WIRED FOR SOUND 

My Walkman was already old when I got it - a hand-me-down from my mother. I recall it (probably erroneously - although only slightly) being about the same size and weight as a housebrick.
The thing was so bulky that it came with a shoulder strap rather than a belt-clip, in order that it not yank your trousers down at inopportune moments. Its heft was such that if you spun round too quickly, the thing would fly dangerously about your person, causing you to send friends flying into walls, or turn hideous (but, at the time, weirdly fashionable) ceramic owls and field-mice into exciting three-dimensional puzzles.
Despite this, I loved the thing, with its giant clicky buttons, even as it chewed through batteries (and sometimes the cassettes it was supposed to be playing). It was this that cemented itself in my head whenever I thought ‘Walkman’, eclipsing any successors with their new-fangled shiny discs, MiniDiscs, and MP3s.

Similarly, Kodak Instamatic has an important place in history for a great many people, ushering in an age of relatively low-cost photography, and boasting form factors that were tactile, beautiful and approachable. Naturally, by the time I got my hands on one, it was already pretty old, but that merely somehow made it feel experienced and worldly wise.
This was a camera that had been places; it quickly became a cherished item - something magical that had a life of its own.

Old for old's sake?



At CES 2015, though, the modern-day interpretations of these classics bear little relationship to their forebears. Admittedly - at least from certain angles - you might initially think otherwise. The Instamatic certainly has an unmistakable form factor, and while there’s no such immediate familiarity with the Walkman, it nonetheless intrigues with its chunky buttons and textured matte black finish, emblazoned with a gold Walkman logo.
But flip these devices over and you’re abruptly wrenched back to the present, faced with touchscreens running Android. Naturally, this is about pragmatism, utilising a relatively freely available foundation in order to create new high-tech gadgets. But by encasing these items in retro clothing, they end up feeling a little hollow and soulless.
They’re neither one thing nor the other - not classic kit, nor anything truly new.
For the nostalgic, there’s a whiff of cynicism in the air, of trying to part old fools with their money. And for relative youngsters who never experienced a Walkman or Instamatic first-hand, you have to wonder whether these Android devices would have been better just shooting for being amazing in their own right.
As it is, while the originals were game-changers, these new tykes simply feel like more of the same. And truly, they are proof that in the world of technology, you can never go home again — unless you visit eBay.

Following the launch of its Band wearable, Microsoft is reportedly developing a fitness tracker that will sync with the Xbox One console's health and fitness apps.
The new Xbox One wearable has been all but confirmed and will launch sometime in 2015. Joe Officer, head of Exertis, an Xbox One component supplier, said to tech site PCR that we can expect to see a number of Microsoft wearable devices coming next year: "These will be linked to the Xbox One which has loads of health and fitness apps already in it - add that to real time heart rate monitors, health bands, scales and video sensors and users will have day in, day out, real time monitoring of themselves."
The Xbox One already features some fitness tracking features using the Kinect sensor, while Microsoft has also launched its own Microsoft Health service for monitoring your vitals. With wearable technology gaining traction all the time, a fitness tracker designed for use with the Xbox One console is the next logical step.
The original Microsoft Band is currently a US-only release, with no confirmation of whether it will be made available in other countries. Hopefully the Xbox One wearable will make it over to our shores at least. We'll have to wait until 2015 to find out.

Build quality is what you’d expect from Apple: light (very light) but strong, and slim, too.
The Apple Watch is not nearly as slim as the iPhone 6, and it’s flat, so in form factor it’s not radically different from the other smartwatches on the market. But Apple has been careful to keep it from looking bulky, and even the larger version didn’t look out of place on a dainty female wrist.
The dial – sorry, Digital Crown – looks less obtrusive in real life than it does in Apple’s promo shots. It’s smaller than the dials on most men’s watches, but it’s also very easy to access.
We’re going to use the phrase ‘knob feel’ here, so brace yourself: the Apple Watch’s knob feel is light, with very little resistance and no click. It’s a great piece of design, allowing you to move things on screen without covering them with your clumsy great prod fingers.

Screen

The screen is bright and crisp, and looked at from the kind of glancing angles you’d expect to look at a watch screen from – edge-on while riding a bike or balancing in a crowded train – words and pictures remained nicely readable.
While some of the watch faces look fantastic, this watch will never be able to ape posh fashion watches in the same way as the Moto 360. Well, not circular posh fashion watches, anyway.

Taptic feedback

The demo unit we tried on was running a loop of app demos, a couple of which (including the heartbeat-sharing app) used the ‘taptic engine’, as Apple calls it, or buzzer, as we’re going to call it.

We’re not exactly Haptic Feedback Review Monthly, but there is a difference between nuanced haptics and a flat buzz – Valve’s Steam Controller, for example, uses it to fool your hands into thinking you’re holding something with a different shape – and we think it’s an area that will become increasingly important as wearable tech becomes more popular.
The haptics in the Apple Watch have that sort of nuanced feel, with the heartbeat delivered as a softly detailed pulse.

Verdict

Is the Apple Watch a revolutionary piece of hardware? Yes and no. No, because it’s not a completely different kind of smartwatch, but as with all things Apple, the hardware – even if it’s nicer than anyone else’s – is only half the story.
As with the iPhone, the Apple Watch has a hulking great advantage in the apps department, something that was obvious from its unveling: where Google tends to talk about the amazing potential of Android Wear, Apple talks about big brands that are already signed up and making apps for its platform – apps to find your car, let you into your hotel room, control your smart heating or track and share your exercise, not to mention shopping with Apple Pay.
For that reason, the Apple Watch may be the device that brings the smartwatch to the masses and gets the wearable revolution revolving.

 

When can you strap in?

Apple's being cagey about when, exactly, you'll be able to slip an Apple Watch onto your wrist; it says only that the Watch will be available in early 2015. Prices will start at US$350 (Rs. 21,000), and it'll be available in three different variants: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition.