiece and fitness gadget for people looking for serious feedback about their workouts.The watch's soft silicone wrist strap is comfortable, too, and it's clear this gizmo was designed to wear … Read more