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!