After months of speculation about a smart watch,
Apple has applied for an “iWatch” trademark in Japan, Fox News reported.
A document from Japan Patent Office's website says the trademark application was filed June 3, according to Fox. The news of the filing broke last Thursday.
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At the “All Things D” tech conference in May,
Apple CEO Steve Cook did not confirm the company’s development of an iWatch, but said that he found wearable gadgets “profoundly interesting.”
"There are lots of wearables in this space now. The ones that are doing more than one thing — there's nothing great out there that I've seen. Nothing that's going to convince a kid that's never worn glasses or a band or a watch or whatever to wear one," he said at the conference.
A team of about 100 designers at
Apple are reportedly working on the iWatch.
Apple could use a new successful product to boost profits. While Apple beat analysts’ expectations for second-quarter revenue, its stock price declined more than 44 percent, angering investors.
The company has matured and its rate of growth slowed, Reuters reported, while competition from cheaper models has increased.
Apple is said to be working on other devices as well, including a TV.
In the meantime,
Apple may face competition with its iWatch, as Samsung is reportedly developing its own.
Forbes technology columnist Tim Worstall thinks watches are an old-style technology, but he also says Apple may be able to change that perception with a great design.
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“[T]he smartphone generation are much less likely to wear a wristwatch than those that came before them. Why bother when you’ve your phone with you always and the display will always tell you the time? he wrote.
“Then again, one of Apple’s great skills is in taking something that already exists and then sprinkling their design pixie dust over it, so who knows?” he added.
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