...Microsoft: Launching the Smart Watch Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, which initially sold operating system software for personal computers and, over time, expanded into office application software, web browser software, entertainment devices, and other technologies. By 2003, Microsoft generates over $32 billion in annual revenues and more than 54,000 employees globally, a worldwide leader in software, services, and Internet technologies for consumers and businesses. With the believe that a new software platform could be built for non-computer devices, Mitchell made a presentation to Microsoft management in which he reviewed the progression of computing platforms over time – from mainframes to PCs to personal digital assistants (PDAs) to cellular phones – and asked what could be the next platform in late 1999. Later, Mitchell formed a team and identified watch as the first SPOT-enabled device after a series research within the wearable market. At that time, there are already several watch manufacturers launched their smart watch, for instance, Seiko introduced its MessageWatch in 1990, Timex launched its DataLink Watch in 1994 and Motorola introduced a wristwatch word pager in 1997. Mitchell commented: “ The idea was quite visionary, but the technology just wasn’t there yet.” Therefore, Mitchell built the SPOT watch based on different aspects, content, the FM radio network, the software and microchips and the watch itself in order to maximum...
Words: 777 - Pages: 4
...Economics Project by YSR Raghav(14070) Introduction History and Evolution of Time Keeping Machines Watch is a small time keeping machine, historically worn on the wrist or attached on a chain carried in the pocket or around the neck for convenience. Timekeeping has a history dating back to ancient times. The first watch in the 15th century made was spring powered and was strictly mechanical, but with the technological advances this mechanism was replaced by quartz vibrations or electromagnetic pulses. Figure 1 shows the evolutionary era of the various time keeping machines/watches since 1300 BC from the sundial, water clock, to the mechanical wrist watches. Wrist watches became popular in 1920s, after soldiers came back from the World War I wearing military-issue ‘trench watches’, which were later discontinued as their told only the time. However, in mid 1970s, a novel calculator wrist watch came in the market and was widely used. In subsequent decades, pager watches and phone watches, appeared in the market but did not last for long. Then in 2004, Microsoft produced the SPOT watch, a 300 USD device that conveyed instant messages, stock up dates, weather forecasts and broadcasted FM radio signals. After a few years, this watch died due to marketing strategies. So today, the only surviving wrist watch from this cheerless era is in fact the original calculator watch, which currently retails for about 25 USD. In general, wrist watches have been categorized with respect...
Words: 2468 - Pages: 10
...Case Study: Microsoft Smart Watch 1. Is the Smart Watch a good idea? - first there is to state that the idea was very innovative even though parts of the technology were already available on the market Positive: - using the existing platform Msn in order to maintain the flow of information - not too expensive - further developed than the ones of their competitor such as Message Watch or the Internet Messenger Watch - just providing the technology and not launching the produduct on its own Negative: - too many system like the Internet or Cell phones were doing the same job better - the target customer were mostly in possession of either one of the mentioned items - monthly or annual pay - using a brand like fossil who just targets a market with lower income - the time when the product was launched was too late - the watch just was not as fashionable as they predicted - Smart Watch was nothing which was created out of the customers demand - A watch which needs to be recharged on a 3 to 5 day basis? The outcome definitely was that Smart Watch was a bad idea! 2. How have the SPOT developers come to believe in their product? Have they been objective? - the idea of the Smart Watch was developed during the research of inexpensive operating systems for “smart personal objects” - it has not been developed out of consumers demand! - Therefore customers have not been involved in the...
Words: 886 - Pages: 4
...9 -7 1 6 -4 0 1 JUNE 25, 2015 DAVID B. YOFFIE ERIC BALDWIN Apple’s Future: Apple Watch, Apple TV, and/or Apple Car? Since the release of the iPod in 2001, Apple had been probably the most successful technology company in the world. It revolutionized three businesses in the next 10 years: music, smartphones, and tablets. When Steve Jobs died in 2011, it was up to his successor, Tim Cook, to revolutionize the next set of industries. In 2015, Cook appeared to have three potential targets: watches (wearables), television, and cars. All three were bets on highly uncertain futures. Watches were off to a promising start in their first quarter of shipments, but it was far too early to declare victory. Television seemed ripe for disruption, but many firms had tried and failed to change the TV landscape. And cars, of course, represented the biggest opportunity as well as the biggest leap for Apple. Financially, Tim Cook and his team were unconstrained: Apple was the most profitable company on the planet in the fourth quarter of 2014, generating $18 billion in net income (Exhibit 1). However, Steve Jobs had famously said that Apple’s success came “from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.”1 The big questions for Tim Cook and his team included: Were watches, TVs,...
Words: 11550 - Pages: 47
...New Technology (Smart Watches) GS1145: Strategies for the Technical Professional By the end of this you would have learned about one of the newest technologies that will be available in 2014. I will give a description in detail about the new smart watches, their capabilities and the different manufacturers. The Smart watch was originally created by a San Francisco based company named Pebble which created the first prototype and released it in 2012. The original prototype was not very popular because of the glitches it had and the fact that it was not very durable at the time. Also because of the fact that most banks would not buy into the watch, the company had to raise money just to make the prototype. Small no name companies stepped in and started to give money until Pebbles was able to raise its first $100,000 and since then have now raised 5 million dollars to market the first 300,000 watches that are now in circulation. Companies like Martian, Fitbit and now Casio, Nike and Samsung have got involved in trying to perfect the watch. The Smart Watch currently needs to have a smartphone close by so that it can connect to Bluetooth and operate properly. Once connected to your cellphone, it will allow you to read text messages, alarms and alerts, connect to the weather and also be able to connect to GPS, so that you do not have to look at our cellphone while driving. The watches cost very from $14.99 and can reach as much as $400.00 depending on the maker, size, style and...
Words: 444 - Pages: 2
...Segmentation and Target Market Paper Positioning Statement The world has started to take on a healthier lifestyle. Watching what we eat and making sure to incorporate physical activity daily. In order to maintain these numbers many people have started to use technology to record the calories burned as well as monitor their heart rate while working out. Most people have a heart rate monitor and then have to record their information manually to another program in order to keep track of how well they are doing. Samsung has met with this issue by including a Smart watch called the Gear and the Gear Fit in which connects to its Samsung Galaxy 5 and automatically records information from your work out. The company has also included many other features that go along with the use of both its smart phone the Galaxy 5 and its Smart Watch the Gear and Gear Fit. Samsung has cornered the market with this innovative smart watch introducing a new way to stay fit and get healthy and making it easier to maintain records of all of your fitness endeavors. “Introducing Samsung’s first network-connected wearable.** So now you can make and answer calls when your phone isn’t nearby. You can also check texts, emails, updates— even stream and listen to music, right from your wrist.” (Samsung, 2014) Background “At Samsung, we follow a simple business philosophy: to devote our talent and technology to creating superior products and services that contribute to a better global society. (Samsung...
Words: 3181 - Pages: 13
...22, 2004 YOUNGME MOON The Birth of the Swatch Ten years ago, the people on the original Swatch team asked a crazy question: Why can’t we design a striking, low-cost, high-quality watch and build it in Switzerland? The bankers were skeptical. A few suppliers refused to sell us parts. They said we would ruin the industry with this crazy product. But the team overcame the resistance and got the job done. — Nicolas Hayek1 In 1993, Swatch was the best-selling watch in the history of the watch industry. In 1992 alone, it sold 27 million units, while cumulative sales surpassed 100 million units (see Exhibit 1). In addition, it was widely acknowledged that the entire Swiss watch industry had been on the brink of disaster when the Swatch had been introduced 10 years ago; the phenomenal success of the Swatch was considered by many to have been a key factor in its resurgence. At the management level, much of the credit for the turnaround had been directed toward Nicolas Hayek, CEO of the Societe Suisse de Microelectronique et d’Horlogerie (SMH), which controlled nine global Swiss brands including Swatch. Over the past 10 years, Hayek had led the way for the success of the Swatch by committing SMH to a business strategy that in many ways defied industry wisdom about how global watch companies should be run. This strategy was based on a strict commitment to vertical integration (the company assembled all of the watches it sold and built most of the components for the...
Words: 7176 - Pages: 29
... The Strategic Planning criterion examines how the company develops strategic objectives, * 4. The Information and Analysis criteria check whether the organisation has key metrics in place * 5. The Human Resources Focus checks the appraisal system, the work environment, and the * 6. Process management examines the product design, production and delivery process, and lessmore LinkCitationEmailPrintFavoriteCollect this page TITAN’S BRAND BUILDING AND BRAND REORGANISATION STRATEGY BACKGROUND Overview of the Indian Watch Market: The watch market in India recorded an approximate volume turnover of 23 million units...
Words: 6890 - Pages: 28
...(INDIA) E-mail ID: arati_bhogle@rediffmail.com ABSTRACT: With the advent of new technology, a revolutionary change is occurred in the watch market of India. Previously only a few brands were ruling the market. However with the passage of time and with the opening of free trade, there is no dearth of various national and international brands in the market. A few years ago, people used to buy watch, only to check time. However, now they buy not only to check time but also for fashion. In the present report an attempt has been made to analyze the two brands of the watch namely, Fastrack and Casio by using technique of SWOT analyses and covering aspects such as marketing environment, advertising and position. Keywords: Advertisement, current behaviour, SWOT Analysis ,market environment, fastrack, Casio. INTRODUCTION: 1. Fastrack Watches 1.1 HISTROY The journey begun on 1998 as a sub brand of Titan & went ahead as big as the parent brand. It came up when Timex split up with Titan. By 1998, Titan was one of the most trusted brands in watch segment. But, Titan had moved up the age spectrum. The youth associated the brand with their parents and stayed away from it. It was missing out on the 450 million potential segments for which it had no market offering. Titan recognized the need in the watch market – a reasonably priced watch for the youth between the age group of 15-25 years. Then it was spun off as an independent brand targeting the urban youth. Fastrack...
Words: 2828 - Pages: 12
...[pic] Business Plan May 2007 Disclaimer This document details Cliclock’s business plan for initiating a new portal for analogue wristwatches widgets that are built for desktop PCs, mobile devices and virtual wristwatches. Cliclock will create a market place for users to consume, create and enjoy high quality analogue wristwatch designs, both user generated and branded by commercial companies. The document outlines the need and the opportunity in the market, Cliclock’s unique solution, and benefits for users and watch manufacturers. The document also details financial forecasts of the proposed operation for the next 5 years based on assumptions, market data, and company’s opinions. The Business Plan is built to reflect in a reasonable and rational way, a plan that is accurate for a certain time, based on known information, assumptions and forecasts of the company. As all business plans, its results are based on information that was available at the time of preparation, by its accuracy, and its reliability and based on the assumptions made. Changes in the economical factors as well as additional information or various economic or business events, can change the assumptions and as a result also the conclusions. The business plan itself is not a guarantee for its execution. Therefore it is possible that...
Words: 8916 - Pages: 36
...INDUSTRY OVERVIEW 1.1. WRIST WATCH INDUSTRY Wrist Watches form an integral part of the personality of individuals in the present era. Earlier seen as a luxury item, they are now witnessing a fundamental change in perception, and are now gaining respect as an essential utility item. For the watch industry, time seems in its favour what with the liberalization of the Indian market coupled with the rising purchasing power of the young and consumerist Indians. Indian watches market was for long dominated by public sector organisations like Hindustan Machine Tools Ltd. (HMT) and Allwyn (also famous for its refrigerators once upon a time!), and has now left the pioneers far behind or nowhere in market by private sector enterprises like Titan, Sonata, Ajanta and Timex along with foreign entities jostling for display space in the smallest of shops selling these products. Before the establishment of HMT as the dominant player in the Indian markets initially, the country was solely dependent on imports to meet the internal demand. However, establishment of HMT as the leading player in the wrist watch segment in the 1960’s, changed the scenario. In post liberalization India, the market stood to witness intensive competition between foreign and Indian manufacturers like Timex, Titan, Movado, Longines, Rado, Rolex, Fréderique Constant, Mont Blanc, Swatch, and many others. Many watch makers have made significant inroads in the industry and others are in the process of establishing themselves...
Words: 11815 - Pages: 48
...My weekends are not so busy, so I can really relax. On satuday, I usually cook my breakfast by myself. In the morning, I often clean my room. Then I watch TV, read, and listen to music in the afternoons. After that, I usually play sport with my friends till the dinner. . I like playing sports, but I don’t have much time for it in working-days, so I often play sports more on weekends. After dinner, I do my homework while I listen to music. Last Saturday was busy. I got up later than usual on Sunday morning. After breakfast I went over to my friend's house and spent times doing homework there. We work till lunch-time. then I went home, had lunch with my parents and took an afternoon nap. Taking an afternoon nap is a pleasure that I can indulge in only on weekends. On weekdays I do not have time for it. The rest of the afternoon I helped my father in the garden. there're a lot of flowers and plants in our garden. We continued until darkness fell. After that I take a bath and help my mother repare the dinner. In the diner, my parents usually say some interesting stories so I really enjoy it. After dinner I watched television until it was time for bed. I often go to bed at 10 p.m to get up early on Monday. I like my weekends. My weekends is often fully filled with relaxing actions. I like playing sports, but I don’t have much time for it in working-days, so I often play sports more on weekends. My favourite sports is badminton. I often get up at 7am on Satuday and go...
Words: 355 - Pages: 2
...According to the research 71 percent of people have seen the adds and 100 percent of the merchants have seen the adds with Krysten Neiman. Most of the people that took the survey think that the ads are affective. Some agree that it makes them proud to be wearing an Aquine watch. The other suggestion was that the quality of the watches was falling and that that had been affecting the sales of the watches. According to our data 60 percent of Aquice owners have the certified watches. The majority of the people surveyed though that the certification was proof of quality and they also agreed that they were willing to pay more for the quality. People surveyed were willing to pay between $1,001 and $1,500 for the chronometer (SOCC) certified watches. So my conclusion is that we should invest money in purchasing a Poising machine to poise the balance wheel that determines the accuracy of the movement in various positions. We also need to invest in purchasing movement holders that help in better assembling the watch that in turn improves the movement of the watch in different positions. Lastly I also recommend that we invest in purchasing a timing machine that is used to diagnose movement performance of a watch while it is being assembled. Our customers know our product and they are willing to buy it. This indicates that we don’t need to improve our advertisements or choose another spokes person to endorse our product. Our customers are interested in buying our products but...
Words: 388 - Pages: 2
...Submitted By Group 2: Arunava Maity, Firoj Kumar Meher, Parvez Izhar, Pooja Sharma 1940’s- The Swiss dominated the watch industry because of their centuries-long history of jewelry-making expertise. Prior to the 1950s, watchmaking was a craft that required the skills of a master jewelry maker combined with the expertise of a micromechanical engineer. 1945’s-By 1945, The Swiss accounted for 80% of the world’s total watch production and 99% of all U.S. imports. 1951-Emergence of Low Cost Competition. U.S. Time introduced a line of disposable watches bearing the Timex brand name. Timex was selling its watches through a variety of low-priced outlets such as drugstores and discount houses. By the end of the 1950s, one out of every three watches bought in the United States was a Timex, 1970 –By 1970’sTimex was selling more watches than any other manufacturer in the world. 1970’s- During the same time, several Japanese companies like Hattori-Seiko and Citizen—had taken over the Asian market and were trying to cover up Europe and North America. As a result, the Swiss share of the global market declined, from 80% in 1946 to just 42% in 1970. The Introduction of Quartz Technology * Made use of quartz and integrated circuits * Provided Accuracy, more sophisticated functionality, more features like day & time·, Digital display, Analog watches. * Cheaper in cost of manufacturing. * A wide Price range, starting from $8 to $20, today even below $5. * Introduction of analog...
Words: 1898 - Pages: 8
...1950’s. They say that even back then a lot of television was filled with destructive acts. From talking to my grandparents television was not as much of a necessity as we believe it to be today. Being the society that has to be entertained around the clock, we just do not think about what is going into our children’s heads. It seems to affect children more, because their behavior patterns are still developing, and are very vulnerable, and we don’t want them to develop into what they see on TV. Children who watch television a lot of the time become less aware to the pain and suffering of other people around them. If they are always in front of the tube, and just sit there, and soak in all of that bad stuff they are seeing, they become not as aware as they should be. When terrible acts of violence happen in the children’s life that do watch a lot of TV, they are not as aroused by the acts going on in front of them. It is not as disturbing as it would be for a child who does not watch a lot of violent television. A study was shown that a child who had watched a violent television show such as The Power Rangers, rather than a nonviolent show like My Little Pony, were slower getting involved when they saw a younger child getting beat up or playing...
Words: 740 - Pages: 3
