News: Retailers don’t want Apple Pay, Lenovo Smartband, Myriam Joire no longer with Pebble

This weekend we have some great gossip and a new announcement. Apple Pay is not very welcomed, Lenovo has a new wearable and Myriam is out of Pebble.

Some retailers not supporting Apple Pay

Apple Pay is exciting. Not because it’s a great innovation, as we have seen mobile payments in the past, but because Apple can make mobile payments mainstream. The Cupertino giant is great at that, but it seems this time around they may have a harder time with the adoption of Apple Pay.

Major retailers like Walmart and Best Buy won’t be supporting the new system, as they are working on their own mobile payments system, named CurrentC. Rite Aid and CVS are also disabling their already-working NFC readers, which proves the battle will be fiercer than we expected.

Opinion: Apple is going against some retailer giants here, and without good support no mobile payment system will be able to stay standing. Can we really blame the retailers, though?

Lenovo Smartband reaches official website

Lenovo joins the wearable tech market with its new Lenovo Smartband. This device falls under the health and fitness tracking category. It doesn’t offer many fun or productive features, as it is focused at young users who want to take care of their health.

The device can track your activity, sleep, calories, heart rate and more. The application can then create graphs for you, and you can set up reminders. There is one very cool feature, though, you can set it to unlock your computer when in close proximity.

Opinion: The Lenovo Smartband is plain and simple, and it does what it’s supposed to do. We don’t know the price yet, though, and that will be an important decision factor.

Myriam Joire no longer with Pebble

In an unexpected turn of events, it seems former Pebble Tech Evangelist Myriam Joire has been stripped of her position at said company. Some of you may know Myryam as TnkGrl, a very popular personality in the tech community.

This comes as a surprise even to her, who seems to have found out the news in a shocking manner.

Opinion: We have no details on the reasons or circumstances that led to this decision. Regardless, we know Myriam did a great job and we consider her a great friend in the industry. Wishing it all turns out OK, TnkGrl!

News: multiple iWatch versions, OnePlus One delayed in Europe, Play Books & Movies expands to many countries

New rumors of the legendary iWatch emerge. All while OnePlus sees delays and Google services are expanded to new countries.

Apple could release multiple iWatch versions

New rumors reveal Apple’s long-awaited iWatch will probably not come as a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s said the new smartwatch could come in multiple versions, with different screen sizes. The device would have about 10 different sensors, mostly for health tracking and monitoring.
The rumor also states Apple will be shipping 10-15 million units before the end of the year, with a release possibly coming in October. This goes right in line with yesterday’s rumor, making the possibility of an upcoming announcement much more viable.
Opinion: It seems Apple is putting a big focus on health, but we are hoping they can find a good balance with functionality. After all, Apple is well known for its pps and functionality.

OnePlus One delayed in Europe

The OnePlus One has seen a good deal of launch issues, but Europeans will probably dislike this one even further. A batch of OnePlus One units have been shipping to Europe, but it seems something is holding them at customs. Other units have also been returned to the manufacturer.
There seems to be a 2-week delay due to a change in the phones back logo. OnePlus wanted the font to match the rest of the device, which Europeans won’t simply allow without the right procedures.
Opinion: Can we just get things right, OnePlus? We are seeing a lot of disasters coming with this launch.

Google Play Books & Movies reach new countries

It’s always exciting to see Google’s services reaching new markets. Today, Google Play Books and Google Play Movies are reaching a long list of new countries. Check them out below.
Google Play Books

• Bolivia
• Costa Rica
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Uruguay

Google Play Movies

• Albania
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Estonia
• Greece
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Lao People’s Democratic Republic
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Moldova
• Poland
• Slovakia
• Tajikistan
• Thailand
• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan

Opinion: We know how annoying it can be to see the USA getting all the goodies while you have to wait
  extended periods of time. This is not only an amazing expansion, but also a sign of better things to come. Enjoy!

iPad event confirmed, Google Nexus 4 future, Amazon HTC phone & more - Pocketnow Daily

Transparent Smartphone Prototype by Polytron Hands On Video

Transparent display’s are coming and we are hardly able to control our excitement that Taiwanese company, Polytron Technologies, is working to produce a completely transparent Smartphone. We went down to Taoyuan about 35 min from Taipei by the airport to check out a prototype of their transparent Smartphone.

Polytron is working on getting the hardware components of the Smarpthone up and running, there is no software running on the prototype as its main goal is showcase the early stages of hardware integration and to get OEMs excited about the potential of Polytrons technology. This is an interesting beginning for something that most consider a piece of tech that we would only see in Sci-Fi flicks. As you can see from the photos below it is totally transparent. Well, as transparent as current technologies will allow, there are some prototypes for transparent batteries out there, but SIM cards, SD cards and microphones aren’t quite there yet.

Taking a closer look at the Smartphone hardware that isn’t transparent, the most glaring is the SD card, to minimize the visual impact the SIM card will be placed directly above it as you can see in the close up below they’ve left a gap. Powering this technology demo is 2 small batteries to demonstrate that they will be able to transfer power to various components, in the video below you can see Sascha switch the LED on. At the top we’ve got a camera, speaker and a microphone.

Since this is smart glass technology they will be able to cover up the bottom portion of the handset with an opaque filter where all of the non-transparent technology will be crammed in.
Polytron has a huge history of Smart or Switchable Glass and they are looking to apply this know how in new and innovative ways. If you’re curious about some of the technology behind this Jetson-esque handset Ploytrons Polyvision’s Smart Glass technology becomes transparent from a cloudy white state when turned on. When the Power is off, the liquid crystal molecules are randomly oriented which scatters incident light and the glass then becomes opaque. When electricity is added into the mix the liquid crystals line up and the incident light is able to pass through making the glass look clear.
Polytron has some big dreams as they are looking to have fully working prototypes up and running and possibly in limited production by the end of the year.
For all of you naysayers out there who complain about not being able to find your phone let alone being able to find a transparent phone, I ask would you ever let such a beauty leave your hand?