Hot on the heels of the sale of a pristine Super Mario 64 for a record $1.5 million, Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer has announced it is getting into the gaming market with the launch of a connected Super Mario watch.
Limited to only 2,000 pieces, the Wear OS-enabled watch features an animated Mario on its face, who will not only greet you in the morning with a cheery salute, but will, according to the brand, become “livelier and more animated the more the wearer is active".
The character will be reactive, with different animations playing when the user reaches 25 per cent, 50 per cent, 75 per cent and 100 per cent of their set fitness goal, as encouragement.
Other familiar elements from the popular video game will feature, too, as the Pipe, the Super Star, the Goal Pole and the Super Mushroom emblems all make an appearance.
At 3 o'clock, the Super Mushroom makes the animated Mario grow, while at 6 o'clock, the Pipe allows him to travel fast. At 9 o'clock, meanwhile, the Super Star that makes the beloved character temporarily invincible lights up.
Anyone who reaches 100 per cent of their daily step target will be rewarded with an animation of Mario climbing the Goal Pole, in what Tag describes as "another iconic feature of the video game".
Even when the wearer is not being active, he or she can enjoy Super Mario features with a choice of four watch faces.
One features a depiction of Mario’s cap, while another, called the Timekeeping dial, will have "retro elements from the 1985 version of Super Mario Bros with Mario". A third option rotates through different elements of the game.
The watch hardware, too, has been given a Mario makeover. With a 45-millimetre case, the push buttons, bezel and crown are all in Super Mario red, while the crown also sports a large M-for-Mario logo.
The watch will come with two interchangeable straps; one in black leather, and the other in perforated rubber in bright red. Even the travel case is in the familiar red tone.
In addition to the Super Mario features, the watch will operate like any other Wear OS device, giving access to Google Assistant, the calendar and weather, as well as offering fitness tracking and wellness apps.
The new watch is expected to go on sale on Thursday through selected Tag Heuer boutiques and online.
THE%20HOLDOVERS
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
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- Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
- La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
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Perera 47; Sohail 2-18
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
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How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
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West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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- 600-seat auditorium
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Started: October 2023
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Sector: E-commerce
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Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
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