Dr. Oz wants to sell you a heart-monitoring smartwatch
Perennial snake oil salesman Dr. Oz has found a new way to take your make money: a wearable. The press release promises the iBeat Life Monitor is “lifesaving” smartwatch that “empowers people to live longer lives.” The big difference here versus offerings from, say, Apple or Withings, is that the iBeat apparently monitors your heartbeat nonstop, and, in the event of a “life-threatening heart emergency,” the wearable will contact relatives, friends and medical professionals.
It’s also fully cellular, replete with built-in GPS, so there’s no need to connect it to your smartphone. However, there is a monthly service plan priced at $200 a year. On a conference call today, iBeat founder Ryan Howard said that this is about a half to a third of the cost compared to competitors like Lifeline. All devices come with a year of service included for free. “It’s not just a blast [to your contacts],” Howard said. No, this price includes a full-time 24/7 dispatch center that will stay with you until you’re at the hospital. Howard said the price will not go up after the initial year of service.
The original Moto 360 lookalike hit IndieGoGo earlier today for $99 “super early bird” special, but sold out pretty quickly. As of publishing time, there are still plenty of higher priced options available, including a $5,000 “Meet Dr. Oz Special!” that atypically includes airfare accommodations to a taping of the celebrity doctor’s show. That’s in addition to two of the iBeat monitors.
But why choose IndieGoGo over Kickstarter, when even if the product isn’t fully funded any backers still have to shell out their money? Howard said that it’s because the former is a local Silicon Valley company (KickStarter is based in New York), and is also more medically skewed. That and it allows the outfit to test the market without resorting to venture capital investments at an early stage, which allows for some independence. If enough people trust Dr. Oz with their money the iBeat is scheduled to come out next July. For their sake, hopefully this isn’t just a high-tech “miracle flower.”
Source: iBeat (IndieGoGo)
Download Android Wear apps right from your wrist
Android Wear smartwatches aren’t yet completely independent of your phone, but they just took one giant step in that direction. Google is releasing a third developer preview of Android Wear 2.0 that offers Google Play Store access on your watch, complete with support for paid downloads, beta tests and multiple accounts. Browsing is limited to recommend apps and keyword searches, but you can choose to install apps only on the watch — important when some Android Wear 2.0 apps won’t be available on phones in the first place.
You’ll have to be comfortable with running unfinished software if you’re going to install this on your own watch, of course. Otherwise, you’ll have to be patient. Google isn’t expecting 2.0 to reach wearables until early 2017, so the preview program will be the only way you can try the new Android Wear experience this year.
Source: Android Developers Blog
Alphabet’s health watch has changed a lot since last year
You know that health-tracking watch Alphabet’s X research division showed off more than a year ago, the one you’re looking at above? Yeah, you’ll want to forget about that design. MIT Technology Review managed to get a peek at a prototype of what should be “at least” the second generation of the now Verily-made design, and it bears precious little resemblance to the squarish block from 2015. At is heart is a familiar-sounding circular e-paper screen — not as exciting as the OLEDs and LCDs on smartwatches, but vital for a device that you’re supposed to wear as often as possible.
Logically, it’s loaded with sensors. There’s an outer ring that measures your electriocardiogram (aka your heart’s electrical rhythm), a heart rate sensor and motion detection. You’d also see four unknown metal pads, although it’s not clear if they’re being used for additional sensing (such as galvanic skin response, which reflects stress) or something more mundane, like charging. The device has a brass-hued analog-style casing that looks “ordinary,” according to MIT. That’s possibly a good thing for wristwear that you don’t want standing out.
You aren’t going to buy this watch yourself. Verily mainly wants to use it for research projects like Baseline Study, which will look for disease predictors in everything from blood to sensor data. The company’s Brian Otis also hints that the equipment could change: the company is “constantly iterating” on designs, he says. Even so, it’s a sign that Alphabet is committed to wearable tech that can answer vital medical questions.
Source: MIT Technology Review
The CoWatch brings Amazon’s Alexa to your wrist starting today
Amazon hasn’t dared to make a smartwatch of its own yet, but it might not have to when companies like iMCO have shoehorned Alexa into a wearable themselves. See, iMCO and the ex-Googlers working on the Cronologics OS have successfully turned what could’ve been another bit of crowdfunded vaporware into an actual product — the CoWatch — complete with blessings from Amazon. At last, you’ll be able to order multiple pairs of shoes straight from your wrist. Isn’t the future grand?
The CoWatch goes on sale on Amazon today with prices starting at $279, but we got to put a near-final model through its paces ahead of the company’s big day. Spoiler alert: having Alexa with you everywhere you go can be very cool, but the CoWatch definitely isn’t for everyone.
In fact, that becomes clear almost right off the bat. The CoWatch team managed to squeeze a lot into this stainless steel body: there’s an Ingenic dual-core chipset, 1GB of RAM, a screen running at 400×400 and 8GB of storage, the most I’ve ever seen in a wearable. While the whole thing is lighter than it looks, the watch’s thick body and high lug placement make things feel a little cumbersome. Even so, there’s enough horsepower here to keep things moving at a pretty reasonable clip — swiping through long notifications and launching apps to monitor your heart rate proved to be no problem for this chipset I’ve never heard of. The screen’s pretty bright too, though there doesn’t seem to be a raise-to-wake option; you’ll have to hit the crown button to do anything beyond glancing at the time. We need to spend more time with the watch to pass any serious judgments, but the hardware seems adequate so far.
The software loaded onto the CoWatch holds more promise. Instead of embracing the rigidity of Android Wear, iMCO went with an upstart Android-based OS from an outfit called Cronologics. Navigating it is simple enough: swiping down on the clock screen reveals your notifications, and swiping up brings up quick actions like toggling airplane mode and a battery meter. There’s technically a separate page for your apps, but you’re not going to use it much — Cronologics designed the interface so app shortcuts appear as complications on the watch face itself. Easy, no?
The Cronologics OS is actually built on top of Android Lollipop, and that’s where the extra flexibility comes from. The watch can technically run any standard Android app, though there doesn’t appear to be away to sideload them. (That’s probably for the best since most Android apps obviously aren’t meant to run on screens this small.) It works just fine with both iOS and Android devices, too. The real magic lies in how the OS can connect to web-based services like IFTTT for one-touch actions and yes, Amazon’s Alexa.
Using Alexa on your wrist is about as straightforward as you’d expect — you invoke her either by holding down the crown button or tapping an Alexa complication on the screen. From there, the usual hijinks apply: the watch was able to tell me how old Jeff Bezos is and the distance from the earth to the moon, and it helped me order some socks too. The process felt far from instantaneous, though. In general it took a while for the watch to interpret my questions, pass it along to the Alexa web service and give me the appropriate response. Setting the feature up can also be a little tricky since it requires the watch to be tethered to your phone — a no-go on old, grandfathered unlimited data plans like the one attached to my iPhone.
Once I paired the CoWatch with another Android phone though, it only took a few moments to get acquainted with Alexa — not bad, especially since I don’t have an Amazon Echo at home. Then again, I’m already well known among by colleagues for having poor impulse control, so the ability to buy just about anything from Amazon without even having to look at a screen seems troubling for my bank account. It appears the age of the always-connected shopping assistant is upon us, though: the Omate Rise is getting Alexa support as well.
While we’re not ready to deliver a verdict on the CoWatch just yet, the level of promise here is tough to ignore. I could personally take or leave the hardware, but if Cronologics pushes to get developers onboard and keeps hooking the OS into web services we all use anyway, the CoWatch just might become a contender. Alexa is just the tip of the iceberg, friends — there’s still plenty of smartwatch envelope-pushing to be done
The Engadget Podcast Ep 6: I Beg Your Pardon
Managing editor Dana Wollman and reviews editor Cherlynn Low join host Terrence O’Brien to discuss all the latest Apple goodies. Plus they’ll talk about Samsung’s software bandaid for your exploding Note 7 and debate whether or not Edward Snowden deserves a presidential pardon.
The Flame Wars Leaderboard
Wins
Loses
Winning %
Chris Velazco
3
1
.750
Christopher Trout
2
1
.666
Dana Wollman
2
1
.666
Devindra Hardawar
6
4
.600
Nathan Ingraham
3
4
.429
Cherlynn Low
4
6
.400
Michael Gorman
1
2
.333
Relevant links:
- ACLU and Amnesty International ask Obama to pardon Snowden
- Edward Snowden explains why Obama should pardon him
- NYC nixes kiosk browsers after homeless commandeer their use
- Samsung’s Note 7 exploding battery ‘fix’ is a 60 percent limit
- Apple releases iOS 10 and watchOS 3
- Apple’s AirPods aren’t a must-buy — yet
- iPhone 7 and 7 Plus review: Apple (mostly) plays it safe
You can check out every episode on The Engadget Podcast page in audio, video and text form for the hearing impaired.
Watch on YouTube
Subscribe on Google Play Music
Subscribe on iTunes
Subscribe on Stitcher
Subscribe on Pocket Casts
Apple can never release an ‘iWatch’ in the UK
Long before Apple actually launched its first wearable, a trademarking spree sent the rumour mill into overdrive. Understandably so, because what else could an “iWatch” be? The Swiss clocksmiths at Swatch weren’t best pleased with this application, however, challenging the filing with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in 2014. The IPO recently brought an end to the dispute, siding with Swatch in its opposition of the trademark. It doesn’t really matter now, of course, with the Apple Watch already in its second generation. But, if the company ever wanted to launch an iWatch? Well, it can’t.
Swatch successfully argued that iWatch was too similar to trademarks it had already registered in the UK, namely iSwatch — a digital number released in 2013. Apple contested this on the basis it was known for the “i” prefix because of all its other iThings, so using the name iWatch was unlikely to cause confusion among consumers. The IPO thought otherwise, denying Apple the trademark. That’s true for smartwatches, anyway, with the company still allowed to use it for software, computer peripherals and components, as well as other things it wouldn’t really make sense to call iWatch.
Like patents, trademarks are a messy business, as Apple knows all too well. The company had to pay $60 million to secure the iPad trademark in China after a local firm laid claim to the name and briefly had tablets pulled from shelves. Apple famously battled with a Brazilian company over the iPhone trademark in the region, too, though that’s just another entry on a very long list of examples. In another iWatch dispute, a company that owns the trademark across Europe sued Apple last year, claiming that although it wasn’t stamped on any product, Apple was using the term behind the scenes to promote its smartwatch in searches and ads.
Via: BBC
Source: Intellectual Property Office
Microsoft probably won’t release a Band 3 this year
Microsoft has no plans to release a new Band this year and reportedly disbanded a team that was working on a port to Windows 10, according to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley. In response to a question about the device’s future, it said it will continue to sell and support the current Microsoft Band 2, but was otherwise noncommittal. Sources inside the company, meanwhile, say that no new device is coming in 2016, and if one launches one after that, it’ll still run custom firmware, not Windows 10.
Microsoft instead emphasized the Microsoft Health platform in a statement, saying it’s “open to all hardware and apps partners across Windows iOS and Android devices.” That jibes with its current strategy of porting bread-and-butter apps like Office 365 to other platforms, rather than emphasizing Windows 10 Mobile as before. Microsoft Health helps iOS, Android and PC users monitor exercise, nutrition sleep quality and more, like similar platforms from Nokia, Apple, Google and others.
Microsoft wanted the Band 2 to be a big piece of its Health strategy, but downplayed its role recently. It now seems, again, that it will rely on hardware from other companies, unless it surprises us with a Surface Watch or something. The Band 2 originally cost $250 when it launched in October of last year, but Microsoft has since cut the price to $175.
Source: ZDNet
Apple releases iOS 10 and watchOS 3
You no longer have to be a guinea pig to give Apple’s latest software upgrades a try — as promised, the Cupertino crew has released the finished versions of iOS 10 and watchOS 3. As before, iOS’ biggest improvements are in communication — Messages gets apps, hand-drawn images, secret messages and stickers (among many other additions), while Siri now offers you control over third-party apps. You’ll also see major interface revamps in Maps (which now offers proactive suggestions) and Music, a Home app to manage smart household gadgets, lock screen widgets and wider use of 3D Touch on supporting hardware.
As for watchOS 3? It’s nothing less than a major rethink of the platform. Your favorite apps will not only load much faster (as they’re stored in memory), but the side button has changed from its original focus on contacts to bringing up favorite apps. You can also hand-draw replies, quickly access common settings and share activities to get some extra motivation. A Breathe app reminds you to relax, and iOS 10’s Home app gets a wrist-worn counterpart.
And Apple TV fans, you’re included too… although the upgrades aren’t as dramatic. The newly launched tvOS 10 update primarily introduces a dark mode for those late-night movies, a single sign-on to spare you from signing into umpteen services and Siri voice search for YouTube. You’ll need a fourth-generation Apple TV to see any of these differences.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 5: Applesauce
Editor in Chief Michael Gorman, executive editor Christopher Trout and managing editor Dana Wollman join host Terrence O’Brien for a special all Apple edition of the podcast from San Francisco. On the show they’ll search for the definition of courage, tell you what it’s really like on the floor of a major press event and give a state of the Apple union.
The Flame Wars Leaderboard
Wins
Loses
Winning %
Chris Velazco
3
1
.750
Christopher Trout
2
1
.666
Devindra Hardawar
6
4
.600
Nathan Ingraham
3
4
.429
Cherlynn Low
3
4
.429
Michael Gorman
1
2
.333
Relevant links:
- The new Apple Watch mostly looks like the old one
- The Apple Watch Nike+ is a running watch I might actually use
- Two years later, Apple has figured out what its watch is good for
- Apple announces the water-resistant iPhone 7 and 7 Plus
- The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are all about subtle, powerful changes
- Apple’s AirPods are smart wireless earbuds with a new W1 chip
- Apple’s AirPods toe the line between usefulness and gimmickry
- Apple adds real-time collaboration to iWork
- What happened at the iPhone event
- Courage is not how you sell iPhones
- Nintendo loses a little piece of its identity with ‘Super Mario Run’
You can check out every episode on The Engadget Podcast page in audio, video and text form for the hearing impaired.
Watch on YouTube
Subscribe on Google Play Music
Subscribe on iTunes
Subscribe on Stitcher
Subscribe on Pocket Casts
Apple brings WatchOS 3 to your wrist on September 13th
You won’t have to pick up Apple Watch Series 2 to see a tangible improvement to your wristwear — Apple has revealed that its WatchOS 3 update will reach original Apple Watch models on September 13th. As promised, speed is the focus. The new WatchOS holds favorite apps in memory to shrink loading times, and the side button now gives you fast access to those faves instead of bringing up the (frankly, seldom used) contact wheel. And if you’ll recall, this is just the start. There are quite a few interface and fitness tweaks that should make your first-run smartwatch feel fresh.
On top of the Dock, you can write on-screen with the Scribble mode for those moments when voice dictation and canned replies won’t cut it. A Control Center gives you fast access to common settings, and smart replies are available right in notifications. And if you’re a fitness maven, you can share activities to compete with your friends, see more activity details at once, and get optional reminders to breathe deeply whenever you’re stressed out.
There’s more, such as a Home app to control your (HomeKit-compatible) smart household devices, iMessage additions like stickers and full-screen effects, emergency calls and support for Apple Pay in third-party apps. No, WatchOS 3’s improvements won’t make you forget about Series 2. If you already have an Apple Watch, though, it might reduce the pressure to splurge on upgraded gear.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Apple’s “See You” event.
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