Pebble

The Strata from MetaWatch is a waterproof smartwatch that connects to your iPhone or Android handset via Bluetooth. You can receive calls, texts, e-mails, and Facebook and Twitter notifications via the watch, as well as use the integrated running and cycling app to track your workout.

Developers can also use the open-source software development kits for the watch, which is listed on the crowdsourced funding platform Kickstarter, to create Strata apps and widgets.

If you think all this sounds familiar, that's because the Pebble does exactly the same thing. … Read more

Samsung apparently has difficulties with the color blue.

The "pebble blue" variant of its highly anticipated Galaxy S III smartphone faces delays due to issues with getting the color and its newly invented "hyper-glaze" process, according to several reports. Despite launching today in various markets in Europe and the Middle East, the blue version faces delays of two to three weeks.

Samsung warned that there would only be a short supply of the Galaxy S III due to the complicated hyper-glaze process, Mobile Fun reported on its site.

CNET has contacted Samsung for a comment. We'… Read more

My watch is an iPod Nano. It's not perfect. In fact, there are many ways I'd like it to be better. But, it works. It also looks cool.

Those are two seemingly small details that are in fact quite major when considering a smart watch these days. "Working" is a matter of opinion and design in some cases, but the point is that the iPod Nano-as-a-watch does exactly what you think it does, and it does it well. So far, that can't be said for Sony's SmartWatch, a confusing remote for Android phones that ends up doing less than you expect it to, yet somehow is hard to even work in that limited capacity. I had a chance to try one out here at CNET, and was surprised at how Sony's solution was good-looking, but a complete slave requiring Bluetooth and an Android phone to get anything done -- even tell the time. That's a problem. A good watch can't mess that part up.… Read more

There's a very interesting sociological experiment going on over on Kickstarter right now, where the Pebble smart team watch has unwittingly tested the old notion that you can't have too much of a good thing. Apparently, though, you can.

That's right -- Pebble doesn't want any more of your money. It's drowning in cash. Earlier this week, with 75,000 watches already spoken for, it announced that only 10,000 more would be made available in exchange for a pledge of cash (essentially a preorder). Now they're all gone. All reward levels that would earn supporters their own smart watch are now all sold out.… Read more

How do you make the phone of the moment even more enticing? Layer on accessories.

Samsung has just announced the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, followed by mention of a slew of accessories that range from several protective covers to a desktop dock -- and even a wireless charging player and an MP3 player.… Read more

The Pebble smartwatch is the hottest thing going...that no one can get their hands on yet. The "e-paper watch for iPhone and Android" won't even be available in prototype form until August, but already it's landed its first partner -- the fitness tracking app RunKeeper.

According to a post on the RunKeeper blog, the app's users had been clamoring for Pebble support, so when RunKeepers creators were approached about a partnership, they jumped at the chance:… Read more

Imagine raising $7 million from nearly 50,000 strangers in a matter of weeks. That's the power of a growing trend toward crowd funding, as demonstrated by the most successful Kickstarter campaign yet.

The Pebble watch syncs with iPhone and Android smartphones to deliver e-mail, text messages, and calendar alerts, among other things. Dubbed the "smart watch," Pebble's journey to becoming the most funded Kickstarter project to date is not exactly a Cinderella story, but it's impressive nonetheless. … Read more

Katie Linendoll returns to the show with big news! She recently entered the Guinness World Records book for slapping the most high fives in a single minute, leaving a certain clown in her dust. Check it out on "All Access Weekly," Katie's new show on Spike TV.

Katie always brings engaging talking points to the show (not to mention the best gifts), and today she has an opinion about the lack of women in the tech scene. She offers suggestions on how the U.S. education system can start a grassroots movement to expose young people to … Read more

Smart watches are not a new concept.

In June 2003, Microsoft announced its grand plan to bring the Internet to wristwatches using its Smart Personal Objects Technology. The company partnered with various watchmakers, including Citizen, Fossil, and Suunto, to create timepieces that allowed you to check messages and calendar appointments, as well as weather, news, stock prices, and sports scores, all from your wrist.

While novel and interesting, the watches never took off, and in April 2008, Microsoft decided to pull the plug on the smart-watch business. But were those watches really a bad idea or simply a case of an idea being ahead of its time?

It may be the latter, as smart watches seem to be making a comeback.… Read more