European 'iWatch' Trademark Holder Plans New Android Smartwatch
Irish firm Probendi is seeking to capitalize on Apple's announcement of the Apple Watch earlier this year by using its existing "iWatch" trademark in Europe to launch its own smartwatch device. Probendi director Daniele Di Salvo confirmed in a recent RTE Radio interview that the company will "absolutely push ahead" with its plans to build a smartwatch device that will compete with the Apple Watch, reports news site Herald.ie.
Probendi owns an iWatch trademark in Europe and has been using the iWatch name for health and safety communication software. Di Salvo acknowledges the company's existing iWatch software product, but notes that "the name is easily associated with a smartwatch" when discussing the company's future plans.
It is unclear, however, how Di Salvo will be able to extend use of the iWatch name to a smartwatch, as the category protection for the company's trademark is somewhat limited within the computer software classification. Numerous other companies, including Apple, have filed for protection on the "iWatch" name in a variety of classifications and countries, something that may have contributed to Apple's decision to use the "Apple Watch" name for its product.
Speaking to RTE Radio, Di Salvo refused to comment on any potential discussions with Apple about the trademarked name, but did confirm that the company is in talks with Chinese manufacturers about producing a smartwatch device.
"We have been contacted by some very important manufacturers in China about the possibility of manufacturing a smartwatch and selling them with the name iWatch. Discussions are still ongoing. We are good at software but hardware is definitely not our business but we are evaluating this request," Mr Di Salvo said.
Di Salvo's iWatch will feature a square design, a touchscreen, GPS functionality, and an accelerometer. It reportedly will run the Android operating system, with support for fitness, health tracking and other apps. According to Bloomberg, Di Salvo is looking for manufacturers to assemble the device at a cost that is lower than the Apple Watch's $349 entry-level price.
Popular Stories
Due to production issues at Apple supplier factories in China, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are backordered and basically out of stock at every store. If you were planning to gift or receive an iPhone 14 Pro model for the holidays and didn't already get one, you're basically out of luck because they're gone until late December.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Thursday December 8, 2022 2:45 am PST by
Sami FathiApple yesterday announced that end-to-end encryption is coming to even more sensitive types of iCloud data, including device backups, messages, photos, and more, meeting the longstanding demand of both users and privacy groups who have rallied for the company to take the significant step forward in user privacy.
iCloud end-to-end encryption, or what Apple calls "Advanced Data Protection,"...
Apple plans to publicly release iOS 16.2 for the iPhone in mid-December, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The update remains in beta testing for now, with at least eight new features and changes already uncovered so far.
iOS 16.2 introduces a number of new features, including Apple's new whiteboard app Freeform, two new Lock Screen widgets for Sleep and Medications, the ability to hide...
With the iOS 16.2 release candidate that came out today, Apple added the new Apple Music Sing feature that was announced earlier this week. We thought we'd check out the new karaoke feature to see how it works.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple Music Sing is available on modern iPhones and iPads, as well as the newest Apple TV 4K. It's built in to the Apple...
Apple is aiming to launch an Apple-branded consumer-oriented vehicle by 2026, and its goal is to hit a price point under $100,000 to make the car appeal to a wider range of customers, reports Bloomberg.
Apple initially planned to design a car that might look similar to Canoo's Lifestyle Vehicle, where passengers could face one another in a limousine-style car with no steering wheel or...
iOS 16.2 is expected to be released next week following nearly two months of beta testing. With last-minute additions like Apple Music Sing and Advanced Data Protection, the software update now has over a dozen new features for the iPhone.
Below, we've recapped many of the new features coming with iOS 16.2, including Apple's new whiteboard app Freeform, two new Lock Screen widgets, the...
Tuesday December 6, 2022 7:09 am PST by
Sami FathiApple today announced Apple Music Sing, a new feature in Apple Music that lets users sing their favorite songs with adjustable vocals and more.
Apple Music Sing will utilize Apple Music's real-time lyrics to allow users to sing to their favorite songs using adjustable vocals, background vocals, and duet view to allow more than one singer.Apple Music Sing includes:
Adjustable vocals: Users...
Twitter plans to charge $11 per month for a Twitter Blue subscription on the iPhone in order to account for the 30 percent cut that Apple takes from in-app purchases, reports The Information. On the web, Twitter Blue will be priced at $7 per month.
Prior to when Twitter Blue was paused, Twitter was charging $7.99 for a subscription, but the pricing will change before it relaunches. According ...
Apple today announced it is expanding end-to-end encryption to many additional iCloud data categories on an opt-in basis for enhanced security.
iCloud already protects 14 data categories using end-to-end encryption by default, including the Messages app when backups are disabled, passwords stored in iCloud Keychain, Health data, Apple Maps search history, Apple Card transactions, and more,...
Top Rated Comments
If they actually name it iWatch, people are just going to type "iWatch" into google and it'll direct them to Apple's website.
Probendi: the bendable watch for pros.
:rolleyes:
Nice.
All joking aside, I feel that the trademark issues is one of the reasons Apple is moving to the ":apple:Product" nomenclature. They own "Apple" globally, so they don't have to go through these kinds of battles with every single new product they release.
What do you do?