the CES snip.It is Android wear OS.It is no me too device, aimed at a new group….only one like it so far?Android Wear has the power to diversifyThere was little chance of seeing many new Android Wear smartwatches this CES – most companies refreshed their line-ups before the holidays, so we were all pleasantly surprised by the appearance of the Casio Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10.But what does it represent? Well, the outdoors focused smartwatch shows that Android Wear can be about more than just everyday notifications, and that the platform is much more versatile than many give it credit for.New Balance also seems to have realised this with the confirmation that it is working on a running focused Android Wear device, which could trump the frustrating limitations of theMoto 360 Sport. It looks like it will be an interesting year ahead for Google's smartwatch OS.But what does it represent? Well, the outdoors focused smartwatch shows that Android Wear can be about more than just everyday notifications, and that the platform is much more versatile than many give it credit for.New Balance also seems to have realised this with the confirmation that it is working on a running focused Android Wear device, which could trump the frustrating limitations of the Moto 360 Sport. It looks like it will be an interesting year ahead for Google's smartwatch OS.New entrants, Casio has worked for over a yr making their device- along time.New balance…Where do these new entrants get the IP to get up to speed and join the fray?From this vantage point look at QUIK….algos, hub, assistance, battery life?I think some of our wearables will be exactly this sort of customer.Get us in the game now sort of people.Use Casio as a mental model for others we will learn about.
bumped it up to look over again.This may not be the units volume. but it is very different than most devices out there. No rush job they took their time on this device...TAG SmartWatch, Casio, wearable, Android WearCasio Wants To Develop Smartwatch To Beat All SmartwatchesBy Quinten Plummer, Tech Times | July 5, 9:25 AMLikeFollow3 Commentssaid.The smartwatch will launch in the US and Japan in March of 2016 and is expected to have a price range of $400, it'll go on sale in US for $349. It wasn't made clear what operating system the smartwatch will use, but it doesn't sound as the watch will be decked in Android Wear.The electronics manufacturer has set a target of $80 million in sales of its smartwatch. And while the wearables are expected to continue its lightning coming of age, Casio understands this avenue won't be friend of aggressive traffic."I don't think the smartwatch will be an instant success but we want it to grow in the long term," Kashio said.Casio, whose business extends beyond watches, has technically been creating smartwatches for decades now, though its past offerings don't qualify with the modern interpretation of the wearables.One way to classify many of Casio's past creations is the term "basic wearable," wearable tech that doesn't interact with third-party software, as the IDC Group describes. Casio's smartwatch, which is meant to be simple, sounds as if it may qualify as a basic wearable, and that's alright.While smart wearables are about to bound forward, Ramon Llamas, a research manager on IDC's Wearables Team, said basic wearable won't disappear anytime soon."In fact, we anticipate continued growth here as many segments of the market seek out simple, single-use wearable devices," said Llamas.IDC is projecting that sales of wearables will climb up to about 126.1 million units shipped by 2019, so there's plenty of room and opportunity for Casio to hit that $80 million mark with its smartwatch.
A read from Japan tech site..http://akihabaranews.com/2016/01/17...-f10-exclusive-hands-video-gallery-1603166279CASIO Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10 Exclusive Hands-On (VIDEO; GALLERY)Exclusive Access is Exclusive!Location, location, location! As has long been the AkihabaraNews advantage, we are boots on the ground: based in and operating from Tokyo for over 13 years. Probably like...95% of the press conferences and product launches we attend are a sea of Japanese journalists surrounding our tiny island of foreign reporters, and that’s always been our edge. Of course, online tech reporting has changed drastically in recent years, and really anyone on planet earth with internet access can “scoop” a new Japanese product launch.That being said, and even though CASIO unveiled their new Android Wear-powered smartwatch at CES, no other foreign language media outlet can get the kind of one-on-one, hands-on demo from a project engineer that AkihabaraNews received last week at CASIO’s Tokyo headquarters. Here’s what we learned:Why is CASIO Launching a Smartwatch Now?Consumers (and tech writers) are easily excited by flashy new products that do flashy new things, which is often justified. The thing about smartwatches that many are reluctant to admit, however, is that while they’re wholly unprecedented technological marvels, they’re also solutions in need of of a problem - a problem that their necessary accessory, the smartphone, can’t already solve.[RELATED]On CASIO and the Apple WatchCASIO was of course hip to that fact, so even with 40+ years of semi-smart-watchmaking experience (e.g., 1983's Databank CD-40 calculator watch, and 1999's GPS-enabled PRO TREK SATELLITE NAVI, among many others), and even with a chorus of tech writers and market specialists egging them on and publicly wondering why one of the world's techiest watchmakers hadn't entered the fray, they felt it was best to wait.More plainly, rather than jump on the bandwagon and push out a product with no clear purpose, which they easily could have done, CASIO felt it vital to offer a device with clear, well-defined utility that would appeal to and actually serve a well-defined consumer base. Well, they've found their angle, the wait is over, and we've finally met the CASIO WSD-F10 Smart Outdoor Watch.Inline Gallery BelowPushing Hard Toward the OutdoorsCASIO’s first proper smartwatch of course has access to all Android Wear apps and does what any other like device on the market can do. What prominently sets this watch apart is the built-in, specialized functionality delivered by an array of environmental sensors and custom apps, coupled with a rugged durability unique among such devices. Users aren’t expected to be careful and cautious - in fact, CASIO’s created (what is, we’re pretty sure) the world’s first smartwatch built to U.S. Military MIL-STD-810 survivability standards. Even the mic, nestled just below the face and above the band, is waterproof to 50m.I ruined my first Fitbit in the water, and one thing about Japan, they like waterproof devices.For those who know CASIO, this makes perfect sense. Though outdoor gear has long been a focus, as we saw last month with the launch of the EX-FR100 Outdoor Recorder (an action cam this watch can control - see below) and earlier this year with a fishing trip/media junket centered around the PRO TREK 3500 watch, CASIO seems to be doubling-down on the take-your-tech-outside marketing line. With a feature set that really only distinguishes itself from the competition when users get up and get out of the house, the Smart Outdoor Watch lands comfortably in that evolution. Here’s how:TOOLSCASIO’s identified a set of environmental variables universally important to outdoor enthusiasts, and to display that information in real-time, one simply taps the dedicated “TOOL” button (nice when wearing gloves). These can be reordered and selectively included.This baseline of functionality, drawing from both watch sensors and smartphone connectivity, clearly goes far beyond CASIO’s long-running G-SHOCK and PRO TREK outdoor-use watch lines, but it also goes far beyond what any other smartwatch can do right out of the box.ACTIVITYFurther focusing the Smart Outdoor Watch’s specialized feature set, CASIO’s created three “ACTIVITY” apps that collate and analyze measurements to generate continuously updating displays specifically relevant to the following outdoor pursuits:Quick Video Details: Trekking • Cycling • Fishing
the restMOMENT SETTERComplementing the ACTIVITY apps, CASIO also developed a dedicated app that reminds users to take specific action while immersed in the above ACTIVITYs, e.g., if you’ve been biking or hiking for a good solid hour, MOMENT SETTER can remind you to stop and hydrate, go home before sunset, or in the case of barometric pressure, fish harder!One technically could use any number of smartwatch/app combinations from the Android or watchOS stable to analyze and track outdoor activities, but if you dropped your ZenWatch in the mud from a decent height or cycled a few hours through a healthy rainstorm with your Apple Watch, you’d quite likely brick one expensive piece of tech. Resistance to the elements coupled with a difficult to bruise design makes it clear that survivability is the Smart Outdoor Watch’s killer feature.Custom FacesThe Smart Outdoor Watch also ships with set of proprietary, customizable CASIO watch faces capable of displaying current environmental conditions (or not - you can mix and match), dual-time, calendar, altitude, etc.Dual DisplaysFor those considering a smartwatch buy, second only to defining its fundamental utility are concerns about limited battery life. CASIO’s offering will get you about 24 hours under normal use conditions, but there is also a simple Timepiece mode, powered by a discrete monochrome layer, that will continually display a high-contrast watch face for up to a month; mixing it up will likely extend time between charges.In Sum, and the Bigger Future Picture (we’re hoping for)While CASIO’s aiming at a niche consumer base, to the point about articulating a meaningful reason to own a smartwatch, that niche consumer base unambiguously exists, and is sizeable at that. On the other hand, while this is a handsome device for its intended purpose, unless outdoor-chic is your thing it’s not exactly a dainty fashion piece. With large enough wrists, one probably could pull of professionalism with the black model, but it’s still rugged-looking and bulky by smartwatch standards (though well within the traditional CASIO size statement).As for wearability, we had less than an hour with the Smart Outdoor Watch, but in that time it felt...good. As points of comparison, their business-focused, all metal EDIFICE EQB-500 weighs in at 199g, the burlyGPW-1000flagship G-SHOCK weighs in at a healthy 126g, and surprisingly, the Smart Outdoor Watch is comparably light at only 93g. Also, though it pretty much goes without saying when we’re talking CASIO watches, the band made for a comfortable wear, with just the right balance of stiffness and flexibility.Naturally, we’re hoping for more models. CASIO does make techy fashion watches that are useful in novel ways yet still professional and fashionable. There are plenty of G-SHOCK models that can match a business suit, and CASIO’s semi-smart, Bluetooth- and app-enabled EDIFICE line is designed specifically to do just that. For now, CASIO isn’t saying anything public about projects beyond the inaugural outdoor focus, but there’s a strong likelihood that’ll happen. With what is a globally recognized, tech-driven watchmaking legacy, we’d guess that consumers concerned less about the outdoor stuff and more about smartwatching for smartwatching’s sake would appreciate something more mainstream. We’d love to see smart versions of these:CASIO G-SHOCK GPW-1000 and EDIFICE EQB-500 Finally, Our One-Item Feature Wish List:We were very impressed by the Smart Outdoor Watch’s seamless ability to connect and control CASIO’s EX-FR100 Outdoor Recorder, but for now, it’s only that camera. We really hope they extend this functionality to all their Bluetooth/Wi-Fi compatible cameras, and perhaps even cameras from other makers. It’s a great selling point, and everyone we’ve shared this photo with totally lit up at the possibility:Unaltered photo - it really does that!Okay, that’s it for now. We want to thank to Mr. Imamura and Ms. Matsumura at CASIO for taking the time to give AkihabaraNews a personal hands-on with the Smart Outdoor Watch. We anticipate publishing a full review in early to mid-March - see you then!CASIO Smart Outdoor Watch Vital Specs: Water Resistance: 50 meters Environmental Durability: MIL-STD-810 U.S. military standards Touchscreen Display: 1.32-inch dual layer; 320×300px Color TFT LCD and monochrome LCD Sensors: Barometer, accelerometer, gyrometer, magnetic compass Microphone: Yes Vibrating Alerts: Yes Wireless Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1; Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n) Physical Buttons: TOOL, Power, APP Battery & Charging: Lithium-ion; magnetic charging terminal; charge time approximately 2 hours Battery Life: Smartwatch mode under normal use: more than 1 day (varies); Timepiece mode: more than 1 month (varies) Size: H 61.7h × W 56.4 × D1 5.7mm Weight: 93g (including watchband) OS: Android Wear Smartphone Requirements: Android 4.3 or later; iPhone 5 or later running iOS 8.2 or later (some features limited) 2016 Release: March in Japan; April in the U.S. Price: ~¥70,000 in Japan; ~$500.00 in the U.S. - See more at: http://akihabaranews.com/2016/01/17...video-gallery-1603166279#sthash.xx4XiaAn.dpufCasio has a difference device here, very nice, they will have many adjacent items where QUIK might also be useful. THis will be fun to track along. We want to be in their next 6 more items...they will move into the IoT also.
http://world.casio.com/ces/en/On the popularity chart, Casio’s G-Shock models became very popular and they saw huge sales in 1990s. After the sales picked up in mid 1990s, almost hundreds of models or more were released every year for several years from 1997 onwards. They carried the tag “Triple Ten”; that means 10 year battery life, 10 bar water resistance, and 10 meter fall survival. Now that concept made G-Shock’s entry into several segments of people with tough job assignments such as police, fireman, diver, astronaut, mountaineer, soldier, and so on. There were particular G-Shock models classified for NASA space travel.The fist G-Shock model was DW-5000 launched in 1983 and since then 1000s of G-Shock models were introduced in the market. Going by tech quotient, GWS-900 was launched in 2004 which had contactless IC chip for making payments. Bluetooth notification was introduced in G-Shock models in 2011 and after a few years Gear STB-1000 was released which could connect with fitness apps on iPhone. You can imagine, with iPhone it can have other notifications as well. It can last two years on a single battery and has 100 meter water resistance. It connects with Wahoo fitness app which can pair with a heart rate monitor. Wow! It has features which a smartwatch, by today’s definition should have. So, that makes a wealth of experience for Casio to jump into the fray for next generation smartwatch!Casio is preparing to launch its first true smartwatch by 1st quarter of the coming year, i.e. 2016. According to Kazuhiro Kashio, the present president of Casio company (previous president being his father Kazuo Kashio and his late uncle Toshio Kashio as co-founder) the smartwatch they bring will be a watch that tries to be smart, rather than a smart device that is also a watch. Clearly this statement reflects the sentiments expressed in my last article “Smartwatch – A Tough Puzzle to Crack” where the primary consideration was sought to be on the watch rather than the technology. The technology is essential, but that should act as a good support vehicle to realize the functions which a smartwatch should have; it shouldn’t overwhelm the watch itself. Hope Casio defines the smart functions which the smartwatch users will love and nourish for many years. For now, we hear Kashio commenting on the basic features that a smartwatch should possess, e.g. durability, simplicity, light weight, right size and shape, comfort, appearance, feel good factor etc.Casio is working on the smartwatch since about four years and have experimented through several prototypes. Kashio says his smartwatch will have great functions as well as great appearance that will target sportsmen as well as people in other walks of life. The smartwatch will not compete on price point but on features, appearance and what a smartwatch should have. Its price is expected to be in the range of $350-$400 and will compete with Apple watch.Being realistic and having read the pulse of people over the years, Kashio is conservative on the smartwatch sales. He is not expecting an instant success in the smartwatch market, but is determined to grow it in the long run.
using Casio as a mental model for the text...We signed a SenseMe agreement with Casio last quarter, and we havefour additional SenseMependingagreements with very large and well-recognized OEMs. Out of this total of five, we believe three have thepotential to also becomeSensor Processing Platformcustomersthis yearMore names...........very large and well-recognized OEMs..Four more namesWho wants to pick them?New Balance, Someone in Korea, Another name in Japan, A China name?So New Balance, LG or iRiver, Sony, Xiaomi- just as a mental model- pick your own-certainly there could be some BIGGER names on this list than the placeholders I put in the blanks.Anyway just these names can spread the geography and the dependance on any ONE thing and as others have already said.In the past we have been burned because we were counting on one or at most 2 things happening.The work on the adjacent possible suggests that this nice expansion will lead to the next room for many of these players and that setsthe table for the S4, IoT, etc.Many regulars here will use these next 12 months to sort out QUIK to get out at a modest profit or at least a return of their invested capital.Or hold is as a seat in the sensor fusion, machine learning investment of the coming years.One thing I can tell you for sure- its is very,very hard to find investments here. Nice opportunities many are private, get taken out, already priced for the opportunity.So it's not that I can take my QUIK $$ and plunk them somewhere else for the same ride.
I need someone to pick out one best product from those on this list here.
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