Apple iWatch 'at least three years away'

Last month, unnamed insiders were cited as saying that a team of 100 Apple
staff – headed by senior executives – had been assembled to work on the
product, implying that the iWatch was "beyond the experimentation phase".

Apple's senior director of engineering, James Foster, and another manager are
part of the iWatch team, also according to Bloomberg.

Earlier last month, The
New York Times, citing “people familiar with the company's
explorations”, reported that the iWatch design would let
the watch link wirelessly to the iPhone and allow wearers to easily
access some of the features of the smartphone.

An Apple watch could be used to make mobile payments, for navigation, to
access messages from the wearer’s phone or to monitor health and activity,
the newspaper speculated. It would run iOS, the same mobile operating system
as the iPhone and iPad, the report said.

Separately, The
Wall Street Journal reported that Foxconn, Apple’s main
manufacturing contractor, had discussed technologies that could address some
of the technical challenges of such a device. In particular it had
concentrated on making more efficient displays and chips, which could allow
a smart watch to run for longer without recharging, the report said.

Speculation about the device has led to numerous mock-ups
of how the iWatch might look.

The latest reports follow rumours
that emerged from China late last year.

Local technology blogs claimed Apple was building "a device using Intel chips
and new low-power Bluetooth technology".

A 1.5-inch touchscreen or Apple’s voice assistant Siri would be used to
control the phone, the blogs said.

Apple and Foxconn declined to comment.

Apple already makes money from wearable computing thanks to third party
accessories. Device’s such as Nike’s FuelBand and Jawbone Up are worn on the
wrist and transmit data on daily activity to the iPhone via Bluetooth. Tim
Cook has been spotted recently wearing a FuelBand.

Google has meanwhile already confirmed it plans to get into the wearable
computing market. Google
Glass, its augmented reality spectacles, are already in public
testing.

Source:
http://www.news.ezonearticle.com/2013/03/03/apple-iwatch-at-least-three-years-away/