-Now, Google is making a smartwatch.
I'm Jeff Bakalar, and this is your CNET Update.
You didn't think Google was gonna sit the smartwatch party out, did you?
2013 will probably go down in history as the breakout year for smartwatches.
Since the Pebble watch made a splash at CES, we've gotten word that both Apple and Samsung are busy working on wearable tech that will talk to our mobile phones.
It should
come as no surprise then to find out that Google is now exploring the market with a watch based off its Android operating system.
There's no date on when to expect these watches, but for now, you can read reviews of ones that have already hit the market.
Head on over to CNET.com for our thoughts on the Pebble and Martian smartwatches.
In an interview with Reuters, HBO executive, Richard Plepler, said his company is contemplating offering HBO Go as a standalone product, available as a monthly subscription
to those who don't pay for the premium cable channel.
Customers could pay around $10 to $15 for the service and stream HBO content on most platforms.
This, of course, would cut into the company's current business model, so HBO says it'll need to "work out the math" before they roll something like this out.
CNET editors got their hands on one of the biggest products to come out of CES this year, that's the Razer Edge gaming tablet.
While there's no review yet, first impressions of
the tablet show that gamers will have to make some graphical compromises in order to play the latest games.
That said, the Edge is mostly a complete package that's ready to go out of the box.
Stay tuned for the full review.
Apple has slammed the ban-hammer down on a controversial game that hit the App Store last year.
Sweatshop HD is a real-time-strategy game that puts you in control of a production line where you're encouraged to ignore human labor rights and hire underage
workers to save money.
According to Apple, the themes in the game are "too uncomfortable to sell." And finally, RBC Capital Markets is reporting that Apple is planning on releasing multiple phones this summer including a watered-down version of the iPhone 5, called the iPhone 5S that will feature a plastic case and no Retina Display.
Of course, the phone would go for
cheaper and would help appeal to customers who don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a smartphone.
That's your tech news update for today.
You can find more details at CNET.com/update.
Please follow me on Twitter.
From our studios here in New York, I'm Jeff Bakalar.
