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Wearable Technology

Crowdsource, Jewelry, Wearable Technology

Crowdsource Watch: Elemoon LED Bangle

August 20, 2014

Elemoon LED Bracelet

A bangle with integrated LEDs has just hit Kickstarter. The Elemoon bangle features 75 individually controlled RGB LED lights that are capable of displaying practically any color of the rainbow. Designed to connect to your smart phone via Bluetooth LE, the colors of the Elemoon’s display can be altered to match whatever you are wearing. The designers also say to expect the device to display the time, though it is not official yet. The high-tech jewelry also packs some “smart” features for paring with your phone.

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by Doug Parker
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Watches, Wearable Technology

Netatmo’s June UV Tracker Starts Shipping

August 20, 2014

Netatmo June UV TrackerNetamo’s June UV tracker has begun to ship. We recently covered the device when we looked at various UV sensors on the market. Easily the best looking UV monitor to go to market, the device pairs with your phone via Bluetooth 4LE. The device’s app then tracks your daily UV exposure and alerts you when you need to don a hat, apply sunscreen, or seek shade. The $99 device has received some mixed early reviews, with complaints about connectivity issues and that it is not water resistant. We expect to post our own review on the device shortly, but in the meantime head past the break for Netamo’s video about the device.

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by Doug Parker
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Watches, Wearable Technology

Watch Strap Batteries Could Be Headed To Smart Watches

June 20, 2014

Watch Strap Battery

Engadget has an interesting look at a flexible battery in the form of a watch strap that was being shown at this years Computex.  Able to be seamlessly incorporated into a watch, the battery offers between 300mAh and 500mAh of additional power.  This extra power could make a meaningful difference in a wearable device where battery longevity is critical.  To put things in perspective the battery on a Pebble is 130mAh and the battery of a Samsung Gear 2 is 300mAh.  The 300mAh battery strap would conceivably allow a Pebble to go 16 to 23 days without a recharge.  Safety has also been addressed, 

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by Doug Parker
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Designer, Eyewear, Wearable Technology

Google’s First Designer Glass By Diane Von Furstenberg

June 20, 2014

Diane Von Furstenberg Google Glass

When you hear the name of iconic designer Diane Von Furstenberg chances are the first thing that comes to mind are wrap dresses, not technology.  Well, she is working to change that.  During Spring Fashion Week last year in New York, Ms. Furstenberg had her models walk with the devices, participated in a Glass filmed video offering a first hand glimpse of NYFW (see after break), and provided narration for it.  Now her relationship with Google is about to translate to a wearable item.

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by Doug Parker
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App, Wearable Technology

Apple Announces Wellness Aggregator Health

June 3, 2014

iOS 8 Health App

Apple announced its widely expected Health app at WWDC this week.  While differing slightly from the rumored HealthBook app, Health serves the same purpose.  Using the HealthKit APIs, developers can enable their medical or wearable device to communicate with the app.  Health will then aggregate the data from a variety of devices into one unified location.  The idea is that your calorie and sleep data from your FitBit will be next to your weight and MBI info from your Withings scale, which can be displayed with your iHealth glucose monitor readings.  Collecting data from various 3rd party hardware is great, but one can easily see the importance of the Health app if Apple’s health-centric smart watch becomes a reality.  

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by Doug Parker
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Eyewear

Google Glass Available To Order Again

May 19, 2014

Google Glass Available To OrderFollowing the “one day only” offering of Google Glass a little over a month ago, Google has made the $1500 eyewear available to order again.  This time though there is no 24hr deadline.  Google states that Glass is still very much in beta, but that they want to open the experience up to a larger group of people.  Perhaps the company is trying to gauge what the total interest in the device when not limited to one day of sales.  Another scenario is that Google is trying to clear inventory to introduce a more design-complete model.  The controversial device returns on sale as analysts have begun to release cost-to-build numbers.  

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by Doug Parker
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Watches, Wearable Technology

LG Teases Upcoming G Watch In Promo Video

May 13, 2014

LG G Watch

LG is expected to officially announce their upcoming smart watch, the G Watch, at a press event on May 27 in London.  This week the South Korean company launched a teaser video of the device.  While the video offers little new information, it does provide a nice rundown of what we already know.  To recap what is known: it will run on the Android Wear platform, it will be water and dust resistant, and it will be always on.  Head past the break to see the video.  

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by Doug Parker
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