Nike, Oakley hires may mean Intel intends to take on Galaxy Gear, possible iWatch in wearable tech

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Samsung and Sony have already thrown their hats into the wearable tech ring, and Apple is expected to do so in the next year, but now word emerges that silicon giant Intel is also plotting a move into wearable devices and has made a couple of recent hires that indicate it is considering the wrist as prime real estate.


Samsung's Galaxy Gear smart watch is but the latest in an increasingly crowded wearable tech segment.


With little fanfare, Intel has hired on Hans Moritz and Steve Holmes, according to Intel Free Press. Moritz, the more recent hire, previously worked for Oakley on that company's Airwave heads-up goggle, Switchlock series eyewear, and a separate watch program.

Holmes was quietly brought on last year, having been lured away from a top engineering and design job on Nike's Fuelband. Prior to helping design Nike's biometric bracelet, Holmes worked for both Palm and Apple. At Palm, he aided in the development of the Trio and the ill-fated Pre. At Apple, Holmes was lead product designer for the G4 Cube.

Intel named Holmes vice president of Intel's New Devices Group. That group is tasked with developing Intel-branded products to address emerging product trends. It is part of a recent shift in Intel's strategy that has seen the chipmaking giant looking toward making more of its own products, including an Internet television service and an accompanying set-top box.

In a recent interview, Holmes would not elaborate on what Intel might produce with regard to wearable technology. He did, though, express some interest in the way that hardware must integrate with software in order to create a compelling product.

"I come from the hardware side," Holmes said, "but even in the best of scenarios many of these objects are going to end up buried in a desk drawer in five years. It's the software and the data that can live on forever if you make them valuable.

"If this [Fuelband] didn't connect to Nike+ or a smartphone running an application that turns the data into a rich visual display, it would be much less interesting. It provides a lot of value because it's handing off meaningful data that gets processed and shared."

Should Intel enter the wearable technology segment, it would be one among a seemingly ever-growing number of tech giants. A market that was once largely the province of Sony and smaller players like Pebble has seen many more players expressing interest.

Last week, Samsung showed off its Galaxy Gear smart watch accessory, an app-enabled device with sensors and a camera built in. Google bought a smart watch maker last year, though the search giant has not yet shown off any products. Microsoft, LG, and numerous other firms are also thought to be working on similar offerings.

Apple, too, has reportedly been testing the smart watch waters. Earlier this year, news broke that the iPhone maker had assembled a team of 100 personnel to work on an iWatch. The company has since filed for trademark on the term iWatch in multiple countries. Intel was previously rumored to be working with Apple on that device.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,178member
    So far Sony. Samsung and Qualcomm have all announced or actually released so-called smart watches. I don't recall Qualcomm being mentioned here yet, but IMO it looks pretty nice really compared to Samsung's. Now add rumors of Google, Microsoft and Apple with their own upcoming products to this newest one from Intel and the category is beginning to look a bit "filled out".

    By the way, here's the Qualcomm entry:
    http://toq.qualcomm.com/?gclid=CM2Gp9WlvrkCFUdo7AodjjwAKQ#toq-hello
    http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/qualcomm-toq-the-anti-galaxy-gear-smartw/240160910
  • Reply 2 of 30
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    I dislike the comment "take on", as though Apple hasn't been working on a watch for even longer than these other companies have. It's obvious that Samsung has been stung by the charges of copying Apple. We have seen that after we read that Jobs said that "I cracked it", regarding a Tv, with people thinking that it meant voice control, likely through Siri, Samsung quickly came out with a voice controlled Tv. No matter that it received terrible reviews, they were first, and so could then accuse Apple of copying THEM! It's the same old with the watch. We read rumors, and find that Apple has trademarked the names, so Samsung comes out with a watch. It doesn't do much, and is described as ugly, too big, too thick, and having terrible battery life. But again, it doesn't matter. What matters is that they are FIRST!
  • Reply 3 of 30
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,178member
    melgross wrote: »
    I dislike the comment "take on", as though Apple hasn't been working on a watch for even longer than these other companies have.

    Did Apple ever say they were working on an upcoming smartwatch much less "longer than these others"? Perhaps they have and it went unnoticed.

    Of course the rumors could be true about an Apple smartwatch but they're just that. rumors and vaporware at this point as are possible Google and MS versions. The real ones so far include Pebble, Galaxy Gear, and Toq.
  • Reply 4 of 30
    They are first in their category.
    Apple will be first with really smart watches and people will see the difference :-)
  • Reply 5 of 30

    If these many companies are making Watches, at least a little number of their cumulative patents will be violated by Apple. Apple should thing really different. 

     

    Really Intel? You are making a watch?  :rolleyes:

  • Reply 6 of 30
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,178member
    chandra69 wrote: »
    If these many companies are making Watches, at least a little number of their cumulative patents will be violated by Apple. Apple should thing really different. 

    Really Intel? You are making a watch?  :rolleyes:

    ... and certainly possible that some of "their" patents will be violated by Apple if they have a real wearable. As vague as some software patents are there's really no way to be sure until someone sues you and gets a judgement.

    By the way, for more than you ever wanted to know about smartwatch rumors and actual products take a look here:
    http://www.smartwatchnews.org/smartwatch/
  • Reply 7 of 30
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    God I can't wait until this smartwatch craze phase ends. It seems to me this is a solution in search of a problem. Probably one of the reasons we haven't seen anything from Apple yet.
  • Reply 8 of 30

    how many phones were out when the iPhone was released?

    Microsoft and it's partners had 'tablet PCs' out for years prior to iPad

    iPod as originally panned as 'Lame'  compared to what it could have been against the market that was.

     

    This is a $149 price point and below market, unless this is a full phone capability.   I can't see Apple rushing into the market.

     

    The key is the integration into the iOS 'halo,' whether that be apps,  or a tight integration control point (appleTV, airplay, etc), and most importantly, life hacking.  

     

    I think that last point is critical... Heart, BP, blood sugar (http://www.medgadget.com/2013/06/glucotrack-df-f-noninvasive-earlobe-clip-glucose-meter-receives-ce-mark.html) and Pulse Ox, are the big '4' that need if we constantly monitored them, we'd can be advised how  to short and long term manage our health. (not to mention a Blood Alcohol monitor, and if it could... a calorie monitor ("I'd put back that 3rd piece of cheesecake, Dave").  

     

    All of those require long battery life.   I personally think the 'breakthrough' will be kinetic/thermal charging, where the watch, while worn, captures energy from the arm attached.   Without that, taking it off every 8 hours to charge (or wearing a charge cord) is a gamestopper.

  • Reply 9 of 30
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member

    The iWatch rumor has got all the tech giants in a panic.

  • Reply 10 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jd_in_sb View Post

     

    The iWatch rumor has got all the tech giants in a panic.


     

     

    Indeed!

    And i suspect it is just a hoax.

  • Reply 11 of 30
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post



    ... the category is beginning to look a bit "filled out".

     

    Which means the field is wide open for someone to do it right and fly out into the lead.  Apple seems to be good at that i.e. iPod, iPhone, iPad, whatever is next...

  • Reply 12 of 30
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,178member
    icoco3 wrote: »
    Which means the field is wide open for someone to do it right and fly out into the lead.  Apple seems to be good at that i.e. iPod, iPhone, iPad, whatever is next...

    It's hardly a product line with the impact of an iPod, iPad , etc. IMO. Seems like it would be more along the lines of another "Apple hobby" like Apple TV at least for the near future.
  • Reply 13 of 30
    Holy headline. What a messy jumble of words.
  • Reply 14 of 30
    iWatch to be bundled with Duke Nukem 4000. HP to leave market in 2015.
  • Reply 15 of 30
    murmanmurman Posts: 159member
    Aren't people complaining that Apple don't have large screened phones, that 4" is still too small, so wrist watches are supposed to have larger screens ... I don't get it. I do get tiny computers, but dorky useless smart watches, really?
  • Reply 16 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    God I can't wait until this smartwatch craze phase ends. It seems to me this is a solution in search of a problem. Probably one of the reasons we haven't seen anything from Apple yet.

     

    It will - just like the 3D Tv craze has waxed and waned. Right now, one of the better 'solutions' might well be the Pebble. Assuming Apple (or anyone else doesn't soon solve need (that most of us at this stage don't even realize we needed it) it will fade a way soon enough. Even sooner if some other 'next new thing' arrives.

  • Reply 17 of 30
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member
    Uh oh. Intel, stick to what you know.
  • Reply 18 of 30
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post





    It's hardly a product line with the impact of an iPod, iPad , etc. IMO. Seems like it would be more along the lines of another "Apple hobby" like Apple TV at least for the near future.

     

    "Apple hobby" it could be.  The biometrics are what would make it stand out.  Blood pressure, blood sugar, O2 levels, etc and then there would be a larger market for it.

     

    I dropped wearing a watch in 2000 after my company gave me a pager and now with a cell phone, I can get the time when I need it.

  • Reply 19 of 30
    froodfrood Posts: 771member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by melgross View Post



    I dislike the comment "take on", as though Apple hasn't been working on a watch for even longer than these other companies have. It's obvious that Samsung has been stung by the charges of copying Apple. We have seen that after we read that Jobs said that "I cracked it", regarding a Tv, with people thinking that it meant voice control, likely through Siri, Samsung quickly came out with a voice controlled Tv. No matter that it received terrible reviews, they were first, and so could then accuse Apple of copying THEM! It's the same old with the watch. We read rumors, and find that Apple has trademarked the names, so Samsung comes out with a watch. It doesn't do much, and is described as ugly, too big, too thick, and having terrible battery life. But again, it doesn't matter. What matters is that they are FIRST!

     

     

    You realize Samsung has had some form of smartwatch on the market since 1999?  I'm all for all these companies hopping in the market and competing, and take it as a little humorous that fans think any market Apple enters should have some glowing aura that makes it so only Apple should compete in it.  I think the pre-theoritcal-market is *WAY* bigger than the actual market will be.  These things are just fugly, whether the Samsung watch or the iBracer picture being bandied about.  Most of the 'copying' arguments are stupid because most of the stuff being copied isn't particularly amazing.  Apple copied Android into the mini tablet market!  Apple is going to copy Samsung by building a bigger screen!  Apple copied Samsung with notification center!  Even if the statements are true ones, they are dumb ones because there is nothing hugely amazing about the thing being copied.  I feel the same way about rounded corners and things like 'a method for scrolling on a mobile device'...  like doing things we've been doing for decades, but doing them now 'on a mobile device' makes them amazing.

  • Reply 20 of 30

    All these watches coming out and Apple hasn't even announced theirs yet. Talk about steering an industry with a rumour only. I'm sure most of the population will just wait for the Apple version because they know it will be the best.

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