The ugly truth about wearable technology
When it comes to putting computers on our bodies, everyone’s an armchair Anna Wintour. Take a look at the comments on any story about wearable technology, just about anywhere. Ugly is in the eye of the beholder. And with good reason. While some of us view our PCs, smartphones and tablets as status symbols, our clothing and accessories are more closely tied to our identities than anything else.
Over the past few years, the frenzy for wearables has reached its peak. This week alone, Sony, Samsung, LG and Motorola have all shown off their next attempts at wrist-worn technology. And with each announcement comes a new set of sartorial critiques.
And yet, despite a seeming consensus from the tech press about the aesthetic appeal of devices like the Moto 360 and Pebble’s Steel, the world is still waiting for the one wearable that will have us all strapping a computer to our wrists, faces, waists or whatever. But the real obstacle to wearable adoption isn’t a matter of style; it’s a matter of taste.
The real obstacle to wearable adoption isn’t a matter of style; it’s a matter of taste.
New York Times tech-scribe-cum-style savant, Nick Bilton recently penned a speculative editorial proclaiming the as-of-yet-unannounced iWatch as the device that could finally take wearables mainstream. Apple will no doubt roll out a beautiful piece of machinery — it has an excellent track record and a proven team of designers, engineers and businesspeople on board — but the truth is, no matter how good the software, no matter how innovative the functionality, no matter how versatile and beautiful the design, there will never be one wearable for everyone.
Almost every player in the wearable game thus far has proven an ability to produce successful consumer technologies. Some of us can even agree that they’re starting to get the style right, but the truth is we all fancy ourselves individuals when we get dressed in the morning. No single company, whether it’s Apple or Motorola or even Swatch is ever going to make a single device that we all want to wear.
Apple’s wearable device, whether it’s a watch or a fedora or even a condom, will no doubt be a meticulously designed piece of hardware, but it’s going to take a much more robust and diverse market, full of choice for wearables to really take off. It’s going to take more than NFC, fitness tracking and Jony Ive’s magic touch. It’s going to take more than killer features and refined hardware.
It’s going to take time.
[Images: Evgeny Dubinchuk and Fuse, Getty]
Filed under: Wearables, Apple, Samsung, Sony
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Google Glass Explorer Edition, Frames, Shades and Earbuds make their way to the Play Store
Google has added their Glass Explorer Edition to the US play Store today, negating the need for the dedicated sign-up and order page that they previously had it listed on. The selling price still remains at $1500 and is offered in a variety of colors, 5 to be exact, to make them a little more fitting to your style plus you get a free frame or shade with your purchase.
The Play Store page also has the various accessories available to purchase individually. Those include frames, 4 style options, for your prescriptions lenses ($225), Shades in 3 styles ($150) and the Stereo or Mono Earbuds ($85).
Head on into the Play Store to take a look and get an order placed if you do so desire.
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The New Moto X, Moto 360 and Mini Bluetooth Moto Hint have official Videos
Looks like it game time for Motorola and their suite of new offerings. We know they are bringing the new Moto X, Moto G, the Moto 360 and mini Bluetooth earbud of sorts. While some valued members of the press got to have some nice hands on time earlier today, the rest of us have to wait until he 5th. Luckily for us, it is already the 5th on the east coast. With that, there have been some new videos posted on YouTube via the Motorola Mobility channel that shows us a bit about the new Moto X, the clever little Moto Hint Bluetooth device and the Moto 360. Check em out.
Via AndroidPolice 1 | 2
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Sony SmartWatch 3 and E-Inck SmartBand Talk are Officially Announced
Continuing with the barrage of news from IFA from all the big name OEM’s, we have news coming from Sony about their two new wrist options. Sony has announced two new devices to grace the smartwatch scene and both are uniquely different from past devices and from each other. The SmartWatch line from Sony traditionally ran their own version of software. With the new SmartWatch 3 though, Sony shifted its efforts over to Android Wear.
The Sony SmartWatch 3 brings a 1.6-inch 320 x 320 TFT LCD transreflective display. In English, it should look great even in direct sunlight. It carries along the traditional 4GB of on-board storage, ARM Cortex A7 quad-core processor at 1.2GHz, 512MBs RAM and a 420 mAh battery that is rated for 2 days of usage (charges via traditional micro USB). The silicon band is more of a holder for the watch face. Think the KYROS smartwatch, where you can pop the main unit out of the band and stick in something else. More so another colored watch band. The Sony SmartWatch 3 is IP68, carries NFC, GPS and Bluetooth. Yes, this is one that you can leave your phone at home and still track your run via the built-in GPS. It will come in Black and Green at launch.
The SmartWatch 3 is clearly geared towards the more active lifestyles with its colorful bright color options. It is scheduled for an Autumn launch in Europe with a price tag of 229.99 Euro’s.
The second device they announced is the SmartBand Talk. This device is a redone SmartBand SWR10 with the addition of a curved 1.4-inch E-Ink display. Think Pebble. Sony took the device a little further though and added in a mic and a speaker to give you the full Dick Tracy phone calls on your wrist type of thing. The SmartBand Talk also has an altimeter inside to let you track elevation as well. The SmartBand Talk is scheduled for an Autumn release as well in Europe for 159.99 Euro’s.
Both devices will utilize Sony’s LifeLog app that is free in the Play Store.
Source: Sony Mobile Developer Blog | Sony Press
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Samsung also announces the Gear VR, their Mobile Virtual Reality Headgear
We heard rumors that Samsung was dabbling in the world of virtual reality or at least with something that would be a bit Google Glass like. Now we have news of what Samsung has been working on and it leans way off to the left is much more Oculus than Glass. Which does make a lot of sense being that it uses Oculus technology to bring a virtual reality display to your face with a new Oculus Mobile SDK.
“Samsung Gear VR goes far beyond expectations of how mobile technology can be used to consume content, and is a powerful representation of the progressive innovation of the Gear series,” said JK Shin, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “We are pleased to have partnered with Oculus VR to bring this incredibly immersive mobile content experience to consumers.”
“We are thrilled to reveal the Gear VR Innovator Edition, a state-of-the-art mobile VR experience powered by Oculus,” said John Carmack, CTO of Oculus. “The deep technical partnership with Samsung has enabled us to create a virtual reality headset with world class resolution and performance, all on a completely mobile platform.”
Reading through the press release from Samsung and checking out the project on the Oculus blog you can see what they did. Anyone remember Google I/O and Google Cardboard? I feel like Google knew about this the whole time and poked fun at Samsung at the time. Here is what I am seeing and reading, you pair your Galaxy Note 4 to the Gear VR and then click it under that blue shield and put it on your head. You can see the two eye holes in the product image above the actual device in the photo below.
The unit does connect directly to your Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and the Note 4 becomes your VR world screen. It has physical controls by the way of a touch pad, back button and volume keys. It provides you with a 96 degree field of view with a motion to photo latency of < 20ms. The Gear VR isn’t coming immediately for consumers, more so for innovators, developers and early adopters. There is an additional perk with the Gear VR over Google Cardboard though. If you decide to buy one, you get a 16GB SD card that is loaded with VR goodies. Yes, you have to toss the card into your Note 4 first, but will contain a collection 360-degree videos and 3D Movie trailers. Below is a list of some of the other things that the Gear VR will bring to your face.
- As part of the Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron partnership with Samsung, Gear VR users will gain exclusive access to Tony Stark’s Lab inside the all new Avengers Tower.
- IMAX offers samples of Hollywood and documentary films in a virtual theatre with Samsung Gear VR – the next best thing to a live IMAX experience.
- DreamWorks VR from DreamWorks Animation allows Samsung Gear VR users to interact and laugh with DreamWorks characters and content in a whole new way like never before.
- Legendary’s Pacific Rim Jaeger Pilot is an immersive content experience that puts viewers at center of the action with Samsung Gear VR.
- Cirque du Soleil Media presents a 360 live-action 3D VR experience, featuring an act from Zarkana filmed by Felix & Paul Studios for Samsung Gear VR.
- M-GO Advanced, a new paradigm for digital video virtual reality applications, offers an unmatched interactive search and discovery of the latest premium movie and TV show content with Samsung Gear VR.
- Vevo offers more than 100,000 HD music videos, live concert events and original programming that can be enjoyed in an immersive, full-screen theater experience on Samsung Gear VR.
- Protocol Zero (working title) from DENA enables Samsung Gear VR players to infiltrate enemy grounds undetected in blackout conditions with hi-tech optics including night vision, X-ray vision, and thermal vision.
Since the Gear VR uses Oculus software, there are some new experiences coming from them as well. There will be the Oculus Home, Oculus Cinema, Oculus 360 Videos and Oculus 360 Photos. Oculus Home is is a user interface to connect to the Oculus Store to download things. Oculus Cinema is your virtual movie theater where you can playback your movies in a varietey of theater environments.
The remaining 360 Video and 360 Photos lets you view your panoramic content in a virtual view.
I am a bit interested in the Samsung gaming controller being part of the display. While I didn’t see any direct mention of it in the press release, I would imagine that Samsung has, or will be, offering up games that can be played through the Gear VR with the controller. Possibly the Pacific Rim Jaeger Pilot experience? I will keep poking around for details on that from some of the guys that are in Berlin for the event right now.
Sprints press release this morning does confirm that they will offer the Gear VR along side the Note 4 and Note Edge. So there is that. What are your thoughts? Love it, hate it, want to watch it burn in a fiery death?
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Sprint to carry the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Note Edge and Gear VR
Looks like Sprint really wants to make a name for themselves today. Not long after the new device announcements from Samsung, they put out their own press release alerting us that they will not only carry the Galaxy Note 4, but also the Note Edge and the Gear VR.
Sprint’s announcement states that they will be the only US carrier to offer the trio of devices. The Galaxy note 4 and Note 4 Edge will pack the Sprint Spark high-speed data ability and I am sure it will carry along Wi-Fi calling and free International Wi-Fi calling too.
“Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Samsung Galaxy Note Edge powered by Sprint Spark and Samsung Gear VR continue our tradition of working with Samsung to innovate and bring our customers advanced features they appreciate. We make it easier than ever to choose Sprint for Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge with the Sprint Family Share Pack boasting the best deal on shared data. Or enjoy all of the robust features of Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge without hesitation if you choose the Sprint $60 Unlimited Plan offering unlimited talk, text and data on America’s newest network at one low price without surprising overage charges. Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge with the benefit of Sprint Spark and the value of our rate plans is a no-brainer decision for anyone looking for an innovative device at the right price.”
Pricing and specific launch dates hven’t been made available yet. Sprint does have a pre-register page set up with October listed. We already heard the Note 4 would launch in October, so that isn’t all that new. I don’t know is the Note 4 Edge and Gear VR will make an appearance at the same time or not though. I would suspect at the very least that the Gear VR would since it needs to be paired up with the Note 4. Having both available at launch time would make for an interesting packaged deal.
Source: Sprint
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Android Wear powered ASUS ZenWatch is Official
We have been watching ASUS release little teasers for their upcoming Android Wear powered smartwatch, the ASUS ZenWatch, for the last coupe of weeks. We knew they would be making their official announcement at IFA, which is well underway in Berlin right now. ASUS has made the device official, at least in terms of specs and pricing in Europe.
Actual hardware specs we are looking at the following:
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor at 1.2GHz
- 512MB RAM
- 4GB internal storage
- 1.63″ AMOLED display (320×320 with a 278ppi)
- 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- 9 Axis sensor and Bio Sensor
- IP55 rated water resistance
- Measures in at 50.6 x 39.8 x 7.9 – 9.4 mm
- Weighs 50g, Strap weighs 25g
- Comes in Silver and Rose Gold with a brown leather strap
ASUS expands Android Wear a little and tosses in their own little software flares. Such as being able to cover the watch’s face to silence an incoming phone call, trigger your devices camera from the ZenWatch, Tap Tap and Find My Phone helps you locate your phone from the watch and it also has a suite of health apps through the Wellness manager. ASUS also tossed in over 100 combination watch faces to give it the look that is right for you when you want it.
ASUS CEO, Jerry Shen, said they were looking to make this a competitive watch in the states and bring it in under $199. However, pricing details list it for 199 eruos in Europe. If that price sticks state side that puts it at $261.59 USD. Hardly under the $199. I assume pricing will vary here in the US.
If ASUS pushes it under the $199 barrier int he states, will it entice your wallet, or is the Moto360 still the Android Wear device of the year to beat? Even though we know very little about it.
Source: ASUS
Pricing courtesy of Phandroid
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Samsung partners with Mont Blanc on a chic Galaxy Note 4 stylus
At IFA 2014 Unpacked, Samsung has announced that it’s partnering with venerable pen-maker Mont Blanc on two custom styluses for its new Galaxy Note 4. The “Pix” and the “e-Starwalker” are done in the pen maker’s classic style for any Note smartphone or tablet user. The company calls it a “digital writing” device, a clear sign they’re targeting those for whom a flimsy plastic pen just won’t do. The company also revealed two flip covers for the Note 4, the “Extreme” in a threaded fabric that mirrors Samsung’s Galaxy S5 “band-aid” design, and the “Soft Grain” with a classic leather look. There’s no word yet on availability or cost, but we don’t imagine that a digital writing device comes cheap.
Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Mobile, Samsung
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ASUS ZenWatch unsurprisingly confirmed for under $199
ASUS CEO Jerry Shen confirmed to FocusTaiwan that they would be looking to target a price tag beneath $199 with their Android Wear based ASUS ZenWatch. Currently, at least through the Play Store, the lowest priced Android Wear device is the Samsung Gear Live that retails at $199. We have seen the LG G Watch appear through other retailers for $179 as well though.
The ASUS Zen branding is already known for packing a fair amount of hardware and tech into a device with a small price tag. I fully expected the ASUS ZenWatch to follow a similar model when it finally came to light. ASUS has pushed out a number of small teaser videos for the upcoming gadget, but all specs on the ZenWatch have been tight lipped. I am not sure that it would matter all that much if they did leak out early though. ASUS will be making the ZenWatch official tomorrow during IFA where we will finally get some details on the actual specs of the new device. I wonder if it will bring GPS hardware for the upcoming Android Wear update?
Source: FocusTaiwan Via Phandroid
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Back to School 2014: The 13 best accessories
Once you’ve figured out your laptop and smartphone situation, chances are you’ll want to invest in a nice backpack or a few extras to make the dorm room feel like home. Our back-to-school accessories picks are a perfect mix of necessities and extravagant nice-to-haves. Check them out below, and head over to our guide homepage to see more.
Filed under: Misc
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AIVAnet 