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Apple unveils long-awaited smartwatch

Ryan Kamphuis
TECHNEWS WRITER

Since the initial unveiling of the
Apple Watch, Apple lncorporated’s entry to
the wearable technology market, in September
2014 there has been a steadily growing furor
of excitement and rumors about the specifics
of Apple’s newest product. It was in the midst
of this fiiror that Apple welcomed reporters
and bloggers to their Spring Forward event on
March 9.

Apple began the event by announc-
ing several new products and initiatives, in—
cluding a partnership with HBO and a new
MacBook. While these announcements would
be high profile at almost any other event, the
anticipation for the Apple Watch caused these
announcements to quickly be overshadowed.

The Apple Watch was first unveiled
in September 2014 at a preview event. The
event allowed Apple to show off the aesthetics
of the watch and some of its key functionality,
but most major details of the watch and many
important questions were left unanswered. As
the Spring Forward Event moved on, Apple be-
gan to talk about the Apple Watch and began
answering many of the questions that had been
asked for months.

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At the event, Apple chose to high-
light the ways through which the Apple Watch
told time, connected people, and served as a
fitness tracker. This manifested itself by having
various Apple employees showing off watch-
faces, apps, and functionalities.

Highlights included fitness tracking
endorsed by professional athletes, apps from
major players including Instagram and Uber,
and the ability to take phone calls and send
Nintendo DS—style pictochats to others. Many
of these features had been previewed at Apple’s
September event and provided few new details
for those in attendance.

New information began to be shared
as Apple started to speak about the hardware
that makes up the Apple Watch. One of the key
questions leading up to the event was the bat-
tery life of the Apple Watch, which many have
viewed as a potential sore point. Apple an-
nounced that they expect the watch’s battery to
last 18 hours, which they are billing as an “all‘
day” battery. This served as a disappointment
to many due to most competitors having much
better battery lives; Android Wear devices such
as the Moto 360 and the LG G Watch R have
battery lives of two days, and the Pebble line of
smartwatches has a battery life of a week

Apple spent most of its time de-

 

voted to the Apple Watch speaking about its
hardware design. Three different models of
the Apple Watch will be available: the Apple
Watch Sport, the Apple Watch, and the Apple
Watch Edition. While the software experience
on all three watches is the same, the hardware
that makes up all three is very different. The
Apple Watch Sport is made using an anodized
aluminum case with different colors of silicone
bands, and ranges in price from $349 to $399.
The Apple Watch has a stainless steel body and
various band options, and ranges in price from
$549 to $1,099. Finally, the Apple Watch Edi—
tion has an 18-karat gold body and various
band options that make the price for the watch
range from $10,000 to $17,000.

Apple is making a point to stress the
many different watch band Options that are
available for the Apple Watch, remarking that
the watch represents, “the most personal prod-
uct we’ve ever made.” This approach marks a
bigger transition that Apple seems to be mak-
ing from a technology company to a luxury
company. While positioning itself as a luxury
company with many different, personalized
options makes the company appealing to
consumers interested in purchasing a luxury
watch, the shift does represent a major turn
away from the hallowed design ideals of Apple

founder Steve Jobs.

The wearable technology market is
experiencing rapid growth, and Apple’s entry
to the market will no doubt be successful due
to the strength of the Apple brand. Whether
or not the Apple Watch will be successful at
swaying users not already in the Apple ecosys-
tem to jump ship is yet to be seen. Apple faces
stiff competition in the wearable technology
market from both fitness trackers and smart-
watches. Jawbone and Fitbit both have estab—
lished themselves as kingpins in the fitness
tracker market with significant brand recogni-
tion. Google’s Android Wear smartwatches are
available in many different form factors and
rumors are currently flying that Google plans
to add support for iOS devices in the future.
Finally, Pebble Technologies, the creator of
the original smartwatch, has raised over $17
million on Kickstarter for the creation of the
Pebble Time, its next smartwatch.

The Apple Watch is available for
preorder direct from Apple on April 10, with
shipments beginning on April 24. The Apple
Watch is compatible with the iPhone 5, iPhone
SS, iPhone 6, and the iPhone 6 Plus as long as
they are running the latest version of 108 8.

 

Images courtesy of Apple Inc.

Netflix and Nachos: The Brothers Grimm

Timothy Ayodele
TECHNEWS WRITER

Sometimes after a hard day of classes
and studying, it’s nice to just relax a bit. So
grab some nachos and enjoy the movie being
reviewed this week, “The Brothers Grimm.”

“The Brothers Grimm,” directed by
Terry Gilliam, is a movie set in medieval fan-

' tasy Germany. This setting is similar to many
of the setting of the fairy tales that we hear as
children, which makes sense considering the
main characters, the Grimm brothers. These
two are well-renowned throughout Germany
for fighting demons, witches, and all matter of
evils. There is only one problem, they’ re expert
cons and it’s working on everyone. Except the
French.

It’s always the French, isn’t it?

The rest of the movie follows the
brothers as they follow their biggest case yet, to
save nine missing girls from a “mystical” for—
est. The plot itself is quite good, with enough
twists and turns to keep you on the road all the
way home. An inspiring but realistic chain of
events balance the ideas of dreams versus real—
ity, hope versus realism, and optimism versus
pessimism. Definitely a spiritual journey hid—
den inside the plot that, when discovered, gives
the film much more depth.

What pulls this film together is the
synergy between the two main characters’ ac-
tors. Matt Damon and Heath Ledger are leg-

ends of film today, and the duo playing as Will
and lake Grimm create a pair that through
witty dialogue and verbal interplay brighten
the screen and captivate an audience. The two
seem inseparable, creating a brotherly bond
on screen that’s hard to discern from the real
thing.

The hook of the film is the basis of
fairy tales; the pull is its modern take. This is
no Shakespeare play; the themes of this story
bear very modern influences. Many of the
jokes even entail modern references that help
flue viewer relate to the film despite its archaic
setting. If you’re afraid that you won’t get any
of the fairy tale references, don’t. Though the
film is based on many of the Grimm tales,
the tales themselves are no more of an after—
thought to the overarching story.

If you want a story of brotherhood,
magic, and a little bit of love, take a look at
“The Brothers Grimm.” What comes off as a
silly spin-off movie may surprise the average
viewer. This movie definitely merits a topping
of ground beef with those nachos. You can see
“The Brothers Grimm” by going on Netflix, a
subscription-based streaming site for movies
and TV series that offers a free trial to view
thousands of movies and episodes. Or just get
your best friend’s/ parent’s/ sibling’s/ girl or boy—
friend’s password. They won’t mind, right?

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Images courtesy of impawards.com