TAG Heuer Announces Partnership With Google and Intel for Luxury Smartwatch

Deep Thought

http://www.iclarified.com/47873/tag-heuer-announces-partnership-with-google-and-intel-for-luxury-smartwatch-video

Wibbs

Of all the Swiss names they're probably the shoe in to get into that market the easiest. After Rolex they're the best known Swiss maker and while they have the "luxury" tag(no pun) to them, it's more an everyman/woman type luxury, rather than the exclusive, even snobby names higher up the chain. Names that are far more about marketing tradition and authenticity, marketing strategies that would find the smart watch a strange bedfellow.

Still, it seems a tad rushed or something. Where are the prototypes, the mockups? Seems as much about getting any Swiss announcement out before the Apple watch hits the shelves.

hi5

Smart technology is throwaway, luxury items are generally not, I don't know how that will work?

Wibbs

One way that might be tried could be scalable upgradability. Electronics as we've seen pretty much always gets more powerful and smaller, so If you built a watch that had a screen with had the basic functions of a watch: time, date, maybe chronograph in the main module, with the secondary swappable/upgradeable smart module you might be able to keep it current through upgrade cycles. So you pay out we'll say 800 quid for the TAG smart watch, but when new smart modules come out you can pay say 200 quid to upgrade it, but if you don't want to do that, you still have a functional TAG timepiece. The watch module would likely have to be quartz for size purposes and the fact that the dial output would be a screen. Well unless the face of the watch was a screen with the watch hand poking through it driven by a mechanical. Might be messy though.

Eoin

I'd have thought Breitling might be in the running too; they're strong with quartz movements.

Android Wear only is a bit of a gamble IMO. It's possible to compete with the Apple Watch, but without ruling out iOS compatibility.

Smart technology is throwaway, luxury items are generally not, I don't know how that will work?

A lot depends on how much work you hand off to the companion device (normally a phone). Ironically, the less the watch has to do, the more future proof it becomes.

Umbongo uk

Of all the brands in this sector, its TAG that can perhaps pull it off. As said, they have the recognition of many of the obvious targets for such a watch, and they also have solid brand associations with technology - not least of which F1, but also luxury mobile phones.

Wibbs

Eoin wrote: »

Ironically, the less the watch has to do, the more future proof it becomes.

yea, if a company like TAG just barebones the requirements they might well get the market alright. The two main features I can think of would be heartbeat sensors and notifications. The output of the heartbeat sensor would surely be very "easy" to multi platform? Notifications ditto. Then the watch would work with iOS, Android, even MS. Plus battery power would be far less an issue, compared to the stuff it full of features Apple and others have been aiming for.

Another feature might be verbal note taking. They had that in Casio digital watches in the early 90's. Barebones bluetooth speak and listen Dick Tracy like connectivity another. Basically look at what people would actually use a watch size device for, rather than try to stuff an iPhone onto your wrist.

Umbongo uk wrote: »

they also have solid brand associations with technology - not least of which F1, but also luxury mobile phones.

I'd forgotten about their phones. For a long time they have stood well above the other Swiss names with their ability to straddle the "fashion" watch market and the "authentic" market.

Umbongo uk

Wibbs wrote: »

For a long time they have stood well above the other Swiss names with their ability to straddle the "fashion" watch market and the "authentic" market.

100%. In fact, it could quite successfully be argued that the aspect of the brand that seems to rankle the snobbier "WIS"s is the very thing that secures its continued success.

CarltonBrowne

Wibbs wrote: »

Electronics as we've seen pretty much always gets more powerful and smaller

This puts me in mind of a press release from Ericsson many years ago when they were in the process of designing the first generation of 3G handsets. The release went along the lines of "Yes, we have now built the very first 3G handset and development is flying along in leaps and bounds - at the moment we're driving it around Swindon in a van but we have other teams working on how to make it smaller".

Wibbs

Recently with all the talk of smart watches I was reminded of a very old joke that my dad told me back in the early 80's in the time when digital watches were king and getting more and more features. This is an updated version I found online(posted 6 years ago, so well before smart watches).

Jake is struggling through a bus station with two huge and obviously heavy suitcases when a stranger walks up to him and asks "Have you got the time?"

Jake sighs, puts down the suitcases and glances at his wrist. "It's a quarter to six," he says.

"Hey, that's a pretty fancy watch!" exclaims the stranger.

Jake brightens a little. "Yeah, it's not bad. Check this out" - and he shows him a time zone display not just for every time zone in the world, but for the 86 largest metropoli. He hits a few buttons and from somewhere on the watch a voice says "The time is eleven 'til six" in a very West Texas accent. A few more buttons and the same voice says something in Japanese. Jake continues "I've put in regional accents for each city". The display is unbelievably high quality and the voice is simply astounding.

The stranger is struck dumb with admiration. "That's not all," says Jake. He pushes a few more buttons and a tiny but very hi-resolution map of New York City appears on the display. "The flashing dot shows our location by satellite positioning," explains Jake. "View recede ten," Jake says, and the display changes to show eastern New York state.

"I want to buy this watch!" says the stranger.

"Oh, no, it's not ready for sale yet; I'm still working out the bugs," says the inventor. "But look at this," and he proceeds to demonstrate that the watch is also a very creditable little FM radio receiver with a digital tuner, a sonar device that can measure distances up to 125 meters, a pager with thermal paper printout and most impressive of all, the capacity for voice recordings of up to 300 standard-size books," though I only have 32 of my favorites in there so far" says Jake.

"I've got to have this watch!" says the stranger.

"No, you don't understand; it's not ready."

"I'll give you $1000 for it!"

"Oh, no, I've already spent more than that."

"I'll give you $5000 for it!"

"But it's just not fair."

"I'll give you $15,000 for it!" And the stranger pulls out a checkbook. Jake stops to think. He's only put about $8500 into materials and development, and with $15 000 he can make another one and have it ready for merchandising in only six months. The stranger frantically finishes writing the check and waves it in front of him. "Here it is, ready to hand to you right here and now. $15,000. Take it or leave it." Jake abruptly makes his decision. "OK," he says and peels off the watch. They make the exchange and the stranger starts happily away.

"Hey, wait a minute," calls Jake after the stranger, who turns around warily. Jake points to the two suitcases he'd been trying to wrestle through the bus station. "Don't forget your batteries.""