Snapkeys, 3D Printers, and Smart Watches Emerge at Last Week’s CES

Tablets may be all the rage now but Smart Watches, Snapkeys and 3D printers have emerged from the recently concluded CES as things to keep a close eye on in the coming months.

A year ago 3D was the ‘in’ thing. Avatar was still cleaning up at the box office. Manufacturers were falling over themselves to crank out 3D displays and TVs,  and Nintendo was busy with its 3DS.  Over the last few months a new 3D market has started to emerge; 3D printing. CES showcased the Replicator by MakerBot Industries and the more affordable Cube by 3D Systems.

3D printers use spools of ABS Plastic as their ‘ink.’  They are able to construct or ‘print’ 3D objects from designs you create yourself or download online. Both companies provide thousands of designs for users, many of them free. Has your child ever lost a crucial Lego piece? Have you wished that some obscure comic book character had an action figure? The use cases for a 3D printer are endless but initial price and the lack of full color “printing” may give some pause.  The Cube prints in one color and costs about $1300 while the $2000 Replicator will be able to use two colors simultaneously.

 Watches Get Smart

Another emerging product category is the smart watch. Dick Tracey – ask  your grandfather who that is – must be smiling somewhere. These new devices bring to life the vision of a watch that does everything. When Apple unveiled the new design for its popular iPod Nano a new cult soon developed. The device’s shape and size made it a perfect candidate for a super watch. The practice became so popular that Apple refreshed the device to include 16 watch faces. It also predominantly displayed its watch credentials on its official website.

The Nano may indeed be able to convert into a super watch but to call it “smart” is probably pushing things too far. You can’t install apps on the device, so you are limited to the features that are baked in. The real emerging smart watches attempt to satisfy that demand. They are able to install and run apps on a device that primarily serves as a timepiece and fashion statement.

Why would you even need such a device? Geek nirvana aside, such a device does have practical everyday uses. As smart phones become larger they also become less convenient to hold or keep out all the time. For many, their smart phone resides in a pocket or purse most of the day. Imagine a situation where a call comes in while you are busy with another activity. With a smart watch that is synced to your phone you could glance at your wrist and decide if the call is important enough to take or not.  You could also check your text messages without ever reaching for your phone. What about emails, the weather or even Twitter updates? A well-made smart watch may indeed be a device that gains traction. Still you have to ask yourself – would you want to be caught dead wearing the thing?

Italian Maker Blue Sky Brings Style to the Smart Watch

Style is important when deciding on a device that will be constantly worn and visible. The I’m Watch by Italian maker Blue Sky is a well-designed device that can justify its existence as a standalone fashion-centric watch. Its curved glass display, aluminum body and wide variety of color options make it as much of a pleasure to wear as it is to use. The device is Bluetooth-enabled and syncs to your phone, displaying call information. The device runs Android 1.6 which allows you to install and run apps that you download from its own store. The apps are specifically designed for the reduced screen size so you won’t have to worry about compatibility. It seems that Blue Sky has covered all the bases. Available apps include weather, email, stock updates and clients for Facebook and Twitter. Innovation and style comes at a premium though, with the I’m Watch currently slated at $299. If other manufactures follow Blue Sky’s lead and prices come down this is a category that may very well go main stream in the near future.

This is Not Your Parents’ Keyboard…

Speaking of products aiming for mainstream acceptance; Snapkeys has displayed a minimalist keyboard that takes aim at qwerty keyboards on touch devices. Using their own predictive technology, the company claims to have developed a system that is 99% accurate even though it uses only 4 main buttons. For comparison, current T9 based predictive text interfaces all use at least 10 keys and are  less accurate.

There have been other attempts to defeat the classic qwerty layout for touch devices but Snapkeys take a novel approach by regrouping the letters using a new system they have devised. The new system places letters into four shape groups. Letters like T or I fall into the one point group. The two point group contains letter such as H and N. There is also a “wide base” group with L , S and others. Finally, there is the closed circle group that contains O, P and R etc. The system seems arbitrary at first but look closer and a pattern seems to emerge. For instance, the major vowels O, I, U, and A, are all in different groups. R, S, and T – three of the most commonly used letters in the English language – also fall in different groups.

Sources at Snapkeys say that their goal is to ultimately replace the traditional layout and not just co-exist with it.  Strangely, there are no plans for an app. The company is said to be focusing on partnerships with wireless carriers worldwide and plan to have their keyboard on new devices soon.

Apple in 2012

If the lineups at your local Apple Store are any indication—and they are—Apple had a really big 2011. Apple’s numbers were in no small part propelled by the success of the iPhone and iPad, already nearing their sixth and third year of production, respectively. And given that there were not a lot of changes on the hardware front in 2011, expect some significant upgrades from the Cupertino-based company in 2012.

iPhone — The Bread & Butter of Apple

It’s almost hard to believe that the iPhone was introduced by the late Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, a mere five years ago. Since then, the iPhone has become Apple’s ‘gateway’ device. It’s what gets consumers in the store.

The iPhone 4S had some nice features, including a peppier camera and zippy processor, as well as the much-talked about (and spoofed) voice-control feature called Siri. But the general consensus is that the 4S was heavy on promise but light on delivery.

These days it’s hard to keep anything under wraps—even for Apple. The Korea Times reports that Samsung will continue to produce the Apple-designed A6 chips for the so-called “iPhone 5” at its Austin, Texas, plant. The next version of the iPhone will carry the LG “Retina Display” that has become a hallmark of the device. Also expect to see a slightly larger screen, which will make it more competitive against the Android phones.

iPod — Apple’s Old Friend

Remember the iPod? It seems that everyone these days is talking so much about Apple’s new lineup that they have forgotten about the little music maker that first brought joy to ears around the world in 2001. Despite its falling numbers, the iPod remains a staple on Apple’s à la carte menu.

There is, however, speculation that the shuffle and the classic may be put on the shelf (not the store shelf, the metaphoric one) for good. That would surely be a sad epilogue for those who have come to love the little guy and its chubbier companion.

Increased wireless and Bluetooth capabilities are likely changes for the iPod, which should bring it more in line with its iPhone cousins.

iPad — The ‘New’ Kid on Apple’s Block

Although there have been a plethora of tablets dumped onto the market (dumped is an apt term given the haste many companies have shown in releasing a tablet), Apple seems to have hit its stride with iPad 2. Although there are arguably more robust and versatile tablet devices on the market, Apple continues to lead the way in design and functionality (if not in function). Strangers to Apple products may scoff at the limited scope of iPad tablets, but anyone who has ever used one will attest to an unrivaled simplicity and ease-of-use.

There is talk of an iPad 3 making its way through the techie blogs and Internet websites. About the only hint of improvement is the adoption of Bluetooth 4.0, Retina Display, and an upgrade A6 processor. There is even gossip of an “iPad Mini” set to go toe-to-toe with the Kindle Fire—a tasty, if bite-sized, prospect.

Macs — Yes, Apple’s Other Products

The entire Mac line is set for upgrades. From the Mac Pro to the MacBook Pro to the ever-popular and precocious MacBook Air, the line is undergoing a makeover.
Apple is reportedly introducing a 15-inch version of the MacBook Air as well as significant upgrades to the 11- and 13-inch versions, including extended battery life and storage capabilities. DigiTimes, the Taiwan-based techie blog and newspaper, also reported that higher-resolution monitors will be added to the MacBook Air laptops.

As for the iMacs, expect faster processors and a sleeker new look.

Apple TV — Back to the Future

We reported recently about the computing giant taking on television with the eponymous iTV. This is probably the most exciting prospect on the horizon for Apple. Apple’s set-top box has been quietly making a mark in the industry. The sales have been modest indeed, but not so modest that Apple has not had a moment to glimpse the future. With the rumored 32- and 37-inch iTV set be released in 2012, Apple will surely bring their sophistication and vanguard thinking to this ‘new’ medium.

Anytime a monolithic company like Apple strides into new territory, the prospect is both exhilarating and perhaps even a little frightening. Exhilarating because Apple has a knack for breathing new life into ‘dormant’ industries (such was the case when the company introduced the first iPod and the iPhone and now the iPad tablet). And frightening because it means big changes for some of the old-money players.

If you have ever been to an old boy’s club, the grey-haired, cigar-smoking members of the lodge do not like their business toyed with. This is fitting because it speaks to Apple’s lighthearted yet unflinching approach to business.

Regardless of the changes, 2012 promises to be a big year for Apple Inc. If you have any doubt, ask yourself when you saw an Apple Store for the first time (probably not that long ago) and if you have ever seen one empty.

If you’re ever looking for an example of competition resulting in innovation and, ultimately, improved consumer products — you need look no further than the technology marketplace, and a little story about two rivals by the names of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.  There’s no questioning the genius of either man — but it’s also clear that, without the rivalry they shared, neither Jobs nor Gates would have achieved quite as highly.  Steve Jobs, in particular, took some painful lessons learned from his nemesis and turned them into pure Apple gold.  To understand that ironic cause and effect, you have to go back to the beginning…

Back in the eighties, in the true infancy of desk top computers, the field was crowded with companies attempting to gain market share.  At one point Atari was a market leader, with their box-like 16K contraption that offered nothing more than the most basic programming.  There was also the Commodore 64 – Atari’s main competitor.   But, as the industry started to grow,  two main players started to emerge.  One was a company called “Apple,” with its self-contained, giant-toaster-looking computer built in Steve Jobs‘ garage.  The other was a little company started by a Harvard drop out named Bill Gates.   Gates had shrewdly purchased the rights to something called DOS at the time, and then wrote a new program called Windows that made operating a personal computer much more simple for the non-technical user.

Steve Jobs had his fans

Right from the start, Steve Jobs’ company had its loyal — some would even say ”fanatical” –  user base.   Mac users were as die-hard then as they are now.  But back then, Apple was engaged in a life-and-death struggle to gain market share against this nerdy kid in Washington state who had a company called Microsoft.  The future of computing was at stake — and each of the two major players in the game was determined to win.

In retrospect, Steve Jobs and Apple really didn’t stand a chance.  Microsoft and Windows was licensed out to just about every major hardware company on the planet.  The result of that was that there were essentially two types of computers – Apple’s proprietary devices,  and every other computer by every other manufacturer in the world, all of which were running Windows and DOS.

For the consumer though,  what really made the computer was the software and programs you could run on it.  Computer gaming was a new trend back then – after all, this was a generation that had grown up in seedy mall arcades across North America.  It was an exciting development when you could suddenly play in your own living room, on your own computer.  The only  question was:  which computer would you buy?

In that dark time before the Internet, downloading, and file sharing, software was something you bought from a store.   And when you were deciding which computer to buy — your decision was largely influenced by how much software it was compatible with.  On one little wall in the corner, you’d see the Apple-compatible software – and, then, taking up ten shelves and four aisles of floor-to-ceiling space, you would see the software dedicated to Windows programs.    This is where Windows had an insurmountable lead over it’s main competitor – a lead that it has never given up.

It didn’t take a degree in psychology to know that Steve Jobs was not a happy camper when, in 1985, the company he created was wrestled away from him in the boardroom of Apple Inc.    Jobs went on to found Pixar, the company responsible for such huge hits as Toy Story and Finding Nemo.   He also created a new computer company called NeXT which was acquired by Apple in 1996 – a move that brought Jobs back into the near-bankrupt Apple organization.  As he took over the post of CEO and Overall Supreme Warlord – Jobs took those painful lessons he learned from Microsoft and turned them to his advantage.

Steve Jobs Applies the Lessons Learned…

It started with a new service called iTunes – introduced at the same time as a new portable music player called iPod; a handy little device that could hold 1000 songs in your pocket.   Then, in 2007, Apple announced that it was getting into the cell phone business and the world caught its first glimpse of the iPhone.   Shortly after that, Apple introduced the App store – a giant online software retailer where Apple was the only kid on the block.   It signalled the end of one era and heralded the beginning of another — an era where Apple no longer had to play second fiddle to Microsoft and Windows.  Steve Jobs had learned the hard way that no matter how cool or smart the device was – the real key to consumer loyalty was in having the software applications to make that device an indispensable element of the owner’s life.

Twenty years earlier, Jobs had learned from Bill Gates that no matter how smart your computer was – what made people buy it was the programs they could run on it.  Applying that knowledge, he built the entire Apple mobile empire on software that was only compatible with Apple devices, such as the iPhone, iPod , and iPad.

It’s a lesson that other companies may be learning right now — a lesson that is bringing Blackberry creator Research In Motion to the brink of bankruptcy, and a lesson that many new players in the Tablet and Smart Phone industry will learn as they fail commercially.  As the school of hard knocks taught Steve Jobs, it’s ultimately the software programs that make any device a must-have item.