Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve tested our fair share of activity trackers and Polar is now adding one more to the fray. That’s not a Nike+ FuelBand you see, it’s the Polar Loop: a wearable for your wrist that keep tabs on activity, exercise and sleep patterns. Touting the “first waterproof” gadget of this sort, the company says the device can discern between activity levels, with alerts and motivational feedback along the way. The Loop syncs to Apple smartphones via Bluetooth with its companion app, Polar Flow. Similar to Nike’s wearable, Polar’s offering displays goal info, calories burned, steps taken and the time on an LED display. If you’re also after a heart rate monitor, the Loop can be combined with Polar’s H6 or H7 heart rate sensors for that purpose when it arrives next month in black with a pink version set for release in 2014.

Filed under: Wearables

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It goes without saying that unreleased devices will need to pick up their fair share of certification before they are able to be released for the general masses. Well, it was not too long ago that the Pantech IM-A890S was seen on the Bluetooth Certification database, where it also revealed then that this particular device looks set to be the world’s first LTE-Advanced device with fingerprint recognition capability. Good things come in more than one I suppose, as there seems to be a different variant which has picked up Bluetooth Certification, too, and that would come in the form of the Pantech IM-A890K.

This would mean that the Pantech IM-A890K would arrive with Bluetooth connectivity for sure, and yet again, the very same “signature” surfaces, that is, the Pantech IM-A890K will feature fingerprint recognition capability, as well as being an LTE-Advanced device. I suppose with this in mind, anticipation runs rather high that a different variant known as the Pantech IM-A890L is also tipped to be on the receiving end of Bluetooth Certification sometime down the road. How far do you think that fingerprint recognition capability is going to go in the realm of smartphones, and will its potential be maximized eventually?

Pantech IM-A890K Picks Up Bluetooth Certification original content from Ubergizmo.

If you bought Orée’s wooden keyboard, it’s time for you to save up for its sidekick. This October Orée will release the Touch Slab, a Bluetooth multitouch trackpad that’s also made of a single piece of wood. It’s a pointing device, a piece of kindling and a construction material all in one.

Like the Board, the Touch Slab is made of either walnut or maple. It will also come with what appears to be a fake leather mat that will help you use it as a numerical keypad. According to Wired, the Touch Slab will age and develop “a rich patina” from the oil from your hand. Whether that’s cool or disgusting is up to you. I wonder what Cheetos patina is like.

Grow a browser and head to Orée’s website to pre-order the Touch Slab. For some reason it’s even more expensive than the wooden keyboard: it costs €150 (~$200 USD) plus shipping.

[via Wired]

Kanex make cables, right? It does, but the company is now branching out into the world of accessories, typified by the meDrive we played with earlier in the year. Now here comes the Multi-Sync, a keyboard that’s designed to control one USB and three Bluetooth devices — switching between them at the touch of a button. If you’re like us and always have a desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone in near-simultaneous use, then perhaps you’d like to learn if this one is worth $70 out of next month’s wages?

Filed under: Peripherals

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Another day has gone by, and here we are with the LG-LS995 having picked up its Bluetooth Certification. So far, we have absolutely no idea on what the mysterious LG-LS995 is all about, although we do know that it has already received its Bluetooth certification and was listed on September 12th, 2013. The LG-LS995 was filed at the end of last month, taking a couple of weeks before it picked up its certification, where it has been confirmed that it will run on the CDMA network if required. This would mean that the LG-LS995 could very well be on its way to Verizon Wireless, or perhaps China Telecom on a different continent.

It would be nice if additional light could be shed on what the LG-LS995 is all about, including a form factor and the other hardware.specifications. Hopefully, there will be a blurry spy shot that was taken in haste sometime down the road so that the rumor bandwagon surrounding the LG-LS995 will have additional fuel to move forward. How about you? What are your thoughts on the LG-LS995 as it eventually makes its way to the market? Recently plenty of attention on LG has been concentrated on the possible LG Nexus 5, so this one slipping under the radar is to be expected.

LG-LS995 Receives Bluetooth Certification original content from Ubergizmo.