Garmin Forerunner 35 adds heart rate monitoring to line-up
Garmin has announced a couple of devices ahead of IFA 2016, with the prominent being that its Forerunner sports tracker getting a slimmer design and new features.
The Garmin Forerunner 35 is a GPS-enabled running watch that comes with wrist-based heart rate monitoring and can be used as a general activity tracking device too.
Thanks to the built-in GPS, it can track how far, fast and where users are running, while matching heart rate to runs for extra information.
It syncs with the Garmin Connect Mobile app for iOS and Android to store and compare tracking statistics. Data can be saved online to a free Garmin Connect account for future browsing.
Runners can even compare workouts in real time and set challenges and goals online.
The watch has an updated, sleeker design that the last generation, and comes with a high resolution mono display. There are modes for walking, cycling and cardio workouts as well as those involving pounding the pavement.
It can also be used as a smartwatch to control notifications and music played from a connected phone, while the battery life lasts up to nine days in activity tracking mode, 13 hours in training mode.
The Garmin Forerunner 35 will be available this quarter for a suggested retail price of $199.99 (around £150 at today’s exchange rate).
Griffin iTrip Clip turns your old headphones Bluetooth in time for iPhone 7
With rumours suggesting Apple is about to ditch the headphone port on the new iPhone 7, Apple accessory make, Griffin, is hoping to offer a solution to those that want to still use its favourite headphones without the need to worry about where to plug in the headphone socket.
The new iTrip Clip Bluetooth Adapter basically lets you plug in your headphones to a small pocketable device before wirelessly connecting to any Bluetooth enabled product.
“iTrip Clip ensures users can continue using their favorite 3.5mm headphones, with no worries about if their new smartphone eliminated the headphone jack,” said Andrew Biddle, Category Manager of Power at Griffin. “Not only can our iTrip Clip make any pair of headphones wireless, it also puts the convenience of a Bluetooth sound system into any car.”
As the clip name suggests you can clip it on to your sleeve, shirt collar, or bag strap, and weighting just 1.41 grams should be light enough not to bother you.
Priced at £19, the iTrip Clip comes with basic playback controls, a built-in mic, and 6 hours of play/talk time. The battery offers a total of 180 hours on standby too.
Available late September, we can see this being a hit with those not yet ready to upgrade their headphones, but looking to ditch that wired connection.
Xiaomi’s robot vacuum sucks more than its peers
Xiaomi has yet to make a dent in the Western world, but back in China, it continues to expand its presence with smartphones and smart home products — the latest of which being the Mi Robot Vacuum announced today. This is the first device coming out of a Mi Ecosystem startup dubbed Rockrobo, and it already claims to have a higher suction rating (1,800 Pa) than the likes of iRobot’s Roomba 980 (1,670 Pa) or Neato’s Botvac D8500 (1,000 Pa), partly thanks to the same brushless motor supplier used by the Roomba. Best of all, Xiaomi is selling this for just 1,699 yuan or about $250, which is a steal when compared to the $900 Roomba.
The general design of the Mi Robot Vacuum isn’t too far off from many existing offerings. At the bottom you’ll find two circular side brushes that help sweep dirt into the main cylindrical brush. To boost suction, the machine automatically adjusts its height for a tighter seal with the floor. It walks around using its two main rubber wheels plus an assistive wheel, and is aided by ultrasonic radar sensors, wall sensors, collision sensors, cliff sensors and drop sensors. In other words, you won’t have to worry about the Mi Robot Vacuum falling down the stairs or bumping into things.
As you’d expect from any high-end robot vacuum, Xiaomi’s machine is able to map your rooms using its laser distance sensor that’s poking out of the top. If needed, users can set a virtual wall to block the vacuum using what’s essentially a magnetic tape for just 39 yuan or about $6 a pop. By calculating the most efficient route on the fly (which it claims to beat others at as well), its 5,200 mAh 14.4V lithium ion battery will cover 250 square meters of space — which takes about 2.5 hours — on a single charge. When done, the machine will make its way back to its charging dock.
The companion app lets you check the vacuum’s status via WiFi: You can remotely toggle it, get a live tracking, switch between three modes (normal, quiet and active) and set schedules for automatic cleaning.
The Mi Robot Vacuum should come as no surprise, considering that Xiaomi’s range of connected home appliances already include air purifiers, water purifiers, lights, body scale and even a rice cooker. It’s obviously too early to tell whether Xiaomi’s robot vacuum is as good as it claims to be, but for those who are willing to give up $250 and don’t mind being guinea pigs, it’ll go on sale in China on September 6th.
Via: Engadget Chinese
Source: Xiaomi
Bang and Olufsen’s new BeoSound speakers project music 360 degrees
Bang and Olufsen typically unveils new audio gear at IFA and this year is no exception. Following last year’s $1,000 BeoPlay A6, the company has two new speakers that project sound 360 degrees. The new devices are called BeoSound 1 and BeoSound 2, both sporting a conical design that looks like a base of a lamp more than a speaker. That’s not a criticism though, it will actually blend in better on a shelf or side table than a boxy cube typically would. B&O is known for its high-end aesthetics and these new speakers continue the lineage with aluminum shells that project bass out from bottom and are open up top for acoustics.
What’s the difference between the two models? Besides the subtle differences in design and size, the BeoSound 1 (right) is a portable speaker with a rechargeable battery so you can take it with you at times you won’t be near an outlet. B&O’s BeoSound 2 (left) is the larger and more powerful of the pair and it has to remain plugged in at all times. Both tout the aforementioned 360-degree sound with support for streaming music via Google Cast, AirPlay, DNLA and Bluetooth. What’s more, they work with other Bang & Olufsen BeoLink speakers for a multi-room setup if you happen to own a few of those devices.
Both the BeoSound 1 and 2 have proximity sensors that display the controls facing whichever side you approach the speaker from. The top functions as the volume control by spinning the wheel while swiping and tapping that panel handles all of the other commands. As you might expect, these don’t come cheap. The portable BeoSound 1 will cost you $1,495/£995 and it’s available now at the company’s stores. You’ll have to wait until the end of October to snag the BeoSound 2 for $1,895/£1,350. While the new goods certainly are expensive, it’s worth noting that BeoSound is typically the high-end brand for Bang and Olufsen while BeoPlay tends to be the more approachable (and affordable) consumer line. If you’re not looking to pay that much, there are multi-room options from the likes of Sony, LG, Sonos and others for a fraction of those prices.
We’re live all week from Berlin, Germany, for IFA 2016. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.
Garmin debuts action camera with voice control and 4K video
If you’ve been looking to buy an action camera, Garmin’s latest one might be worth considering. The Virb Ultra 30 is feature-packed, with things like an LCD touchscreen, 4K video at up to 30 fps, 3-axis image stabilization and livestreaming to YouTube. Most notably though, this new shooter supports voice commands, letting you control it via phrases such as, “Okay Garmin, start recording.” Similar to the Virb and Virb XE action cams, the Virb Ultra 30 also comes with GPS and other sensors that show you how far, fast and high your movements are. When you combine all of that, you get a strong alternative to products including GoPro’s Hero4. Like what you see? It’s available today for $500.
Garmin’s newest smartwatch slims down, but packs on features
After going high-end with the Fenix Chronos, Garmin is getting back to its core focus with the new Forerunner 35, a feature-packed smartwatch and all-day activity tracker. This latest addition to the Forerunner line packs GPS tracking, a high-contrast display and Garmin’s Elevate wrist-based heart rate monitor into a sleek new design with up to nine days of battery life.
Battery mileage may vary, of course, but according to Garmin, the Forerunner 35 should last for about a week and a half in smartwatch/activity tracking mode. In training mode, the company estimates about 13 hours of battery life, so even with the heart rate monitor and GPS tracking enabled, users should be able to complete a 50-mile Ultramarathon without needing to stop for a charge.
For users whose daily workouts don’t involve such feats of endurance, the Forerunner 35 comes equipped with multiple sport profiles to track walking, indoor running, cycling, and cardio activities. Naturally, it also tracks all the metrics you’d expect from an activity tracker in 2016, like steps, calories and workout intensity. In and out of the gym, the Forerunner can also handle your phone notifications and music controls, plus the device automatically syncs with Garmin Connect to upload workout stats. In other words, it’s a Vivosmart HR in a smartwatch body.
The Forerunner 35 is expected to hit the market during Fall 2016 with a $199.99 retail price, and comes in four colors: black, limelight, frost blue and white.
Source: Garmin
Uber is offering electric cars in London
It’s fair to say that Uber isn’t having the best of times in London right now, with a lawsuit against TfL’s new taxi rules and disgruntled UberEats couriers dominating the headlines. One thing that could help change the public (and perhaps political) perception of the company is a reinforced commitment to reducing pollution on the city’s roads. That’s what Uber is doing today with a pledge to make more than 50 electric cars available in its app in London over the next month as part of its UberX service.
It’s all thanks to a partnership with car makers BYD and Nissan. With their help, Uber will offer “top-rated drivers” a mix of zero-emission BYD E6s and Nissan Leafs. You might remember that Uber performed a similar trial in Chicago last year. The Energy Saving Trust (EST) will then conduct a three-month study into Uber’s EV programme to see whether running a large EV fleet is beneficial for everyone involved.
Uber says that more than 60 percent of rides in London already take place in hybrid cars, but today’s launch may help reduce the city’s air pollution a tiny bit more. Should everything go to plan, the company intends to introduce EVs “at least one other UK city this autumn,” ensuring that it has “hundreds of fully electric vehicles on its app next year.”
Qualcomm’s new flagship chip loads apps 10 percent faster
Qualcomm has unveiled more details about its flagship Snapdragon 821 processor that we first saw in July. It’s intended to fill the gap until a future next-gen chip comes along, so performance improvements over the Snapdragon 820 (used in Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7) are decent, but not amazing. CPU performance is better across the board, with boot times, app loading and overall performance up to 10 percent faster.
New UI optimizations also bring “smoother scrolling and more responsive browsing performance,” Qualcomm says. Adreno GPU performance is up five percent, which will help games and VR run smoother. Despite those gains, your phone’s battery should last about 5 percent longer overall.
Smartphones using the chip will be compatible with Google’s Daydream VR system, though that’s not a surprise considering that Snapdragon 820 devices are also compatible. To make it easier for VR developers to get on board, Qualcomm is releasing an SDK for the chip that “supports a superior level of visual and audio quality and more immersive virtual reality and gaming experiences,” it says.
Other features include Dual PDAF (phase detection auto-focus) support for quicker smartphone camera focusing and improved laser focus accuracy compared to the Snapdragon 820. The first smartphone to get the chip, the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe, has both laser and dual PDAF, both of which boast .03 second autofocus times. Qualcomm didn’t reveal any new devices that will pack the chip, but with IFA 2016 in full swing, don’t be surprised to hear more announcements in the coming days.
Tile’s slimmest Bluetooth tracker won’t bulk up your wallet
Tile, which raised over a million dollars on Kickstarter over three years ago, is a popular Bluetooth tracker that helps you find your missing stuff. Aside from Bluetooth, it also uses a crowd-finding feature where other Tile app users can ping you the whereabouts of a Tile that’s out of Bluetooth range. There was an update last year to Tile 2.0, which has a louder alarm plus it’ll help find your phone as well. The problem with the existing Tile, however, is that it’s a little chunky. That’s why Tile has now introduced the Tile Slim, a much thinner version of the tracker that’ll fit more comfortably in tight spots like wallets and passport holders. But that’s not all. Tile has also announced a new initiative that just might bring Tile’s location-finding smarts to anything and everything.
But let’s talk about the Slim first. As the name suggests, it is a lot wider and flatter than the original Tile, measuring 54 by 54 by 2.4mm (or as Tile says, about the width of two credit cards). The design is also a touch different. There’s a center Tile logo doubling as the button while the rest of the Slim surface has a pleasant embossed pattern. The rear is all grey, with a tiny cavity where the sound can get through. Unlike the original Tile however, there’s no loop, so you can’t use it as a keychain. But that’s because the Slim wasn’t designed to replace the original Tile; it’s just another product in the Tile stable. So you can have the original Tile for your keys, say, and the Slim for your wallet.
I’ve used the original Tile with my wallet for over a year now, and it’s always left a pretty sizable dent. I switched to the Slim a few days ago and now I can barely tell it’s there. If you want, you can also adhere it to your laptop, your tablet, your ID badge or any place where a slim profile is key.
Another feature that sets the Slim apart is that you can select one of four different ringtones for the alert. They’re called Bionic Birdie, Classic Call, Pep in your Step and Blues for Slim. This capability is only for the Slim and is mostly just for fun, though it could prove useful if you have multiple Tile trackers and want a way to differentiate them. To coincide with the announce of the Slim is also a redesigned app. It’s mostly just a brighter reskin to match the company’s current branding, but there’s also now a slightly different flow when adding new Tiles. It’ll ask you which Tile you’re adding — the Slim or the classic — and then it’ll coach you through the rest of the activation process.
Slim works a lot like the original Tile, but here’s a brief primer in case you need a reminder on how it works. Once you’ve associated and attached a Tile tracker with an object — say your keys or your wallet — you can now use the app to find it. If the item is within Bluetooth range, the app will show it with a green circle. Tap it and the tracker will emit an alarm. If it isn’t, it’ll show you the location where it was last seen, so you can retrace your steps to look for it. Either that or you can select “Notify when Found,” where it’ll now turn to the aforementioned crowd-finding feature to help you find it. If anyone with the Tile app running goes near the object, you’ll then get a location ping. There are around 6 million Tiles on the market in over 200 countries, so chances are pretty good that this will happen.
The Slim will retail for $30/£30 each, which is $5/£10 more than the original. You can also pay $100/£95 for a 4-pack. The Slim has a guaranteed battery life of a year. We should note that, just like all the other Tiles, the battery is not replaceable — if the juice is running out, the app will let you know that you should replace it. The company does offer something called a reTile discount program that’ll let you replace your existing Tile with a new one at a discounted rate. So instead of paying $30 for a new Slim, you could just pay $21 to replace the old one.
But imagine if you don’t need to buy a Tile at all. Imagine if that same Tile location-tracking smarts was simply just built into whatever it is that you don’t want to lose. That is the idea behind Tile’s other big announcement today: The Tile Platform. “We want to blanket the world in smart location,” says Mike Farley, Tile’s CEO and co-founder. “Everything that moves should have smart location built into it.”
So with that concept in mind, Tile is kicking off the Platform announcement today with three partners: EcoReco, an electric scooter company; Nomad, which makes a variety of backup battery packs and power banks; and Zillion, a maker of smartphone wallets with that battery pack built right in. Starting today, all three of these companies will start offering products with the Tile Platform. That means you would be able to use the Tile app to locate, say, a missing EcoReco scooter or a Nomad battery pack. Just add them to the app like you would with a Tile tracker and you can find them in the same way. Tile has already partnered with Land Rover to build the tech into the 2017 Discovery Sport.
Eventually, Farley says he wants the Tile Platform to be in even more things. “Any product that’s mobile is fair game,” he says. “The lowest hanging fruit is if it has Bluetooth in it already.” So, a pair of Bluetooth headphones would be ideal, or a fitness tracker like a Fitbit, or maybe a smartwatch. In the future, he could even see the Tile tech integrated into everyday items like a remote control, a car’s key fob, or perhaps a regular pair of glasses.
“We spend so much time every day finding misplaced stuff. That doesn’t even factor in the cost and time it takes to replace them, nor the stress and anxiety,” says Farley. “Our vision is that the world will be a simpler and happier place when the world has smart location.”
ASUS’ Zenwatch 3 is fast and round
Following Motorola, Huawei and a bunch of other smartwatch manufacturers, ASUS has built a round Android Wear device. The Zenwatch 3 has a 1.39-inch AMOLED display with a 400×400 resolution, which works out at 287 pixels per inch (ppi). That’s almost identical to the Huawei Watch and a smidge sharper than the larger second-gen Moto 360. The casing is made from stainless steel and will be available in a few different styles: gunmetal (black), silver and rose gold. All three have a gold inlay, which ASUS claims is like “the corona of an annular solar eclipse.”
The new wearable is 9.95mm thick — a tad thinner than both the Huawei Watch and Moto 360. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor and 512MB of RAM, coupled with 4GB of onboard storage. While the 341mAh battery will last you for “up to two days,” ASUS is also pushing its “HyperCharge” technology, which will bring you back up to 60 percent in 15 minutes. Charging is handled with a magnetic port on the underside.
On the software side, it’s a typical Android Wear experience. Google’s wrist-ready operating system is slowly improving, and the company has its “biggest platform update yet,” Android 2.0, scheduled for the fall. ASUS is offering some custom watch faces for the Zenwatch 3, and hopes you’ll make your own with the FaceDesigner app available on smartphones. The smartwatch also has some fitness chops, with automatic step-counting that is supposedly 95 percent accurate. It can also track a few other basic activities such as running, push-ups and sit-ups — don’t expect too much, however, this isn’t a Garmin or Fitbit.
We haven’t heard much regarding price or availability. When ASUS reveals more, we’ll be sure to let you know.
We’re live all week from Berlin, Germany, for IFA 2016. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.
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