Apple watch: has its time come?
Apple's next big thing will be a "smart watch" which will "fill a gaping hole in the Apple ecosystem" - at least according to one of the company's earliest employees, interface expert Bruce Tognazzini.
Dubbing the product the "iWatch", Tognazzini says that the product - which he thinks would link to an iPhone via Bluetooth - is probably already being worked on inside Apple.
With the company being sued by Greenlight Capital for hoarding its cash, and with no radically new product since the iPad in January 2010, some are looking to Apple to come up with a blockbuster product that will kindle a new source of revenue as its iPod line - which kicked off its rise in 2001 - begins to fade.
And the market for such "wearable computing" is poised to take off, according to Juniper Research, which forecast last November that it could be worth $1.5bn next year as consumers, fitness fanatics, healthcare and the military begin to adopt it. But if Apple enters it, the market could explode, Kazinform has learnt from the Guardian.
Tognazzini, who helped develop the graphical interface used on the first Macintosh, admits his insights into it do not come from insider information - but points out he has "a solid understanding of Apple, its products, the problem and the opportunity".
He predicts that it will use wireless charging, have a curved screen - following an Apple patent for the system - and be controlled by the voice-driven assistant Siri. And its essential feature - the "killer app" - will be that it will unlock the screen on the phone when it is brought close, and be able to make the phone ring and light up when the owner is trying to find it.
"Apple can create a smartwatch with revolutionary functionality that is drop-dead gorgeous. Is there any doubt they will do so?" he asks.
Launching such a product would pitch Apple into the market for wearable computing and up against Google, which is planning to introduce its Google Glass system - a pair of clear spectacles with a small screen and camera mounted at the top of the right lens - within months.
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