This $400,000 Pocket Watch Can Run for 1,000 Years

---

The Uwerk Zeit Device UR-1001, which retails for 345,000 Swiss Francs ($400,000), is one the world's most exquisite, intricate and expensive pocket watches. It's a watch lover's holy grail.

Swiss watchmaker Uwerk, which specializes in brawny-looking, high-end mechanical watches, unveiled the UR-1001 last year, but the device remains something of a wonder today.

Sporting 51 jewels, the UR-1001's steel body encases a modern marvel of mechanical expertise. It uses an usual set of gears and cubes to display accurate months and dates for an entire year and also features a day/night indicator. In fact, the mechanical "programming" even lets the watch accurately change dates between months with 30 days and months with 31. According to the video above, you'll only have to adjust the watch date once a year: in February, which usually lasts only 28 days.

The most impressive part about the UR-1001, which measures 4.17 inches x 2.44 inches x 0.9 inches, may be Urwerk's estimation of its lifespan. On the back is a 100-year dial; when it hits 100 years, a second linear calendar counts centuries, up to a full millennium. Just imagine an iPhone or Galaxy device with a similar dial.

Perhaps the UR-1001's only drawback is that it's not a self-winder. It can run 39 hours on a single wind, though, and its power reserve indicator includes a "red warning" zone to remind its owner when the pocket watch needs winding.

How much would you pay for a pocket watch that you could potentially give to your great-great-great grandchildren?

Report by : Lance Ulanoff

Microsoft Is Developing a Smart Watch, Report Says

---

Microsoft is reportedly joining Apple, Samsung and LG in the race to develop a smart watch.

The software giant is working on designs for a touchscreen watch device, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited anonymous executives at suppliers.

In early 2013, Microsoft asked Asian suppliers to ship parts for a potential watch-style device, the executives said. One source added that he had a meeting with Microsoft's research and development team at its Redmond, Wash. headquarters.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request to confirm reports.

The company is no stranger to wrist computing. It previously collaborated with Fossil and other watchmakers to create the Smart Personal Object Technology, which was a watch that could link to a user's PC computer via a cable. SPOT provided stock, weather and other updates.

Rumors that Microsoft's competitors are developing smart watches have also swirled online. Sources inside Apple's Cupertino, Calif. headquarters confirmed in February that the company is working on a wristwatch made with curved glass.

A Samsung executive said last month that the Korean electronics giant has been "preparing the watch product for so long."

And for its part, LG is also getting into the smart-watch game, according to sources.

Report by : Anita Li

Google's SmartWatch patent approved

---

Back in 2011, James Brooks Miller and Richard Carl Gossweiler III had filed a patent on behalf of Google. Now, according to Gizmodo, the patent has finally been approved. The patent is for Google’s own attempt at making a smart watch, much in the vein of Sony’s SmartWatch. Going by the description of the device on the patent filing, it would sport two screens, one at the top, and one that you get when you flip open the top.

Google's SmartWatch patent gets approved

According to the patent filing, “A smart-watch can include a wristband, a base, and a flip up portion. The base can be coupled to the wristband and include a housing, a processor, a wireless transceiver, and a tactile user interface. The wireless transceiver can be configured to connect to a wireless network. The tactile user interface can be configured to provide interaction between a user and the smart-watch. The flip up portion can be displaceable between an open position exposing the base and a closed position concealing the base. Further, the flip up portion can include: a top display exposed when the flip up portion is in the closed position, and an inside display opposite the top display. The inside display can be concealed when the flip up portion is in the closed position and be exposed when the flip up portion is in the open position”. More details on the patent can be found here.

Back in April, Google had unveiled its web-based digital project – Project Glass. The experimental 'augmented reality' glasses - from the same team that is developing self-driven cars - can snap photos, initiate video chats and display directions at the sound of a user's voice. The prototype digital glasses, unveiled on the company's Google+ social network on Wednesday, are still being tweaked and tested, and are not available in stores yet. "We're sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input," Google wrote in a post on a Google+ page devoted to Project Glass.

Google Chief Executive Larry Page has cut down on many of the projects and products underway at the company since taking the reins a year ago. But he has defended Google's commitment to working on "speculative" projects that could one day turn into "billion-dollar businesses," though he has stressed the company isn't "betting the farm" on such efforts.

The glasses could provide a way for Google to more closely entwine its advertising-supported online services, including Web searches, maps and email, into people's daily lives. The glasses also could help Google match some of the buzz that rival Apple Inc has generated with its latest iPhone and the built-in Siri digital assistant, which takes spoken commands to do such tasks as schedule calendar appointments and get weather forecasts.

---

Report by: Shunal Doke