Pebble Technology returns to Kickstarter to crowdfund and/or open preorders for its next generation smartwatch-- the Pebble Time, an update featuring a colour ePaper display, microphone and a revamped "timeline" user interface.

Like the first Pebble, the Pebble Time features four physical buttons and requires connection to a smartphone (via Bluetooth LE) for actual usability. However it replaces the monochrome ePaper display with a 64-colour version, while the stainless steel body is slimmer and slightly curved to hug the wrist better.

Battery life clocks at around 7 days, making it superior to just about every other alternative on the market.

Sony claims regular micro SD cards are not good enough for the most demanding of audiophile customers as it launches the SR-64HXA, a micro SDXC card boasting to offer "Premium Sound."

What makes the SR-64HXA audiophile-grade? As Sony puts it, the card "reduces electrical noise generated when [digital music] is read" through "thorough management of parts and materials."

However such (supposed) quality comes a price-- specifically 18500 yen, or around $160.

The iPad mini is the first device to get physical on-screen buttons from Tactus Technology with the Phorm, a screen protector able to pop-up a physical keyboard whenever the user needs to type.

Described as a "morphing tactile surface," the technology uses "tiles" (Tactile Pixels) to turn specific areas of the screen into squishy tactile buttons via micro-fluid. Once the keyboard is not needed the keys disappear with the flick of a trigger. The technology is technically not too new, having made its first appearance back at CES 2013.

However one has to note the keys only work while holding the device in portrait mode, but Tactus says it is working on a case offering both landscape and portrait support.

Swatch plans to launch a smartwatch within the next 3 months Bloomberg reports, meaning the near future will see the Swiss watchmaker duke it out against the arguable big boss of all smartwatches, the Apple Watch.

In an interview Swatch CEO Nick Hayek says the Swatch smartwatch (SmartSwatch?) will rival the Apple Watch in more than its simply being part of the device category-- it also features an NFC-based mobile payments, one the watchmaker is in talks about with as yet unnamed retailers. The device will be Android- and Windows-compatible and "won't have to be charged," a possible dig against the Apple Watch's reportedly short battery life.

Swatch owns a number of patents covering watch-related technologies, including long-lasting, bendable batteries, displays and sensors, which Hayek says will find use in “numerous innovative project launches in all segments."