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Wearable Technology

Watches

Lenovo’s Striking E-Ink Fitness Band

January 8, 2015

Lenovo Vibe Band VB10Lenovo’s new E-Ink based, curved screen fitness band is one of the most striking uses of E-Ink in a wearable we have seen to date. The Vibe Band VB10’s power-sipping screen is housed inside of a metal case, has a rubberized strap, and weighs a mere 30grams. Thanks to the E-Ink screen you can expect around 7 days of battery life from the $89 fitness band. The VB10 is able to track steps, calories, distance, and sleep quality in addition to receiving notifications from your smartphone, via Bluetooth 4.0. If all that wasn’t appealing enough at that price point, it is also waterproof. Unfortunately when the fitness band launches in April it will not be coming to the US. Lenovo currently has no plans to bring it to the US market.

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by Doug Parker
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Watches

Guess Tries To Stay In The Game, Launches First Smartwatch

January 8, 2015

Guess Connect SmartwatchGuess is still ticking and fighting to remain relevant. In those hopes the company has teamed up with Martian Smartwatches to produce the Guess Connect. The company is trying to improve Connect’s odds in the market place by basing it off of Guess’s most popular watch design, Rigor. The watch operates as two separate entities, a clock and a small notification screen. The clock is a standard mechanical setup with a replaceable battery with 2 year battery life. The notification screen recharges via micro-USB and will have a considerable shorter battery life. While you loose a lot of the interaction Android Wear devices provide, you can also have faith that you will still be able to read the time at the end of a long work day. The Connect is expected to be able to display push notifications and have some form of voice control. It should launch sometime this summer for around $300.

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by Doug Parker
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Narrative Clip 2 & iON SnapCam
Wearable Technology

Two New Lifelogging Cameras Debut At CES

January 6, 2015

Narrative Clip 2 & iON SnapCam

Ever dreamt of a small wearable camera to take photos of everything you do all day? While not for everyone, the lifelogging product segment seems to be maturing.

Narrative launched the 2nd version of their camera this week and iON launched a new camera. The creatively named Narrative Clip 2 is the same form as the original Narrative Clip and still takes 2 photos a minute. The innards of the product have been drastically updated though. The camera has moved from 5megapixels to 8 and has a wider angle lens (86.5 degrees). Battery life has been improved and it has also gained wireless syncing via bluetooth and WiFi. The Narrative Clip 2 costs $199 and will ship later in 2015.

iON also launched SnapCam, a wearable lifelogging camera that takes a different approach. Instead of automatically taking photos throughout the day, SnapCam is designed to take photos on demand. Simply tap the camera and it will capture an image. Sounds a lot like a normal camera to us, but iON claims the small, wearable design with a .1 second delay from tap to photo makes it a compelling camera to journal your life with. Perhaps the most interesting ability of SnapCam is its ability to live broadcast HD video, but the battery exhausting feature is hindered by using up an entire charge in 1 hour. The SnapCam costs $150 and will ship Spring / Summer 2015.

Head past the break for videos of both units.

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by Doug Parker
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Eyewear

Sony Shows Off Its Vision Of A Wearable Display

January 6, 2015

Sony AttachSony’s vision of a wearable display allows you to attach the device to whatever your eyewear of preference is. The Sony Attach is designed to be a stand alone unit that you attach (surprise) to your own glasses. Unfortunately, for the time being there is a large caveat: it has to be a compatible set of eyewear. But the company promises a host of mounting options (including adhesive) that should provide a fairly broad swath of compatible frames. While this is great news, I would be hesitant to expect anything compatible from any Luxottica brands (the company is both a Google Glass partner and developing its own smart devices with Intel). Sony’s Attach is very similar to Google Glass, providing a micro-sized screen in front of the right eye. The device on display at CES is not a finished product, so it is not clear how one interacts with the device, how much it would cost, or if it will even make it to market.

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by Doug Parker
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Wearable Technology

Smart Pacifier Helps Track Your Baby’s Health

January 6, 2015

Pacifi Smart PacifierWhile not usually considered haute couture, I guess you could call the ubiquitous pacifier our first fashion accessory. At CES this week Blue Maestro unveiled “My First” wearable device in the form of Pacifi, a smart pacifier. The silicone pacifier features an integrated thermometer and bluetooth transmitter. It connects to an app on your smartphone and monitors your baby’s temperature. The real time reading is shown on your phone and can be shared with a doctor. If your child is sick, the app can also remind you to administer medication. No one wants to lose a $39 pacifier (or the child attached to it), so the app also alerts you if you are more than 30 feet away from the device, stores its last known location, and can emit an alarm from the pacifier. Since oral temperature readings are not always the most accurate, Blue Maestro has allowed for Pacifi to be calibrated against a more accurate thermometer. Pacifi is classified as medical equipment and will go on sale following regulatory approval, which is expected in Europe shortly and during the first half of 2015 in the US.

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by Doug Parker
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Hexoskin Junior
Clothing

Hexoskin Launches Shirt For Kids

January 6, 2015

Hexoskin JuniorFor the obsessive parent, or overachieving youth, Hexoskin has announced the launch of a junior sized version of their activity monitoring shirt. If you have a child that demands to know what their VO2 Max is, then this is the device for you (look how happy the kid in the press photo looks). Just like the adult version, the Hexoskin Junior monitors heart rate variability, heart rate recovery, breathing volume, and breathing rate in addition to steps, calories, and sleep. The shirt has wires integrated into the fabric that monitor your vital information and relay it to a small box on the shirt. The box can either store the information for later or stream it via Bluetooth 4.0 to your mobile device. Hexoskin Junior is on sale. You can purchase it as a starter kit for $379 that includes everything you need or if you already have a Hexoskin “box” you can purchase the shirt for $149.

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by Doug Parker
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Watches

Withing’s Analog Fitness Tracker Now For Less

January 6, 2015

Withings Activite Pop

How do you feel about saving $300 on a device and not loosing any functionality? Well, then Withings’ Activité Pop is for you. Functionally identical to its $450 brother, the $150 Activité Pop sheds the leather band and high-end black or white watch faces for silicone and colors (sand, black, and blue). Like the original, the tracker is practically indistinguishable from a traditional time piece. The analog dial and appropriately sized face make the Activité family look like plain old analog watch. The only giveaway is a smaller second dial that shows your progress towards your daily activity goal. Inside, the device couldn’t be more different from your traditional analog watch. Activité monitors your sleeping, swimming, running, and walking and has a vibrating alarm to gently wake you. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth 4.0 and automatically adjusts to time changes. Perhaps the killer feature that will drive the Activité Pop onto users’ wrists is an astonishing 8 month battery life through a traditional, replaceable watch battery. That combined with an understated design and reasonable price could mean that the Activité Pop has was it takes to be a break out hit for Withings. Head past the break for Withings’ launch video:

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by Doug Parker
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