Pebble has graced its popular e-paper display-based smartwatch with a firmware update that brings full character support to display notifications in a range of languages, and has also updated its Android app to allow any app to beam notifications.
The new firmware now allows for Pebble watches to display notifications in 80 languages, handling special characters like “ß” and “Ż” correctly, instead of displaying ‘unknown character’ boxes in their place.
Version 2.1 of the Android companion app allows devices running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and newer to push notifications from any app, and lets users select which apps they want to receive notifications from. Users can also now end ongoing calls, and the company said the app’s performance and reliability had been improved.
Pebble’s iOS app has also received a small update, that lets users access all the latest JavaScript apps from the Pebble appstore.
The Android app update will be rolled out today in phases, with access expanding to all users over the next couple of weeks.
➤ Pebble [ iOS / Android ]
Read next: Paypal Launches an App for Pebble Smartwatches
Consumer version of Oculus Rift VR headset ready to arrive in ‘months’, says CEO
Oculus VR CEO, Brendan Iribe, told the audience at Web Summit 2014 in Dublin, that a consumer-version of the company’s Rift VR headset is “close”. While he understandably declined to offer a timetable for launch, he says the latest version of the headset, Crescent Bay, is “largely finalized for a consumer product.”
But while the headset may be ready, the full consumer package is still a way off. Iribe says: “We’re all hungry for it to happen. We’re getting very close. It’s months, not years away, but many months.”
The big challenge remains developing an effective input device. Iribe says keyboards, mice and gamepads aren’t up to the job and neither is gesture-control at this point. Oculus acquired Carbon Design , the designers of the Xbox 360 controller in March.
Iribe says the company has changed significantly since it was acquired by Facebook in March . Operating as an independent subsidiary, Oculus has grown from 75 people to over 200 employees and now operates a separate R&D division.
Asked about the threat of rival VR products, Iribe said his main concern is shoddy implementation: “We’re a little worried about bigger companies putting out products that aren’t ready. Disorientation and motion sickness is the elephant in the room. We’re encouraging big companies not to put out a product before it’s ready.”
So when will Oculus feel that it’s ready to launch to consumers? “We’ve gone out there and set this bar and said, ‘We want to get it right,'” Iribe says, “We don’t want it to be four or five years. We’re eager for this to happen.”
Image credit: Oculus
The Apple Watch will be available in ‘early 2015’ for $349
At its event in Cupertino today, Apple announced the Apple Watch . The company wouldn’t give a specific release date, merely saying that it would be available in “early 2015” for $349.
“And it is worth the wait,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said on stage. “We think people are going to love to use Apple Watch, they’re going to love to wear it.”
The smartwatch requires an iPhone. It works with the iPhone 6 Plus, the iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, and the iPhone 5c. Not surprisingly, these are all the phones Apple plans to sell this year .
The Apple Watch comes in two sizes and in three models: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition. The $349 price tag is the minimum you have to pay, but depending on the size and model, your cost will go up from there.
Follow our full coverage of today’s Apple event.