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CES 2015

Garmin Vivofit 2 Signature Series Bands
Wearable Technology

Garmin Unveils Updated Vivofit With Designer Bands

January 8, 2015

Garmin Vivofit 2 Signature Series Bands

Garmin has unveiled a (slightly) updated version of its Vivofit band, the Vivofit 2. While visually identical, the new unit offers audible “move” alerts and a stopwatch feature. What hasn’t changed is that it still offers a reasonably priced, waterproof fitness tracker with an excellent battery life. With such a limited feature upgrade, if you have ever been interested in the Vivofit, now is a great time to pick up the original at a discounted price. Perhaps the more interesting new associated with the Vivofit 2 is the launch of designer wristbands, including stainless steel, leather, and Jonathan Adler designed ones. These new bands will happily be compatible with the original Vivofit. Prices will vary on the new bands, but they should start at $50 when they launch.

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by Doug Parker
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Wearable Technology

Misfit Partners With Swarovski For Fashionable Tracker

January 8, 2015

Misfit Swarovski Shine TrackerOne of the almost universal complaints about wearable devices, especially devices for the wrist, is that they are not appealing to female customers. Misfit, who already makes some of the best looking fitness trackers on the market, has partnered with Swarovski to release a line of crystal ladened trackers. The partnership, which began over 17 months ago, has led to a crystal version of Misfit’s Shine tracker and 9 accessories. The accessories include a strappy bracelet in 3 colors, 3 different pendants, and 3 different wristbands. If you received a shiny new Misfit Shine for Christmas, don’t worry, you can attach your tracker to any of the new accessories. In case you are not familiar with Mifit’s trackers, they are small disc-shaped devices with 12 LEDs encompassing them. They are able to track overall activity, steps, calories, and sleep quality. By forgoing a display, the Misfit Shine is able to achieve a 6 month battery life.

The Swarovski partnership has also produced in a new solar powered model of the Shine. This version features a violet crystal and should result in a battery that never needs to be replaced.

Starter sets of the Swarovski / Misfit Shine range from $169.99 to $249.99, while the accessories range from $69.99 to $149.99. They are currently available for preorder from Misfit for March delivery. They will be available from Swarovski in the Spring. Head past the break for the launch video.  

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by Doug Parker
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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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Shoes

Skechers Merges Footware And Gaming

January 8, 2015

Sketchers Simon SneakersSkechers has decided that shoes just aren’t enough fun. So at CES the company unveiled a sneaker that has the classic 1978 game Simon integrated into the footwear. In the 37 years since the memory game was introduced, Simon has gone from Frisbee size (running off of 2 D cell batteries and a 9-volt) to being able to be integrated comfortably into the side of a pair of shoes. Unfortunately for those of us who get easily bored commuting on the train, the shoes are only available in kid sizes for the time being. The boys version of the sneaker includes the original version of Simon while the girls version trades out the classic buttons and layout for 2 rows of flower shaped buttons. Expect to find the Simon Skechers on shelves in February for $65.

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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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