This thread won't, but there are a number of very influential analysts who seem to be driving this story. The usual news magazines and outlets regurgitate them, and the story gains more traction. I met someone from Belgium last year who was absolutely 100% dead convinced that Apple's iPhone 5 would have a curved screen. I told him that was rot, and the only time you can be absolutely sure that such a thing exists is when it's on stage with Tim Cook at a product launch. He was absolutely convinced because it had been on TV and was all over the Internet.

For the record, the iPhone 5 does not have a curved screen.

Some speculate that It's a form of stock market manipulation - the best time to buy Apple stock would be after a product launch where fabled iUnicorn fails to be announced, and the best time to sell is before.

The parts that need constant power are a timer for generating wake-up interupts (like a normal watch - fine) and the BLE receiver for alerts. An inertial accelerometer could be designed to use zero quiescent power and activate the screen only when needed (as Jonbwfc suggested).

Apparently BLE now use a tiny amount of power: "In many cases, products will be able to operate more than a year on a button cell battery without recharging."

From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_low_energy

So it's not unrealistic to expect months of life from a very smart design, and a week should be no problem. Life mostly depends on how big the battery can be, and "natural" charging techniques could be used. Piezoelectricity generated from flexing the watch strap for example.

I like the idea of bathing the planet in electromagnetic radiation which can be used to power things. You could do it with a giant nuclear fusion reactor up in the sky. Maybe I should patent that before Apple do?

I guess the reason kinetic charging is more popular for watches than solar is because people wear sleeves. Damn my cunning plan, foiled by fabric...

Plus nobody would have a clue what time it was 10 months of the year in Manchester.

LOL!

1st August -
What time is it?
Lemme check... it's 1pm.

13th December -
What time is it?
Lemme check... winter.

Though with the low energy demands it could get by with the few minutes of sunlight as it is looked at. Then there could be a kinetic dynamo to charge it as you move.

It wouldn't be worth it for a few minutes. The display would use more power than the solar cells generated in that time, unless they go for a black and white reflective LCD like most watches have.

I'm going to imagine that the same conversation that's been going on here has also been going on in Cupertino.
Along with a bunch of other things, like the putative Apple TV set, and the just-made-up-right-now Apple Sandwich Toaster.

Difference is, Apple have money to do R&D on something like this. And perhaps, they've come up with something. Perhaps they'll shelve it until the economy catches up, or the materials needed drop in price, or simply until they deem the time is right - possibly just after the peak of the tablet brouhaha we're currently experiencing.


ION, I quite want want one of these.

The one I really want is there's this campfire gadget thing. Looks like a large tin can on a tripod. You burn twigs and leaves and what have you (the web page simply refers to 'biomass' which sounds somewhat ominous) inside it It acts as a stove which will heat up your dinner or whatever and the heat also generates electricity. It's a stove with a USB port you can charge gadgets off...

Course, the only time I'd use a stove like that, I"m miles and miles away from any mobile phone signal. But it's be useful to run a music player off.

ERMAHGERD, they do a grill addon.

This watch thing is rumoured to be along the lines of a Blake'7 teleportation bracelet.
That can only be a a win, right?

Mark

That does look great for camping, or even just for fun in the garden.

However, it doesn't make much electric. 2W continuous and 4W peak. That's from a fire producing about 4KW of heat. Now it is a useful amount, but it won't charge most devices at anything like full speed. You'd need to keep the fire going for many hours for a full phone charge. 2AA batteries for a small torch would take about 7 hours. You could only charge one device at a time.

I'm not saying it's not useful. You don't always need a full charge; just enough to get through the day. It's just that 2W seems quite mean given all that available power.

Yes.

I wonder if they saw *that* episode of Blue Peter

I certainly did. (8+)

Mark

That is awesome!

The electricity generated is used not just for the USB but also to power a small fan which draws in air from through the battery container which acts to cool down the electrical components and to increase airflow to the fire which in turn makes the fire burn hotter and faster.

I may have to purchase that.

Same here. It is genius.