Sony isn’t giving up on smartwatches, and its next attempt is the SmartWatch 2 SW2, packing Bluetooth and NFC for easy pairing, and delivering call and message information as well as Android apps to your wrist. Water-resistant, just like the new Xperia Z Ultra, the SmartWatch 2 is billed as a combined watch, notification device,
Sony’s taking a second stab at the fledgling wearable category it helped pioneer with today’s announcement of the SmartWatch 2. The Android-powered wristwatch retains the familiar remote functionality of its predecessor (i.e., allowing users to answer calls, read email and texts, snap photos, etc.), albeit now from a larger, 1.6-inch (220 x 176) touch display. Sony’s packed all of this “second screen” functionality into a handsome, aluminum body design that’s crafted to be dust- and water-resistant (IP57), much like the Xperia Z line before it. And for users that want a little variety, the company’s also offering a pack-in stainless steel wristband that can be swapped out for any other 24mm strap (Sony plans to offer alternative straps sometime soon).
The SmartWatch 2 also features support for NFC and Bluetooth 3.0, so you can easily pair it with compatible devices running Android 4.0 or higher — something like the Xperia Z Ultra, perhaps. As for battery life, Sony claims the SmartWatch 2’s rated for a maximum of four days with moderate use. But those with a lighter touch, or a penchant for digital wristwatches, may be able to eke out a full week’s worth of juice. There’s no pricing information to share at the moment, only a semi-concrete global release date for this September. Which is just about enough time for you (or, more likely, your Dad) to dust off that Dick Tracy impersonation.
Gallery: Sony SmartWatch 2
Sony Mobile is releasing an ear hook style NFC compliant Bluetooth handsfree headset “MBH10″ in mid July.
You can talk handsfree or listen to the music after quickly connecting “MBH10″ to your smartphone or/and tablet wirelessly.
Price: ¥3,980 (including tax)
Size: 54x15x22mm
Weight: 9.4g
Color: Black, White
Samsung is a company that is no stranger to industry firsts, and they can add another feather to their already burgeoning cap with the introduction of the first NFC (Near Field Communication) enabled color laser printer in the industry, alongside a bunch of other multi-function printers. The new printer Xpress C410W series will comprise of the C410W color laser printer, the C460W color laser MFPs that boast of print, copy and scan functionality, and the C460FW color laser MFPs which come with print, copy, scan and fax capabilities. These C410W series were specially designed by targeting home and small office environments, where folks in these two areas have the tendency to print content straight from their smartphones.
It is said that these three models would be able to print up to 18 pages per minute (ppm) in black and white, although if you decide to roll out your images in color, the speed would be greatly reduced to just four ppm. It can be said that printing itself has become a whole lot easier, where the Xpress C410W series would be able to hook up sans wires with mobile devices, delivering a fast, integrated and convenient printing experience whenever you are on the go. All you need to do is tap your smartphone on the printer, and printing will commence almost immediately. Should you want to scan and fax documents, that will not be too difficult either, since users can synchronize the contacts on their smartphones with the printers.
The use of the Samsung Mobile Print App would pave the way for users to print everything from PDF files to Microsoft Office documents (Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations included) straight from your smartphone. What happens if your smartphone does not have NFC capability? Fret not, since you can still take advantage of Google Cloud Print, which enables you to print over the web regardless of where you are with the help of a smart device (smartphone or tablet). It certainly seems as though Samsung has a potential hit on their hands this time around with the new printers.
Press Release
[ Samsung rolls out first NFC-enabled color laser printer copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Some say NFC is dead, but GEAK from Shanghai wants to prove them wrong. Announced alongside the GEAK Watch earlier today was this GEAK Ring, a tiny NFC-enabled wearable device that stores your identity. The ring’s pitched as an intuitive way to unlock your phone — just hold it with the hand that’s wearing the ring, and it’ll unlock without having to type in the password; plus it’ll stay awake as long as it’s held in the same hand. Another feature is that since the ring has your contact details stored (presumably rewritable), you can also use it to share your contact card with other NFC-enabled devices. But of course, given the risk of NFC cloning, you should treat GEAK’s solution as a convenience rather than a more secure method.
At launch, this ring will only be compatible with the GEAK Eye and GEAK Mars quad-core phones that were also announced today, but it’ll support other devices from the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi and Oppo starting in November. GEAK will be taking pre-orders from August 8th, and it’ll cost Chinese buyers ¥199 or about $30 each. It’ll sure go nicely alongside that Google ring.
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile
Via: Engadget Chinese
Source: GEAK (Chinese)
The folks over at MuseMini who have come up with their fair share of wireless audio accessories in the past which target an active lifestyle, has come up with a spanking new collection of Near Field Communication (NFC) as well as Bluetooth powered accessories that were specially designed to be tough while they’re on-the-go as well as when involved in outdoor activities. I am referring to the so called trinity of a portable speaker, headphones, and NFC/Bluetooth adaptor.
Of course, leading the charge would be the $129.99 DBoom, which so happens to be a customizable and portable speaker that is capable of streaming superb sound and handsfree phone calls from any Bluetooth or NFC enabled device. What makes the DBoom special from the other devices in its class out there would be the added option to showcase your personality through the customization of your speaker, where this is made possible thanks to a perfectly form fitting skin which you can choose from a library that features most professional sports teams, colleges, entertainment and art brands. With literally thousands of designs to choose from to state your preference, you would be hard pressed to find another DBoom that looks exactly the same as yours. It delivers 6 watts of powerful stereo output from a pair of custom high fidelity audio drivers and passive sub-woofers, running on a re-chargeable, high capacity 2600mAH lithium-ion battery that delivers users up to a dozen hours of playtime on a single charge.
As for the MuseMini Bluetooth and tangle free UberBuds, this pair of eadbuds might not look like much, but when you take its $99.99 price tag into consideration, it delivers rich audio which is unique in such a compact and versatile package. It is perfect for music, phone calls, and games, as UberBuds will be able to stream Bluetooth wirelessly from any APTX/AAC compatible device from a range of up to 30 feet away. It will come with three sizes of ear cushions in order to maximize your comfort and support, while UberBuds offers a lifetime warranty against sweat, thanks to the use of cutting edge science that implements a patented nanotechnology through the treatment of a hydrophobic (waterproof) solution.
Last but not least, the $79.99 UberFly headphones can stream music from any NFC and Bluetooth enabled device from a range of up to 30 feet away, making it a snap to control your music while handling calls thanks to the integrated control panel and concealed microphone. Any takers?
[ MuseMini rolls out a bunch of accessories copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Sony will release the “CMT-SBT300W” and “CMT-SBT100″ separate speaker “comp” sound systems on July 6.
Total wireless capabilities through Bluetooth and NFC. One-touch pairing to connect Walkman, iPhone, Android smartphones and other smart devices wirelessly.
Both systems feature Sony’s exclusive “S-Master” digital amplifier and 2 way bass reflex speakers.
The “CMT-SBT300W” model features a 25mm dome-type tweeter, 120mm cone-type woofer and 50W+50W high-power output amplifier.
The “CMT-SBT300W model is also equipped with (IEEE 802.11b/g) Wi-Fi communication function. Through AirPlay or DLNA (home network), wirelessly play music contained in the PC or other device somewhere else in the house, in conjunction with a Wi-Fi enabled devices in the house.
The “CMT-SBT100″ features a 40mm cone-type tweeter, 100mm cone-type woofer and 25W+25W high-power output amplifier.
CMT-SBT300W
Price: ¥40,000
Color: Black
Dimensions:
– Main unit: Approx. 290×106×221mm
– Speaker: Approx. 150×270×220mm
Weight:
– Main unit: Approx. 2.7kg
– Speaker: Approx. 2.5kg each
Consumption: Approx. 40W (under 0.5W in standby mode)
CMT-SBT100
Price: ¥30,000
Color: Black
Dimensions:
– Main unit: Approx. 290×106×221mm
– Speaker: Approx. 150×240×220mm
Weight:
– Main unit: Approx. 2.7kg
– Speaker: Approx. 2.0kg each
Consumption: Approx. 35W (under 0.5W in standby mode)
If you think QR codes are a bad joke then consider NFC. Near Field Communications’ evangelists have been trying to get smartphone owners to share stuff by bumping and grinding their phones for years. And progress has been painful, to put it mildly. The reality is NFC is an ugly wasteland of non-use. Ever seen anyone IRL tapping their phones together? Or tapping on an NFC tag or reader? It’s about as rare as hen’s teeth.
Granted NFC is used in some countries as a payment solution but as a general, catch-all system for close data transfer, it’s a dud. The latest setback for the NFC-pushers’ cause comes courtesy of Apple. During Monday’s WWDC keynote, Tim Cook & Co. were cracking jokes at the tech’s expense as they previewed a feature coming in iOS 7 that does the job of NFC without any of the awkwardness of NFC. It’s a classic Apple move to eschew complexity and avoid technology-based redundancy (see also: wireless charging).
It also suggests Apple is in zero hurry to add NFC to its devices. So no NFC in the iPhone 5S then. Instead, it’s adding AirDrop to iOS 7, which uses peer-to-peer Wi-Fi to allow content to be shared to nearby iOS 7 devices without having to physically tap anything together. Or, as Apple’s SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi, put it — whilst miming said NFC-induced social awkwardness — “No need to wander around the room bumping your phone.”
Of course there is a snag: Apple’s AirDrop is limited to sharing between iOS 7 devices, so it’s not an open pipeline. Still, neither is NFC — since sharing using that transfer tech means both people have to have NFC-enabled devices. It’s also worth flagging that Apple’s support for a standard can be the tipping point for the industry to coalesce around a particular technology (e.g. USB, or helping to kick Flash in favour of HTML5). Add to that there are other Wi-Fi sharing apps for iOS that work across Apple and Windows (e.g. Filedrop) and use a Wi-Fi pipe for the transfer. No NFC required.
Apple often talks about how the things it chooses not to do are as defining as the things it does. Well Apple doesn’t do NFC. And that speaks volumes. Don’t forget, NFC is not new. It’s been kicking around in phones since forever. And Apple still reckons it sucks. AirDrop isn’t the only example of Cupertino deliberately eschewing NFC, either: The Passbook ticketing and loyalty card hub introduced in iOS 6 uses visual barcode scanning to deliver its discounts. The phone owner calls up the barcode on their device and the retailer scans it with a barcode reader. NFC? Not a bit of it.
Another of NFC’s myriad problems — i.e. in addition to actually needing its users to act out the physical transfer themselves – is there’s no emollient term to oil the wheels of its use, especially in the commerce space. Want to use NFC on your phone to pay for something? Asking the cashier ‘can I tap that?’ just sounds euphemistic. Falling back on miming the action is the most elegant of the various inelegant options here. It’s another instance of the social awkwardness of NFC.
Just going ahead and trying to tap phone to reader won’t necessarily work either since some NFC POS terminals need to be switched on specifically to conduct the contactless transaction. Before even getting to that point, of course, the phone owner also has to have figured out they are looking at an NFC-enabled terminal. Some resemble standard POS terminals so wanting to pay by NFC means hunting for a ‘pay by contactless’ sign, or asking if NFC can be used at that outlet.
All these barriers to contactless entry fatally erode its convenience… at least for now. Sure it might one day provide a slick way for phones to be used to pay for stuff — but that requires NFC readers to be everywhere. Which they certainly aren’t yet, despite all the hype and cash poured into the space over the past five+ years. And sure, NFC technology can work well in more simple use-cases. London’s Oyster travelcard ticketing system uses NFC to replace paper tickets, for instance. But really, if the best you can say of NFC is that it’s a bit more convenient than paper, that’s not saying an awful lot.
Shortcutting settings or grabbing content was another use-case envisaged by the NFC pushers. Phone owners would be tapping their devices to NFC tags stuck on movie posters to get content downloaded to their handsets, or be sent to a URL to watch a film trailer (an idea which has been kicking around since the turn of the century, I might add). This sounds like exactly the sort of not-IRL scenario that gets dreamt up in marketing departments. If that’s the best you’ve got NFC, you need to try a lot harder. And an NFC tag for pre-setting an in-car phone profile? Oh pleeease.
It’s fittingly ironic that NFC is termed a ‘contactless’ technology when its proximity requirements necessitate physical contact — or at least getting so close it’s academic. ‘NFC: irritatingly invading your personal space’ doesn’t sound quite so handy does it?
Elecom is releasing NFC compliant Bluetooth speaker “LBT-MPSPP11″ series in late June. By holding an NFC compliant device over the speaker, they will easily get paired up.
It’s a hybrid speaker combined with a 3W full range speaker driver and vibration busdriver. It also has an AUX terminal which enables you to play music from non-Bluetooth devices by connecting with an AUX cable.
Price: Open price
Color: black, red, silver
Number of devices of simultaneous pairing: 8
Continuos playback: 3 hours
Accessories: USB charge cable (60cm), AUX cable (60cm), antislip rubber sheet
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