Category

Wearable Technology

Watches, Wearable Technology

Motorola Officially Launches Moto 360 Watch (UPDATED)

Moto 360 Goes On Sale

 

UPDATE: Despite very mixed reviews, according to reports the Moto 360 sold out from all retailers within an hour of launch. There is no word on the number of units sold.

Starting today you can pickup a Moto 360 Android Wear smart watch for $250 at Best Buy stores or via the Motorola or Google Play online stores. There will be a $300 version with metal band released this fall. The watch was originally announced back in March but details such as price and battery life were only made available today. When the device was originally announced, its unique round design stood out against the competition. Six months later though, the watch’s “flat tire” shape has lost some of its original appeal, with LG recently having announced a truly round device. While the Moto 360 has an appealing feature set, its battery life apparently cripples the device.

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Designer Versus Brand Name Wearables
Wearable Technology

Designer vs. Brand Name: Is One More Important To The Success Of Wearables?

Brand vs DesignerIf you were to look at the product announcements coming out of IFA 2014 this week, you likely would believe that wearable technology was one of the hottest and most successful technology product segments out there. Sony has introduced its 3rd generation Smart Watch and Samsung has announced their 6th smart watch. Everyone is throwing their hat in the ring, so much so that the market is starting to get flooded with “me too” devices from companies such as Epson and Garmin. But the truth is that the segment has yet to have a break out hit. Nike and Fitbit have seen significant traction with their fitness bands and Pebble set Kickstarter records, but none are breakout stars, and Google is struggling to find public acceptance for Glass.

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Jewelry, Wearable Technology

Rebecca Minkoff Teams With Case-Mate On Wearable Tech

Rebecca Minkoff Wearable TechAnother designer is throwing their hat into the ring of wearable technology. So far we have seen Diane Von Furstenberg Google Glass, Tory Burch Fitbits, and Ralph Lauren Polo Tech shirts, now Rebecca Minkoff is launching two wearable bracelets. The bracelets will debut at the designer’s New York Fashion Week show on September 5th. Following the trend established by other fashion designers, the technology is being designed by an outside company, in this case Case-Mate. Specifically designed not to look tech-y, the bracelets give up functionality for the sake of design.

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Wearable Technology

Apple’s Sept 9th Event Is At Site Of Original Mac Announcement

Apple Invite 9.9.2014

Apple has sent out invitations for the previously rumored Sept 9th press event. The invite features nothing more than a softly lit white Apple logo and the coy tagline of “Wish we could say more,” offering very few clues about what to expect. The location of the event is notable though. It is scheduled to take place at the Flint Center For The Performing Arts in Cupertino. This is vastly larger venue that Apple has only rarely used in the past (almost 2500 seats vs Yerba Buena Center’s 750). In fact, it is the venue where the original Macintosh was introduced 30 years ago. To add even more intrigue, a temporary 3 story structure has been constructed for the event at the Flint Center and, according to reports, is surrounded with security personnel. Image of the structure past the break:

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Watches, Wearable Technology

LG And Samsung Announce New Wearables Ahead Of Schedule

LG G Watch R Samsung Gear S

Hot on the heels of the news that in two weeks Apple likely will unveil their first entry into the wearable market, both LG and Samsung have announced new smart watches. Both devices represent firsts in smart watches. The LG device was not planned to be announced until next week at IFA 2014, with the company likely feeling pressure to announce something to distract from the Apple rumors. The LG G Watch R is a sharp looking device that marks the first 360 degree screen in a wearable (the Moto 360 is flat at the bottom). The screen is a 1.3inch Plastic OLED display that LG promises is viewable in sunlight. From the press images, the device appears very similar in look to a traditional watch. The G Watch R is a full featured Android Wear device with heart rate monitor. It is scheduled to ship sometime in Q4.

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Wearable Technology

Apple Rumored To Unveil iWatch Device at Sept 9 Event

Apple iWatch Rumor

While we don’t love to report on rumors around here, without question the elephant in the room of wearable devices is Apple’s forthcoming watch/band. It seems like the cloak of secrecy will finally be lifted at the company’s September 9th iPhone event. Extremely little is known about the rumored device, but Apple has been on a hiring spree over the past few years. They have hired medical sensor experts, key members of Nike’s Sports Band team, and high ranking luxury fashion personnel. Similar to the original iPhone, it seems Apple is poised to announce the product months before shipping in an effort to stem leaked information from the supply chain and FCC. iOS 8 is believed to be integral to the wearable, with technologies such as HealthKit and HomeKit rumored to be tightly integrated. Handoff and Continuity, both new with iOS 8, could also prove important. Let us know what you think the announcement will bring in the comments.

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Clothing, Wearable Technology

Ralph Lauren Announces Polo Tech Smart Clothing (UPDATED)

Ralph Lauren Polo Tech Smart Shirt

UPDATE: The official website is now live, including a 2015 release window and a sign-up to be notified of updates.

Today Ralph Lauren has announced the launch of a new brand, Polo Tech.  Polo Tech represents the fashion mainstay’s first foray into smart clothing. The black T-shirt has silver threads woven into the fabric. These threads track and then transmit biometric data to a small black box on the shirt that also captures movement information. The black box then stores the data until the user syncs it to the accompanying app. If all of this sounds awfully familiar, it is because this is basically a rebranding of OMsignal’s shirt, which we covered earlier this year. The company has partnered with OMsignal to deliver the technology portion of the clothing. Ralph Lauren promises to expand the Polo Tech line over the coming months, suggesting that a dress shirt is also in the works. Hopefully it will not be as skin tight. While there has been no pricing announced yet, you can see the shirt in action starting this week.  

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