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Apple's 'iWatch' Trademarking Spree Also Includes Taiwan and Mexico [Updated]

MikeELL

MikeELL

macrumors regular
Aug 18, 2006
127
1
Perth, Australia
I love how everyone's predicting something that only achieves 'smart' status because of interaction with an iphone. Since when has apple ever made a major product release that was reliant on already having another (hardware) product? I'd guess that if there's any interaction at all it will purely be to allow the iWatch to use (over Bluetooth 4) the cellular/wifi radios of the iPhone. Otherwise I expect it will be an an app-centric device with the screen size of the 6th gen nano.

The number of wrist straps that were produced for that nano probably convinced apple there was a market for that kind of device. They will definitely be going for the high end market so that includes the people that wear rolexes. What is always going to be a problem with a device that small is battery life: What I'd like to see is a screen unit perhaps half the thickness of the 6th gen, with a shell and luxury-style wrist band made out of liquid metal, and inside each segment of the band is one cell of the battery, to the point that the total battery capacity is actually greater than the 6th gen nano. Apple alone has the battery shaping experience and industrial design to pull this off.
 
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nikicampos

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2011
818
330
gorskiegangsta said:
How do you know? Have you seen/used the device yet?
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Come on, how naive are you, it will be a small thing, not powerful enough as an iPhone/iPodTouch, it will only be a revamped iPod Nano with some speedometer/gps/motion sensor like able to connect to an iPhone and received push notifications via 3g (And i'm not that sure about the 3G)

A tiny mini iPhone if you will.
 
motulist

motulist

macrumors 601
Dec 2, 2003
4,235
611
1. Just because they're buying up all the "iWatch" name rights around the world doesn't necessarily mean they're planning to actually release an iWatch device in the near future. Sometimes companies buy up particular naming rights just in case they decide to use that name later down the line.

2a. If it's basically just another iOS which you happen to be able to wear on your wrist, then it'll wind up being in the same category as AppleTV, meaning it'll be a nice additional accessory to complement a few people's apple ecosystems, but it won't set the world on fire.

2b. However, if they add additional features to it that none of us have thought about yet which radically increases the usefulness and/or fun of the iWatch, then it could potentially be a big hit.

IMO, if the iWatch happens at all I believe it'll fall more into the AppleTV category rather than the iPhone/iPad blockbuster hit category. But time will tell.
 
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nikicampos

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2011
818
330
motulist said:
1. Just because they're buying up all the "iWatch" name rights around the world doesn't necessarily mean they're planning to actually release an iWatch device in the near future. Sometimes companies buy up particular naming rights just in case they decide to use that name later down the line.

2a. If it's basically just another iOS which you happen to be able to wear on your wrist, then it'll wind up being in the same category as AppleTV, meaning it'll be a nice additional accessory to complement a few people's apple ecosystems, but it won't set the world on fire.

2b. However, if they add additional features to it that none of us have thought about yet which radically increases the usefulness and/or fun of the iWatch, then it could potentially be a big hit.

IMO, if the iWatch happens at all I believe it'll fall more into the AppleTV category rather than the iPhone/iPad blockbuster hit category. But time will tell.
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Thank you.

You put in words what I have failed to do.
 
jmpnop

jmpnop

macrumors 6502a
Aug 8, 2010
821
34
pgiguere1 said:
AFAIK they've all been as reliable as their updates. The worst problems I've heard were actually with updates (iPhone 4's antennagate, iPhone 5's scuffs out of the box, iPad 3's/2013 MBA's Wi-Fi issues, 2007 MBP's faulty GPU, 2010 iMac's yellow tinting…).

Or unless you meant feature-wise the second model will be significantly better.
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You forgot the 256MB RAM in the first iPad. It was clearly a business move that crippled iPad in web browsing and other tasks so people were forced to upgrade.
 
pgiguere1

pgiguere1

macrumors 68020
May 28, 2009
2,167
1,200
Montreal, Canada
nikicampos said:
First Generation = First time production of any brand new thing.

It's more than common knowledge, but not just Apple, almost every brand, you said it right, the iPhone 4 and 5 problems, they're considered first time productions, cars, the first year of a car after it changes model, cellphones every year, laptops with battery problems, the first production for xbox/ps3, the list can go on, and it more likely that it's the first production batch, they always rely on feedback and make the necessary adjustments for the line of production.
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If your definition of a first-gen product includes redesigns of existing products, then you might be disappointed to find out the second-gen iWatch is a redesign of the first, if it's like the iPhone 3G and iPad 2.
 
iZac

iZac

macrumors 68030
Apr 28, 2003
2,598
2,784
UK
Didn't Apple go around trademarking iPad / iSlate / iTablet a few months before announcing the iPad? Everyone was in a furore about what name they were going to chose.
 
springsup

springsup

macrumors 65816
Feb 14, 2013
1,227
1,223
frisken said:
I think these tech companies are going to get a huge shock when they enter the wearable accessories market ... I kind of wish Apple wouldn't be the first in on this one, let the competition make the mistakes and bring out a brilliant product further down the track.
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I'm not convinced of wearable electronics as a concept.

There has only ever been one example of a successful wearable electronic device: the watch.

It told you information that was crucial wherever you were, it didn't interrupt you, there was very little to configure and they were very slim to the point of being barely noticeable.

Then mobile phones happened, and the only reason to keep a watch with you was for nostalgia's sake, or because you were used to it. The younger generation universally ditched watches. It's been spreading though; fewer and fewer people carry watches.

I absolutely cannot possibly imagine what an Apple watch would do. I do know, though, that if it's anything like what we've seen so far (from Sony, Pebble, etc - essentially a timepiece with notifications) then it will fail.

If will fail because I already have all of that information, wherever I am, in a non-interruptive form factor that's slim to the point that I can hardly even feel it in my pocket through the day; it's my iPhone, of course.

Phones are better than watches. Why would anybody want to make another watch?

If Apple enter this market, they need to redefine what this gadget does. Telling the time isn't enough; it has to do something really useful that I can't do any other way if you want to convince me to strap it to my wrist.
 
Hastings101

Hastings101

macrumors 68020
Jun 22, 2010
2,339
1,460
K
I just don't see the point. I get notifications on my phone, the time on my phone.... why do I need this information to be on my person twice?
 
S

Shane1905

macrumors regular
May 21, 2012
204
1
UK
Anyone else thought of the possibility that iWatch could be the new Apple TV or related software. It 100% will not be called the iTv so maybe this is the next best thing and it has nothing to do with a smart watch?
 
H

Hamble

macrumors newbie
Feb 27, 2013
9
0
johndoejohndoes said:
Obviously watches have been around for a while. These Nike Fuelbands, Fitbits, Up, etc. have been around for over a year. Pebble as been around.

I guess what I'm saying is Apple needs to be the first BIG company in the industry. If Google or Samsung release something first Apple could be in big trouble since those companies normally ride Apple's coat tails.
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I wouldn't worry about that. Neither Google nor Samsung have a clue what to do, and won't make a move until Apple shows the way. That's been their modus operandi for the iPhone, the iPad and their laptops. They're too afraid of launching and failing, so they simply wait to copy...

Apple will be first, then Samsung and Google will copy as fast as possible and launch inferior products, while saying "We were always working on watches". And so history repeats itself.
 
M

Michael CM1

macrumors 603
Feb 4, 2008
5,681
276
frisken said:
I think these tech companies are going to get a huge shock when they enter the wearable accessories market ... I kind of wish Apple wouldn't be the first in on this one, let the competition make the mistakes and bring out a brilliant product further down the track.
Click to expand...

I'm wearing a Fitbit Flex right now. There are plenty of more advanced wrist devices already.

Apple certainly wouldn't be the first on this wagon. If Apple does actually make one of these and it's made like an Apple product -- basically so thin and light that you don't realize it's there -- then sign me up. I think it'll need a flexible display, because otherwise you'll end up with something too bulky as someone else's photos showed.
 
F

fruvos

macrumors newbie
Aug 9, 2010
8
0
Just thinking out loud (and somewhat laterally) but what if the iWatch trademark is actually for their television product .... ;)
 
S

Serban

Suspended
Jan 8, 2013
5,159
928
So apple can target even the people who wear rolex/longines/ck watches ?
Because i dont like to give away my stylish/mature watch for a smart/kid watch style. I just asking
 
wimbledonsound

wimbledonsound

macrumors newbie
Jul 4, 2010
16
0
fruvos said:
Just thinking out loud (and somewhat laterally) but what if the iWatch trademark is actually for their television product .... ;)
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That's what I thought, but trademark class 014 is for jewellery including "chronometers". Of course it could be a watch AND a TV... that would solve the remote issue (and my girlfriend with the remote issue...!)
 
T

Tyrion

macrumors 6502a
Oct 15, 2002
508
5
I'm probably just getting old, but the very idea of wearing a "smart watch" makes me cringe. At least for men, watches are the only kind of jewelry that is socially acceptable in any setting. Invest some money in a nice timepiece which you can bequeath to your son, don't wear a tacky touchscreen. My Omega will never leave my wrist for an iWatch (it might leave my wrist for a Patek if anyone feels like gifting me one :D).

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Serban said:
So apple can target even the people who wear rolex/longines/ck watches ?
Because i dont like to give away my stylish/mature watch for a smart/kid watch style. I just asking
Click to expand...

They obviously can't, because part of the attraction of these items stems from the incredible levels of fit and finish that went into them, the care, the craftsmanship... Even a Longines, which is basically a mid-tier brand using off-the-shelf ETA movements, is an impeccably crafted piece of jewelry, a work of art compared to a mass-produced "smart watch". (Yes, I know that Rolex and the Swatch Group also "mass produce" their watches and that these timepiece are no longer "hand-crafted", but there's still a lot of attention to detail and quality control involved. "Mass manufacture" means about 1 million watches per year, in the case of the most successful brand, i. e. Rolex. Apple would probably produce that many smart watches in a weekend).
 
D

donutbagel

macrumors 6502a
Jun 9, 2013
932
1
They're in before someone there makes the Internet Wumbo Associative Time Checking Hexagon and sues.

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nikicampos said:
Come on, how naive are you, it will be a small thing, not powerful enough as an iPhone/iPodTouch, it will only be a revamped iPod Nano with some speedometer/gps/motion sensor like able to connect to an iPhone and received push notifications via 3g (And i'm not that sure about the 3G)

A tiny mini iPhone if you will.
Click to expand...

Even IF what you say is likely, it's based on a lot of assumptions. Just saying, you can't state it like it's a known fact.

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swingerofbirch said:
I wonder it is that no one had been squatting on this name.

And if you get it, do you have to use it within a certain time frame before it becomes available again?
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This is something I'm also confused about. Does anyone have the answer? It seems like the thing to do is make "i"-everything and sell the rights to Apple. What if Apple wants to make a home automation system? They have to talk to iHome, the iPod dock company (though iHome is a legitimate corporation with good products).
 
D

Deankh2

macrumors newbie
Jul 2, 2013
1
0
Nevada
Am I the only one who thinks ALL of these smart watches are tacky and unattractive? I'll stick to my Tag Heuer...
 
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