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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2014 TECHNOLOGY Fashion world split over new Apple watch Fashionistas won’t wear smartwatch CUPERTINO: Apple Inc’s newly unveiled bility and individualization.” With the excep- smartwatch on Tuesday split fashion arbiters tion of the bright colors and gold trim, he who may prove pivotal to its broad accept- added, it is “a very masculine watch.” ance. Many praised the “Apple Watch”, priced Some fashionistas may prove reluctant to from $349 when it debuts next year, for its wear a smartwatch at all, said Sonny Vu, chief clean aesthetic, but some bloggers and edi- executive of Misfit Wearables, which makes tors said the watch had a masculine aura, an activity monitor that can be worn as a which would limit its allure to parts of the broach, on a necklace, or on a wrist band. style-conscious crowd. Others said the Some female consumers are concerned design, while pleasing, was less than revolu- about tan lines, for instance, and many might tionary. own a watch that has sentimental value, he The gadget, which must be paired with said. But other fashion critics were effusive. an iPhone, is shaped like a traditional time- “It is immaculate in terms of how function piece, with a small square display. A dial on meets design. The issue is really about how the side, reminiscent of the winding mecha- much people want to wear something so nism on a mechanical watch, can be spun or clearly, essentially an amazing gadget,” said pushed to manipulate what is on the touch Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue. screen. Apple will offer three different ver- sions-sport, standard, and a luxury edition, View from fashion week with finishes including stainless steel and The Watch is the closest the U.S. company gold plated. The display can be customized has come to selling a fashion accessory and to show the time in numbers or a facsimile of marks its first foray into the personal luxury a watch with hands. goods market, although its iPhones and other Wrist bands range from leather and stain- gadgets have long been seen as fashion sym- less steel to sports models in hues from pink bols. In recent years, Apple has hired Patrick to blue. The Watch recognizes voice com- Pruniaux, former vice president of Tag Heuer’s mands and carries sensors that can track global sales and retail; Angela Ahrendts, for- activity such as steps and heart rate. mer chief executive of Burberry Inc; and for- Roseanne Morrison, fashion director for The mer Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve Doneger Group, an industry consultant, said joined as vice president of special projects. the design fell short of her expectations. “It’s A first-time invitee to an Apple event, not pretty,” she told Reuters. “It’s very future Marie Claire tech editor Jenna Blaha, said she techno as opposed to feminine sexy.” was impressed with the Watch but would need to touch and feel the device before rec- Tough competition ommending it to readers. At Tuesday’s TOKYO: An Apple gadget fan queues outside of an Apple store for the iPhone 6’s release. —AFP Many contacted by Reuters agreed that launch in Cupertino, California, Apple dis- the device was better looking than existing played a gallery of watches but onlookers offerings from the likes of Samsung had to be content with tightly controlled Electronics and LG, which are judged to be demonstrations by Apple employees. Gwen Japanese fans set up chunkier. But rival tech giants like Google Inc Stefani, fashion designer and “No Doubt” and Intel Corp are increasingly competing singer, told Reuters even she wasn’t allowed with Apple in the emerging market for wear- to play with these watches. able devices. Based on tablet and PC adop- Many of the fashion experts agreed that watch for new iPhone tion rates, Citigroup expects the smartwatch the most compelling wearables haven’t hit market to reach about $10 billion by 2018 the market yet. Fashion editors were curious versus an estimated $1.4 billion to $1.8 bil- about an expected wearable accessory from lion in 2014. fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff; a high- TOKYO: It may still be several days before they store in glitzy Ginza on Saturday, and had to wait store, surrounded by camping equipment, suit- Eric Wilson, fashion news director for fashion smart bracelet from Intel; and a can even order a new iPhone and more than a until the small hours yesterday to hear about the cases and even a rubber Steve Jobs mask. InStyle Magazine, said Apple also faces com- smart ring from Ringly. “This is just the begin- week until they can pick it up, but dedicated fans Apple Watch and the two new iPhone models. Kajigaya Takuya, a 30 year old comedian, arrived petition from luxury watch-makers like Rolex. ning. How long before there is a partnership in Japan have already begun queuing. In a coun- “The unveiling of the Apple Watch here was Tuesday to join the line. Swatch has said it’s exploring a watch with with Marc Jacobs and Valentino to do more try known for taking its hobbies extremely seri- very tense. Everyone said, ‘Yeah, they did it!’” said He said despite difficulties sleeping through a intelligent digital features. “The Apple Watch sophisticated faces?” said Lea Goldman, fea- ously, Apple acolytes in Tokyo began bagging Tamura, an office worker who has taken time off chilly Tokyo night, he had been having fun so far. will be a status symbol to carry,” he said. But tures and special projects reporter for Marie “The staffs at the Apple Store are kind, they let us the design is “generic in the sense of its flexi- Claire. —Reuters charge our iPads and iPhones, and we can use the toilet in the shop,” he said. Takuya said he enjoys the challenge of waiting outside to be among the first to touch the device, which is also available in gold. “Of course, you need patience, it’s like climb- ing a mountain-in the end you feel as if you’ve achieved something, I think it’s great,” he said. In China, which is not going to get the iPhone 6 until a week later, Internet users stayed up late to watch the live feed of the unveiling, with many joking about selling internal organs to fund a pur- chase. “Good morning everyone. I have two kid- neys. One is for urgent sale next week for the iPhone6 Plus. The other is to be sold in four months’ time for the Apple Watch. First come, first served,” quipped one. In 2012, a Chinese teenager had his kidney removed to fund the purchase of an iPhone and an iPad. That led to the arrest of members of an illegal organ trading group. Despite the furor over the launch, there was some doubt as to the real significance of the news to the technology sector, with many point- ing out that there was nothing very cutting edge about the new products. Japanese Twitter users TOKYO: This photo taken and supplied by twitter user “sinomoritsukasa” shows an questioned the originality of the phones’ con- “Apple Watch” carved from an apple. —AFP tactless cash feature, Apple Pay, pointing out that mobiles in Japan have had this feature for CUPERTINO: Apple CEO Tim Cook (left) greets the crowd with U2 singer their spots on the pavement days before the work to queue. He proudly told AFP he works years. And Twitter user @sinomoritsukasa could- Bono (2nd right) as The Edge (2nd left) and Larry Mullen Jr look on during world knew what the California tech giant had up weekends to build up credit, and spends it every n’t see what all the fuss was about, having made the Apple special event. —AFP its sleeve. Tetsuya Tamura, 45, and his 20-year-old year on his Apple vigil. Around a dozen pop-up his own Apple Watch, carved from an actual son set up camp outside the company’s flagship seats were lined up on the pavement outside the apple. —AFP iTunes to give away Apple Watch a boost for wireless charging U2 album for free SINGAPORE/SAN FRANCISCO: this, competition to set a global stan- of wireless charging in devices. vision remains compelling. “Look at Apple Inc’s embrace of wireless dard is getting in the way of delivery. There’s a good reason for that: three Star Trek,” says Geoff Gordon of the charging for its new Watch may be a It’s reminiscent of the Betamax vs standards for the same form of tech- Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), LOS ANGELES: Veteran Irish rockers U2 SoundScan because it was distributed for free. defining moment for a technology VHS videotape wars of three or four nology.” one of the three competing alliances. pulled off the largest album release in history The band will release “Songs of Innocence” that’s languished for years amid com- decades ago, or the more recent bat- While users clearly see wireless “They never talk about their batteries at Tuesday’s Apple Inc event to launch new and a deluxe version featuring four new tracks peting standards and consumer con- tle between Blu-ray and HD DVD for charging - where mobiles, tablets dying on any of their devices. If you products, after making its latest record avail- and acoustic performances to the rest of the fusion. Supporters of wireless charg- supremacy in high definition optical and other devices are charged by lay- look far enough into the future we’re able for free on Apple’s iTunes online stores to world on Oct.

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