Tag: Apple Watch

Categories
Smartwatches/Bands

The Hot Band makes any watch – dumb or smart – even smarter

editors-choiceSmartwatches run the gamut from simpler fare like the Pebble Classic to more advanced options like the Moto 360 and the Apple Watch. But despite the wealth of options on the market, smartwatches are like Cinderella’s glass slipper after the ball: part of a hunt for the right owner.

Fur many of these folks, though, wristwear comes down to aesthetics that no digital face can countenance. The multi-faceted Hot Band tackles that objection by making any dumb watch smart, hitting even the most baller of watches with a dose of digital intelligence through the use of two easily swappable fobs that sit on the wrist.

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Categories
Displays Imaging

Unwind anywhere in the world with the Atmoph digital display

Most would agree the Wi-Fi filled, smartphone-rich, urban living experience is draining. Being surrounded by drab apartment buildings, the idle humming of traffic, and the roar of subways wouldn’t be as bad if the apartments and home people came back to were more more relaxing. Unfortunately, window views of next door apartment buildings are all too common.

The Atmoph digital window gives owners the opportunity to have a piece of the world right in their own living space. The 27″ frame houses a crisp 1920 x 1080, fully HD display capable of showcasing 4K videos shot the company itself, live streams of locales around the world, or a user’s own videos. The result is a night reading by the fireside, an afternoon preparing dinner in the lush jungles of Costa Rica, or a chat in bustling side streets of East London.

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Categories
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..

 

Categories
Podcasts

The Backerjack Podcast, Episode 8: Special Pebble Time Edition

Pebble wristWhat time is it? It’s Pebble Time! In this special edition of The Backerjack Podcast, Steve and Ross discuss all facets of the Pebble Time watch. We start out talking about how it quickly smashed its its funding record for the original Pebble, and its inevitable march toward being the most funded Kickstarter project ever. We then move on to the mostly good but some bad of its hardware design, user interface, and how it is positioned against the forthcoming Apple Watch. Be sure to get the full picture before deciding if you want to pile on to the Pebble avalanche.

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Categories
Sports Wearables

You got game with Hoop Tracker wearable training system

As key as making consistent shots are in basketball, for most players it isn’t the easiest thing to practice. Sure, players can shoot around from all over the court and do so for hours, but that gets old really quickly. And even if someone has the motivation to put the practice in, there’s no way to really track sessions.

Hoop Tracker combines the training regimen for basketball players with technology to provide in-depth statistics like shooting percentages and locations, for example. A shot detector magnetically mounted to the inside rim of a basketball hoop works alongside a downloadable app for Pebble, Android Wear, Apple Watch, and popular smartphones. All of these stats can be uploaded for review to track strengths and weaknesses over time, or to be shared on social media.

To keep motivation up, training programs and games like Score 100 and Three Point contest have been incorporated, and an open API will ensure a steady stream of new ones. A coach mode allows the simultaneous tracking of up to 15 players. Basketball players are getting a lot of love with training products like this and the Shoot Natural Glove, so in combination they should all be a positive influence on their game. A donation of $50,000 gets Hoop Tracker out of the door and onto the court for a $39 early bird backing.