








There is something seriously wrong happening in San Francisco. No I’m not referring to the unending wave of $4 ‘artisan toast’ shops that have started appearing in that city, instead I’m talking about the fact that San Fran society’s perception of tech is failing to keep up with the speed with which said tech is progressing. Ironic considering how much of it is designed there.
This was most starkly proven in late February when a woman was attacked in a San Fran bar simply for wearing Google Glass.
Now it’s important to note that there are some pretty massive economic factors that mean it has started in San Francisco. For starters the non silicon-infused/enthused population is feeling the hurt of 6,000 Converse-wearing start-ups setting up shop in their city resulting in raised house prices and the loss of the streets to the no doubt thoroughly evil 'Google busses' that ferry the tech workforce to their out-of-town design-o-domes.
It’s a global issue, and soon we’ll start noticing it more here in the UK. Conversations in pubs will strike up in which people will loudly mention the 'Glassholes' sat at the other end of the bar.
This isn’t anything new; remember when Bluetooth headsets first appeared? What started initially as curiosity turned for many into a loathing of their users. These bloody people, wandering down high streets with an air of being SO important that they couldn’t even be arsed to manipulate their sodding hands into a gripping position around their funting phones. Shouting 'Yah, sell the orphanage stock and buy radioactive waste. Squash later?'
Look around today, however, and you’ll see many people talking through their headphones.
This is of course, where I finally get to my point, and it is the just-announced Moto 360. This smartwatch is clean cut, sexy and, crucially, it looks just like a watch. Put it side by side with a Galaxy Gear and it’s like two totally unalike things in a pod. You might get more attention for wearing the Gear, but the odds of it being positive aren’t in your favour.
The reason for that is that we’re not ready for the future. People say they want it, but ultimately society has to adjust first, like a stubborn dog who’s moved house.
How many of us are actually comfortable talking to our phones – I don’t mean to other people, I mean to your plastic pals who are fun to be with, Siri and Google Now. I’d wager that if you do it’s either to show it off or try and make it say something inappropriate.
The Moto 360 works precisely because it doesn’t force us into that box of being an "early adopter". It’s the reason Pebble has been relatively successful, and why headphones with a mic on the cable have replaced bulbous, ear-mounted lozenges with blue lights flashing on them.
Motorola has taken things even further by actually encouraging you to engage less with the device, thanks to the contextual nature of its operating system. Simply pop the directions into your phone with your hands and that’s it – your phone goes back in your pocket. Not sure which left to take? Quickly glance at your watch and it’ll show you; no faffing around in menus, it’s just there. Now that sounds useful both in terms of getting from A to B and in terms of not having a youth on a bicycle suddenly appear at speed from behind you then vanish into the sunset with your smartphone in his rascally grasp.
Google Glass is a great, revolutionary, and I loved every second it adorned my gawping face. But if I had to choose a product I would actually pay for and wear every day, it’d have to be a smartwatch. Especially if it looks like a watch and I don’t have to talk to it.
The new case will focus on their smartphone and tablet patents and whether or not there are any infringements.
"The parties tried hard to accuse each other's latest and greatest products, but US patent litigation is slow, which is why this 2014 trial will be about 2012 and pre-2012 products," intellectual property analyst Florian Mueller said.
The tech rivals will go toe-to-toe before District Court Judge Lucy Koh in the California city of San Jose.
Koh headed the trial last year that resulted in a jury declaring Samsung owed Apple more than a billion dollars in damages for infringing patents with older Android devices.
The damages were later assessed and changed to $929m leaving Samsung to appeal.
This time round could prove detrimental for Samsung as its best-selling Galaxy range is in dispute, a line of products that the company can’t afford to lose.
"Both in the United States and globally, Apple and Samsung have established themselves as fierce competitors in the smartphone market and fierce adversaries in the courtroom," Koh said during rulings on injunctions, testimony and other matters ahead of trial.
Meanwhile Apple is already appealing a court ruling from last year regarding the company’s involvement in alleged ebook price fixing.
Item Weight
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9 g
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Product Dimensions
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13.7 x 0.8 x 7 cm
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Vessyl is a smart cup that can detect the kind of drink that's poured into it. Whether it's coffee, vodka, or Gatorade (yes, it can recognize brands and even flavors), this device can tell you before you even take a sip.
More than identifying the beverage in the cup, the device can also determine its nutritional information on the fly. All that data will then be sent into a smartphone app where you can check just how much watered down the draft beer they've been serving at the corner bar really is (not that you'll stop drinking it -- you'd just like to know).
Aimed at the same fitness set that rely on gadgets for their exercise monitoring, Vessyl gives people a way to get a detailed and accurate nutritional record of the stuff they drink throughout the day. It comes styled like a 13-oz travel mug, too, making it easy to bring with you wherever you go. Unlike other health monitoring devices, Vessyl can be informative even without looking at the app, since it comes with a vertical display panel that will spell out exactly the name of the drink it detects (should make for a cool party trick). The same display will also show a color-coded light that informs you of how much hydration you've had (and still need) throughout the course of a day.
Hidden inside the walls of the cup is a proprietary molecular sensor, which performs a reading of the beverage without having to come in contact with it. A motion sensor is also included, which is used to switch on the onboard display (it lights up everytime the cup is tilted).
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