Withings Activité is a fitness tracker disguised as a designer Swiss watch
Most fitness trackers look like they belong in the gym or on the race track, which is fine if you’re working out, but not so great if you want to look your best at the board meeting or that fancy cocktail party. The Withings Activité, however, changes the notion of the fitness tracker entirely with an elegant design that’s more reminiscent of a Rolex or a Hublot. That’s because the Activité was actually created by a team of Parisian designers and Swiss watch-makers. Available in either black or silver, it’s made out of stainless steel 316L and an “unbreakable” sapphire glass that also functions as a touch screen — you can tap it to switch between modes. Included is a leather strap that’s apparently sourced from a famous tannery in France, though you can swap it out with a plastic strap if you prefer. Outfitted with a classic round face and a traditional analog watch display, the Activité has two dials — the primary one tells the time, while a smaller sub dial keeps track of your activity targets.
Yep, while it may not look like it, the Activité really is an actual fitness tracker — after all, it’s made by the company that brought us that WiFi enabled scale and other, more serious fitness gadgets. It’s able to monitor your steps, calories burned, distance traveled plus sleep patterns via an accelerometer and other internal sensors. Smart enough to know when you’re awake or asleep, it can even wake you up with a vibrating alarm. Like a classic Swiss watch, the Activité has a special Connected Movement time mechanism that’s designed for long-term accuracy, and it comes with regular ol’ watch batteries that never need to be recharged (though they only last a year). It communicates with iOS devices via Bluetooth LE, working in concert with a handy Withings Health Mate app that lets you create custom activity plans and track your progress towards your fitness goals. Oh, and you’re free to take the Activité to the pool as well, as it’s water resistant for up to 50 meters.
If this sounds like the activity tracker of your dreams, well, you’ll have to pay a hefty sum for it: the Activité will retail for $390 later this fall. But considering it’s perhaps the best-looking fitness tracker — maybe even one of the better watches — we’ve ever seen, it may be well worth it.
Filed under: Wearables
Source: Withings Activite
Nest devices start talking to Google, washing machines and your car
Nest’s Learning Thermostat and Protect smoke detector are now part of a much, much larger universe. The company has just launched a developer program that lets third-party apps and devices talk to Nest hardware, making it do things that aren’t possible through official software. The initiative is kicking off with a whole host of partnerships in place, in many cases with feature updates either available now or due in the near future. Chamberlain’s garage doors can now tell your Nest thermostat when you’re home, while Mercedes-Benz lets you check the temperature on the road; Logitech’s Harmony Ultimate remote can lower the heat in mid-movie, and Jawbone’s Up24 fitness tracker can tell Nest when you wake up.
This isn’t strictly one-way interaction, either — Nest gear can control other gadgets under the right conditions. If a Protect discovers smoke, it can tell LIFX light bulbs to flash red and have IFTTT’s phone app text the neighbors. Whirlpool, meanwhile, is going the distance by linking the equipment to its washers and dryers. Nest’s thermostat can not only have Whirlpool machines keep your clothes fresh until you get home, but delay the start of a given cycle to avoid a peak energy consumption period and save money, if you’re using the right power provider.
And yes, the program will eventually include support from Nest’s parent company, Google. Come the fall, Google voice commands will let you set the temperature on your thermostat; Google Now, in turn, will optionally heat or cool your home as soon as you set off on your commute. It’s ironic that Nest’s owner will be late to the home automation party, but the first wave of developers should give you plenty to do while you’re waiting.
Filed under: Household, Google
Source: Nest
Amazon and Warner Bros. reach truce over movie pricing
Well, that didn’t last long. A couple of weeks after Amazon stopped taking pre-orders for Warner Bros. Blu-ray and DVD movies to extract a better pricing arrangement, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the two sides have reached a truce. Swing by Amazon and you’ll once again find pre-orders for disc-based versions of The Lego Movie, Transcendence and other upcoming releases. The exact nature of the deal is hush-hush, but it wouldn’t be shocking if Amazon got the upper hand — movies are just a small part of the online retail giant’s business, while Warner Bros. would lose an important source of revenue. Whether or not you approve of Amazon’s tactics, this is good news if you prefer hard copies of movies over downloads and streams. Now if Amazon and Hachette could only negotiate their own peace regarding books…
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Amazon
Source: Wall Street Journal
Moto X+1 render leaks, case included
Motorola’s Moto X was a positive surprise last year. It didn’t have cutting edge specs, but it worked like a charm carrying some useful features along with it. All that packed in a relatively small body considering a 4.7″ screen. Due to this fact we now expect more from Moto X+1 than we did with the Moto X.
After the phone got confirmed by accident and its details and launch date leaked we got even more interested in it. Thanks to @evleaks we now have a render of the phone itself, unfortunately there’s a case on it though. Despite the case, which covers up parts of the device, those bezels look thicker than they should be. We could be more certain of this if that case wasn’t on it, but it sure looks like those bezels shouldn’t be that thick. even the ones on the top and bottom of the phone.
What do you think, do you like it or are you in the same boat as we are?
Source: @evleaks
The post Moto X+1 render leaks, case included appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Global launch of the LG G3 to start June 27th in Asia, Europe and Middle East
The LG G3 was announced to much fanfare just over one month ago, however its presence has so far only been felt in LG‘s native country of South Korea. Despite this, The LG G3 managed to post some very impressive sales figures, even outselling the peak rate of sales for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Luckily […]
4.7-Inch and 5.5-Inch iPhone 6 May Launch Simultaneously
Both the 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 models are set to go into production next month, according to Bloomberg, and Apple may launch both sizes of the new device at the same time.
Apple is ramping up on two bigger-screen iPhones, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. One model will have a 4.7-inch screen that may be available to ship to retailers around September, said two of the people. A larger 5.5-inch version is also being prepared for manufacturing and may be available at the same time, the people said.
Previously, reports indicated that issues with battery life and display technology for the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 may have caused Apple to delay the release of the larger version of the phone a couple months after the release of the 4.7-inch model. However, a report earlier this month said that Apple had solved the battery issues, though it wasn’t apparent whether the 5.5-inch model would launch at the same time as the 4.7-inch model.
Apple and its manufacturing partners have been ramping up for the launch of new iOS devices later this year, with Foxconn hiring a record new 100,000 employees to help assemble iPhone 6. Pegatron is also set to assist in the production of the new iPhones, with reports claiming Pegatron’s production share could be as little as 15% to as large as 50%.
Stock of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 is likely to be lower than the 4.7-inch model, mostly due to the more complex manufacturing of the phone and the need for an increase in production efficiency for the device before the manufacturing volume for it can be increased.
Engadget Daily: how to disappear, the deal with 3D printers and more!
Today, we review Sony’s lifelogging SmartBand wearable, investigate the ins and outs of 3D printing, learn how to escape the clutches of the internet and take a look at SportsCenter’s new home. Read on for Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours.
How to Disappear (almost) Completely: the illusion of privacy
You could toss your laptop, tablet and your phone, but is that enough to escape the clutches of the internet? Read on as Dan Cooper investigates the illusion of privacy in part one of How To Disappear.
Sony SmartBand review: a fitness tracker that goes beyond fitness
Sony’s new fitness wearable, the SmartBand, is a $100 wrist-worn device that tracks your exercise routines and pretty much everything else. All in all, It’s a capable lifelogging gadget that unfortunately falls short of its potential.
What you need to know about 3D printing
3D printers: they’re invading our workplaces, schools and homes, but what exactly are these DIY factories capable of? Read on as Jennifer Williams-Alvarez explores the world of 3D printing and what it means to you.
This is ESPN’s new home for ‘SportsCenter’
What’s got 194,000-square feet, 1080p broadcast technology and a wall of 56 screens? ESPN’s Digital Center 2, that’s what. Read on for an inside look at this incredible facility destined to be the new home of SportsCenter.
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Nest Learning Thermostat has its security cracked open by GTVHacker
While we wait for Google I/O (which starts tomorrow) to find out what will become of the company’s TV platform, a team that we’ve seen bust open the padlocks on Google TV, Chromecast and Roku has a new target. GTVHacker just revealed an exploit for the (now Google-owned, and owner of Dropcam) Nest Learning Thermostat. It could let owners do new and interesting things (like replace the Nest software entirely) but of course, someone with bad intentions could take it in another direction: monitor whether the owner is home via its motion detector, sniff network traffic, or just crank up the temperature a few degrees — all without even opening the device. Interested in how the hack works? Check after the break for more details and a video, and if you’re headed to DEFCON in August, the team has a demonstration planned that’s oh-so-comfortingly titled “Hack All the Things.”
[Image credit: gpshead/Flickr]
So how is it done? The GTVHacker exploit is loaded using Nest’s own pathway for loading software to run its own boot-loader and add an SSH server with root access. In layman’s terms – it sneaks in like a legitimate update, but opens a backdoor giving whoever put it there complete control, and potentially without the device’s owner being aware that anything has changed. A more detailed account of how it works is on the GTVHacker blog, but the team has already packaged the tool as a one-click root + installer that works from Linux (available for download here, Windows version coming soon), so all it takes to run the tool is a PC and a USB cable — so if you see any of your guests loitering in the living room with a laptop and a cord, that’s just one more thing to worry about.
Pre #DEFCON Tease: Using DFU to Root Your Google @Nest. #HackAllTheThings #NoSolderingRequired http://t.co/yqUe5sL7Jk
– GTVHacker (@gtvhacker) June 24, 2014
Filed under: Household, Google
Source: GTVHacker Blog
Full list of Samsung Galaxy Note 4 model numbers leak
Twenty-two model numbers for Samsung’s successor to the Galaxy Note 3 have leaked thanks to @evleaks, showing where it will be available worldwide.
From the leaked model numbers, we can see that there will be 16 and 32 GB models and both black and white, as well as that it will be available on numerous carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon in the U.S. While it seems it will be available around the globe, some other carriers we can pick out from the list are DoCoMo and KDI.
Previous leaks about the Note 4 have suggest that there will be one model (SM-N910S) that is expected to feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor while the other (SM-910C) figures to pack a 64-bit Exynos chipset. Some other rumored specs include 3GB RAM, a 16-megapixel rear camera, and front-facing 3.6-megapixel shooter. Powered by Android 4.4.3 (for now), the display should also be 5.7-inches and offer 1440×2560 resolution.
There’s been talk that the device will make a debut at the annual IFA trade show in Germany that starts Sept. 5.
VIA @evleaks
The post Full list of Samsung Galaxy Note 4 model numbers leak appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Nexus 7 from Google Play gets 3-month All Access
Google’s Nexus 7 (2013) may be just a month shy of turning a year old, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a great device.
If you’ve been in the market for a new 7-inch tablet, Google is currently offering a deal for anyone who buys a new Nexus 7. The tablet will come with three months of unlimited music from Google Play.
The Google Play All Access provides instant streaming to over 20 million tracks and usually costs $9.99 a month. Google Music recently got updated to provide playlist-based radio stations to aid in music discovery, bringing it in line with offerings from competitors such as Spotify.
After your three months, the price is $9.99, but you can always cancel it if you aren’t satisfied. The service must be setup by Sept. 30 for the deal to apply.
VIA Google Play
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