Apple Watch hits NZ ahead of time
Early adopters buy gadget before its July 31 launch
Kiwis keen to get their hands on an Apple Watch early can pay a premium and buy one through a parallel import store.
While three Noel Leeming stores are listed on Apple’s website as the only bricks-and-mortar stores to get the product in Auckland when it launches on July 31, Parallel Imported — which has three shops in Auckland — has been selling the devices for the past few weeks.
Parallel Imported’s website lists a variety of Apple watches for sale, some for an additional $100 on what they will go for when they officially launch.
Parallel Imported’s Candice Fuller said prices would reduce when the devices went on sale elsewhere.
One shipment of the hightech timepieces had sold out but Ms Fuller could not say how many it contained, citing commercial sensitivity.
Come July 31, New Zealanders can buy the product directly from Apple’s website and will pay $599 for the sports version and $21,000 for a rose gold version.
Whether there is much appetite for the watch here is another story, with one expert
Hsaying it will probably attract only “early adopters” and executives.
Technology commentator Peter Griffin said with an entry level price of $599, the Apple Watch was an expensive product.
“I see it remaining the domain of executives and early adopters for the time being,” Mr Griffin said.
“There’s good scope for bundling deals with iPhones and other Apple products. But it is a first generation model and experience with other smart watches, such as the Samsung Gear, shows that innovation progresses rapidly.
“By the time consumers really warm to this thing, a couple of generations of watches will have passed and hopefully the price will have come down.”
But there is scope for bargain hunting wannabes. New Zealanders are already ordering lookalike versions of the watch from Chinese retail giant AliExpress for US$54 ($82).
The official Apple device includes a rectangular touchscreen face, sensors to detect pulse rates and other healthrelated features, and must be paired with an iPhone to work properly.
The watch was released in April to excited crowds, but last month sales for the watch had fallen by 90 per cent.
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technology The Kiwi who has topped the French Scrabble world, without actually being able to speak the language, has floored many of the board game’s French fans.
Nigel Richards, originally from Christchurch, defeated a rival from French-speaking Gabon in the Francophone Scrabble world championship final in Louvain, Belgium.
He won the competition, at the Elite Classic, by beating Schelick Ilagou Rekawe, winning two of three matches: 370-427, 484-376, 565-434.
Scrabble blogger Dzibz said in an online post that Mr Richards could have won his first game, if time hadn’t run out. He said Mr Richards, who lives in Malaysia, had an
Most common mortals would have been happy to play
the word choque [shock], somewhere, to get rid of the Q.
Dzibz, Scrabble blogger
unfortunate collection of letters on his first go.
“Most common mortals would have been happy to play the word choque [shock], somewhere, to get rid of the Q even if it opened up the grid.”
But the scrabble player refused to take the easy route, he said, instead making a play that closed off the grid to his competitor.
Dzibz said it was likely Mr Richards would have won the first round thanks to his “stroke of genius” if the timer had not prevented him from doing so.
In the second round, Mr Richards, who memorised a French dictionary within nine weeks, refuted the use of the word furetees (snooped), which was deemed invalid for linguistic reasons.
To round off the final match and take the win, the New Zealander ended his round with a move that was typical of more seasoned French players, placing the word enouat (unknot) under regnants (reigning) to form three two-letter words.
Mr Richards received a standing ovation after his win — but needed a translator to thank his audience.
— Corazon Miller