Category: Smartwatches/Bands

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Smartwatches/Bands

Watcher watch watches what warrants watching

Consumers are still trying to figure out exactly what the relationship will be between the smartphone and the smartwatch. However, one popular task that smartwatches can help us with is sensing more about our environment.

In the case of Watcher, that might include things that are in danger of possibly leaving one’s environment. The smartwatch has a number of features common to smartwaatches — an e-paper display like the first Pebble, notifications from a smartphone, and basic step counting. However,  Watcher can also track up to five objects in its proximity via a low-power RF system. These might include a wallet, kids, pets or keys.

A thermometer add-on is also available for, say, monitoring a baby’s temperature. Watcher also can track how long it’s been next to another Watcher for something it calls “sweet time.” It’s a feature similar to the main reason for another recent Kickstarter watch, Serendip.

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Smartwatches/Bands Wearables

Swimmo smartwatch tracks pool performance, encourages strokes of genius

Perhaps the advent of the Apple Watch isn’t the be-all and end-all of smartwatches after all. At least until its app library fills out, there’s still room for specialized wristwear to make a splash.

patent-claimedEnter Swimmo, a smartwatch focused solely on the swimmer looking to increase strength and improve form. The OLED-equipped wearable is designed to be fully waterproof so as to work perfectly while tracking the length and intensity of each session. To do so, it captures everything from speed, distance, lap times, and heart rate, vibrating to alert users when to speed up or slow down in order to maintain a beneficial level of intensity to achieve set goals — all without having to interrupt the swim to take a look. The multilingual device uses  a patent-pending Rotate&Tap maneuver to keep things as streamlined as its users wish to be.

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Smartwatches/Bands

Emvio watch lets you know when it’s time to calm down

A number of smartwatches and other bands can measure heart rate, but they’re generally focused on fitness activities.

As previewed last month, Emvio is a specialized smartwatch that eschews apps and general notifications in favor of the primary task of measuring your heart rate variability as an indicator of stress level. As such, rather than use fancy color e-paper or LCDs, the watch face is a thin LED strip on a square slab that displays basic numbers. Rising stress levels are noted with a vibration. These are sent to a smartwatch that tracks stress levels over time and offers suggestions on how to calm down. The campaign owner, Darta Systems, seeks to raise $250,000 CAD (about $198,000 USD) by April 21st. Emvio watches cost $206 CAD (about $159 USD) although the campaign is offering early bird pricing as low as $167 (about $129 USD).

Emvio joins a number of products such as last fall’s successfully crowdfunded Olive smartband and the more versatile Spire wearable that measures breathing. But in an era where more smartwatches are measuring heart rate, much of its functionality could wind up being incorporated into an app.

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Smartwatches/Bands

Neptune Suite makes the smartwatch the center of your digital life

editors-choiceLots of companies are hopping on the smartwatch bandwagon these days. Most, like the Kickstarter record-setting Pebble Time watch, are accessories to smartphones; others include a  and make them standalone devices.

However, no family of products has done as much to elevate the smartwatch as the king of all devices as the Neptune Suite. Montreal-based Neptune, which first found crowdfunding success exponentially crushing its Kickstarter goal for the chunky Neptune Pine, has switched to Indiegogo with a bangle-like smartwatch called the Neptune Hub. It’s packed with technology. But that’s just the beginning of the Suite’s story.

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Smartwatches/Bands

Comfortably watch video on your wrist with the Blu smartwatch/smartphone hybrid

Most smartwatches on the market look fairly similar, with screens typically too small to be used for viewing items like video or mapping directions.

patent-claimedThe makers of Blu have created a bendable and wearable smartphone/smartwatch that’s worn like a bangle around the wrist. The device features a flexible 5-inch by 2-inch HD OLED display capable of covering a user’s full wrist. With such a design, the device is able to incorporate an overlapping clasp that allows the Blu to fit users with wrist circumferences ranging from 5.5 inches to 8.5 inches.

The waterproof Blu also features an invisible 360-degree speaker system which emits sound from all around the wrist. Another notable feature of the device’s futuristic design is a light bar which can be incorporated into application functions for games, social media apps, and even standard mobile phone notifications. Adding a dash of customization, the light bar’s colors can be user-adjusted. Blu will cost $799 when it ships in May and its maker is hoping to raise $600,000 AUD (~$468,700 USD).

Blu has several unique features that separate it from the growing smartphone pack and its distinctive look will likely appeal to many consumers. That said, its industrial design may prove to be off-putting to many, especially those who don’t want something so large around their wrists.

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Smartwatches/Bands

After devouring folding keyboards, FlyShark takes on the smartwatch

A common knock against most smartwatches is that their most significant functions, such as making phone calls, can only be used when a paired smartphone is nearby.

Following their successful campaign for a sleek folding keyboard accessory for smartphones, the makers of the FlyShark Smartwatch have set out to remove this codependence from smartwatches. Specifically, the FlyShark Smartwatch can make private calls and send and receive messages all without requiring users to touch their smartphones. Generally, the FlyShark Smartwatch can function independently so long as there is a Micro SIM card installed.

Like other smartwatches, it also functions as an exercise tracker and heart rate monitor. Unlike the soon to be released Apple Watch, FlyCatch also features a built-in camera. Other features include dual Bluetooth 3.0 and 4.0 support. The campaign, which seeks $10,000, will remain open until April 1, 2014.

FlyShark has some nice features, but the jury’s out on just how much appeal there is for a smartwatch whose main selling point is its independence from the smartphone. Many consumers on the market for a smartwatch, after all, likely already own a smartphone. It’s therefore a little hard to see how FlyShark can compete against popular brands like Samsung, LG, and Apple.

 

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Smartwatches/Bands

Pebble Time arrives in time to go head-to-head with Apple Watch

The first Pebble smartwatch was so popular when it launched via Kickstarter in 2013 that its maker couldn’t supply enough to satisfy demand as it set a record fundraising. But, since then, Apple has created more buzz in the smartwatch category than any smartwatch to date. Pebble fans have likely been wondering what the company would do to remain relevant.

The new Pebble Time, being launched via another Kickstarter campaign, offers various enhancements over the two prior Pebble smartwatches, including certain unique features that not even the Apple Watch can claim. An example is the smart accessory port to be added later in 2015 that will provide a way for other companies to add additional sensors to Pebble Time. Pebble Technology has also boosted battery life to seven days and shifted from a black and white to a color e-paper display.

Also new are a microphone, a 20 percent slimmer design and a new timeline interface that highlights what’s important in the user’s day. The timeline organizes all kinds of relevant information, including appointments. And Pebble is asserting its independence from the smartphone platform makers via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that can push information from the Internet directly to the timeline without any apps required. Another feature coming later this year is voice to text, which adds voice recognition to the user’s apps. Pebble Time is fully compatible with the more than 6,500 existing Pebble apps for iOS and Android. The company is also fielding the new model in three colors: black, red and white. And unlike the original that was months away at the time of its campaign, Pebble Time is shipping in May at $199. The company has set a goal of raising $500,000 by March 27.

While it’s starting to be a very crowded space. Pebble Time has potential thanks to its wide set of features, and brand recognition. It remains to be seen if the Time has what it takes to slow the Apple Watch juggernaut, although as noted on the special edition of the Backerjack podcast devoted to it, the new Pebble model has a clear price advantage over the $349 and up Apple device..

 

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Smartwatches/Bands

Spark smartwatch provides spark you need to stay awake

Most people have been in a situation where staying awake is required, but can’t be done because of how tired they are. Alarm clocks and watches with alarms are all well and good, but people don’t always know that they will be falling asleep and will need to be awakened.

The Spark smartwatch addresses that issue. The watch tracks the wearer’s movement velocity and frequency, which claims to detect how alert the person is using an algorithm developed by its maker. If the device detects that the user has fallen asleep, it will gently vibrate to wake the person back up.

Spark holds some promise, especially for college students pulling all-nighters, but it’s not clear if its one main application will be enough of a reason for many consumers to find it a compelling proposition. Some consumers may not find the watch’s plain design appealing enough to wear it on their wrists. It lacks the style of a smartwatch like Moment. Health fans, meanwhile, will likely prefer to reserve the real estate on their wrists for smartwatches or bracelets offering fitness tracking features.

Spark will ship in May of this year to those who back $99. The campaign has a goal of raising $8,000 by March 12.

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Smartwatches/Bands

Wearable WyOki myOki uses light to communicate, socialize with others

Wearable devices can be used for multiple applications, running the gamut from fitness tracking to taking photos and videos. The Brussels-based maker of the new WyOki myOki have added communication with light to the list.

The wearable myOki device can be worn around the wrist like a watch, around the neck like a necklace, or even worn like a button or badge on clothing or on a backpack. There are 16 customizable light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the device. Users can choose and customize colored rings on the device that fit the mood or situation they are in at a particular moment. As part of the device’s social functionality, the wearer can potentially meet new people by bumping into others wearing the device if they are displaying similar looking rings.

The accompanying WyOki app for iOS, Android, and Windows smartphones enables users to organize different social media profiles to display them on the myOki device in an organized and uncluttered fashion. For example, the user’s favorite shade of blue can be used for Facebook notifications, or red can be used to remind the user of an important email. Potentially, all the fans of a sports team can program their devices to display the same color at the same time as a show of support for the team. Backers of the device’s Indiegogo campaign can get a device at $115 when it ships in May. The device’s makers are looking to raise $160,000 on Indiegogo to help bring the device to market. The hardware is nearly done, with most of the functional and product design work already finalized. A successful campaign will enable the device’s makers to start ordering tools and parts that are still needed.

There is no denying that the device features an original and intriguing user interface. But it’s questionable whether many consumers will be willing to pay more than $100 for a device that doesn’t have a heavily in-demand application like fitness tracking. The social functionality is potentially appealing to many consumers, but only when and if a significant number of other people are using the device.

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Relaxation Smartwatches/Bands

Moodmetric ring wearable measures mood for improved outlook

Heart rate, burned calories, sleep quality: these are the domains most wearable technologies have traditionally focused on. But even if it’s well-known by this point how reflective our physical state is of our emotional well-being, there haven’t been many wearable devices that have focused this, despite how important it is to everyone.

Emotional intelligence is the understanding of a person’s emotions and how best to deal with them, which may not seem like a skill but most certainly is. The Moodmetric is aiming to help empower those who want to better track, share, and improve their emotional intelligence. The product is a stylish, yet understated ring that analyzes a persons mood, assigning it a mood level based on the stresses gleaned from the body’s nervous system through skin conductance. With this information literally at someone’s fingertips, learning about the situations which spike emotional levels along with techniques to calm one’s mind becomes much easier.

The Moodmetric use Bluetooth LE to work in tandem with a companion iOS app that takes that mood level and suggests mindfulness and meditation exercises to improve quality of life. The Moodmetric Black version is made of polycarbonate, high-gloss body with a steel ring for maximum contact, and goes for $179. The shinier, hand-crafted 14k gold version features a black agate stone top and gold plated ring for $3,950. The $50,000 is unclear as to when it is expected to be shipped.

The Moodmetric is a promising tool in the increasingly prominent field of emotionally-based wearables. While the Moodmetric is incredibly stylish, it simply doesn’t do enough when compared with the comparatively more functional Olive wristband. The Moodmetric’s actual metrics are a bit vague when compared to the specific data Olive provides, and Olive’s haptics provide a far more intuitive influence on one’s emotional state than manually checking an app.