Motorola files patent application for a gaze-detecting wristworn device

DNP Motorola files a patent application for wristworn electronic device

These days, wearable tech is a beast that cannot be stopped, even if we wanted to (we don’t). We recently got wind of an application Motorola submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (initially filed in February of 2012 and published today) for an electronic device designed “to enfold about an appendage of a user.” While “appendage” could mean a great many things, let’s go wild and call this gadget a smartwatch. The application specifies a few interesting features, including gaze detection, touchscreen controls and a hinged dual display system. Motorola is no stranger to this territory; its MOTOACTV has enough features (like Twitter and Facebook) to be considered a fitness-oriented smartwatch. This newly proposed device includes functions similarly geared towards health-conscious consumers, like vital sign and exercise monitoring. While not all patents materialize into the finished products we might expect, it’s interesting to know that Motorola is actively pursuing one such as this. The application can be read in full at the source link below.

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Source: US Patent and Trademark Office

The Ring Clock Helps You Keep The Sands Of Time In Your Hands

For years now, people have worn rings on their fingers as well as watches on their hands. Rings would be used in order to indicate someone’s marital status as well as being used for fashion, while watches are used to tell time in addition to their use in fashion. Now, you won’t need to wear one or the other as the Ring Clock combines both a ring and a watch in one ultimate accessory.

The Ring Clock uses a total of 144 ultra-thin LEDs that can display the current time when you twist it along your finger, all within a surgical-grade, allergy-free stainless steel ring that is water resistant. You’ll have a choice of being able to tell time through your ring in either blue or orange LEDs. Charging the Ring Clock is as easy as setting it down as it’ll recharge through wireless induction, although a full charge is said to allow the ring to function for a week without needing to be recharged.

The Ring Clock is currently seeking funding through their Indiegogo campaign where a pledge of $185 will get you your very own Ring Clock, which is said to be a rather large discount considering the retail price of the ring will be $250 when it’s complete.

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  • The Ring Clock Helps You Keep The Sands Of Time In Your Hands original content from Ubergizmo.

        



    The Ring Clock is a Watch for Your Finger

    Pledge to this campaign on Indiegogo if you want to wear a watch on your fingers. It’s called the Ring Clock, and uses 144 ultra-thin mono-color LEDs to display the time when you twist it. It’s a ring. It’s a watch. And, thankfully it doesn’t look like these.
    ringclock
    Charging the Ring Clock is wireless, through induction. You just put it on a Qi charging plate. The battery is good for one week of operation on a charge. It’s made from surgical stainless steel and also has a water-resistant exterior.

    ring watch 2

    Right now they’re still working on their prototype. It isn’t finished yet. So you should be aware that this isn’t a sure thing. They may be able to pull it off. Then again, maybe not. In order to put the Ring Clock into production, the company is looking for $287,400 in crowdsourced funding. As of this writing it has raised over $50,000 toward that goal, and still has about 43 days to go.

    It takes a minimum $185(USD) pledge if you want one. I hope they get the rest of their funding and manage to complete the project.

    [via Uncrate]

    Tokyoflash Kisai Blade LED Watch Inspired by Turbine Engines

    If you’ve been following Technabob for any period of time, you know we’re big fans of Tokyoflash and their unusual watches. Now, here’s a Tokyoflash watch that is kind of a big fan itself. That is, it’s based on the fan blades of a turbofan engine.

    tokyoflash kisai blade 2

    The new Kisai Blade watch gets its inspiration from the blades of a turbine fan engine. When off, the face of the watch really does look like a jet engine. It’s got a stepped, smoked lens which conceals an array of LEDs arranged around a central point. The watch is based on a concept design originally submitted by Peter Fletcher to the Tokyoflash design blog.

    tokyoflash kisai blade 4

    When illuminated, the LEDs can tell time in one of two modes – one which works like traditional watch hands – and another which rapidly flashes the time by indicating each digit based on the angle of each hand. It’s also got a nifty animation mode which should be perfect for all of those raves I know you’ve been attending. If you want to see it in action, check out the demo video below:

    The Blade is rechargeable via USB, and you can go about a month between charges. It’s available in black, gold, silver, or silver with a leather band, and in several different LED color choices. I think the all black with the red hands is my favorite.

    tokyoflash kisai blade 5

    tokyoflash kisai blade 1

    If you head on over to Tokyoflash right away, you’ll be able to get in on the launch price of just $139(USD)- good until Thursday, August 29th at 11:00am Japan time.

    tokyoflash kisai blade 3

    Bowflex Boost Fitness Band: HAL Will Make You Exercise!

    Fitness bands, apps and devices are a great way to motivate you to keep fit. There’s nothing like adding a bit of competitiveness into your fitness routine, especially if you don’t exercise with partners or friends.

    bowflex boost fitness band exercise tracker

    The Bowflex Boost is supposed to be a low-cost alternative to some of the pricier fitness bands available on the market right now. Just like the others, it will track your daily activities, as well as the quality of your sleep. It will come with a companion iOS app that will sync your data via Bluetooth.

    bowflex boost fitness band exercise tracker packaging

    The Bowflex Boost will launch this September for just $50(USD). It also looks a bit like the HAL 9000 – or maybe a Cylon.

    Omate suggests TrueSmart the first “Smartwatch 2.0″

    This week the folks at Omate have unveiled the Omate TrueSmart smartwatch formally, ushering in what they suggest is the dawn of “Smartwatch 2.0.” This second age of smartwatch technology is – according to Omate – one in which the full collection of abilities of the past generation are kept intact without the need of […]

    The Hot Watch is a smartwatch that makes calls, we go hands-on

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    By now you’ve all heard of the Pebble smartwatch, which became the most successful campaign in Kickstarter history after hitting its $100,000 fundraising goal in a mere two hours. But the Hot Watch is no slouch, either. With 16 days left to go in its Kickstarter campaign, it’s already surpassed its $150,000 fundraising goal by more than three hundred grand. It also offers some features you might not expect from a smartwatch — namely, the ability to make calls from the watch itself, Dick Tracy-style, without having to use your phone as a middleman. If you choose to take a chance on it at the source link below, it’ll cost you $109 for the basic black version, as shown above, though once it ships (sometime in December, we’re told), it will range from $169 to $249, depending on whether you get it in plastic or with more premium materials like leather and titanium trim. Though it won’t arrive on people’s doorsteps for another four months, we’ve already scored a few minutes of hands-on time. Read on for some early impressions (and photos too!). %Gallery-slideshow73285%

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    Source: Hot Watch (Kickstarter)

    iWatch tipped by Apple Nike FuelBand developer hire Jay Blahnik

    Though it’s not entirely aimed at a public release, Apple’s hiring of fitness expert and Nike FuelBand developer Jay Blahnik has become public knowledge and a tip not to be missed over the past several hours. This hire has he masses suggesting Apple is aiming for more wearable technology finesse, possibly aiming at the fabled […]

    Apple hires Nike FuelBand advisor Jay Blahnik

    Apple reportedly hires Nike FuelBand guru Jay Blahnik

    Apple clearly loves Nike when there’s Nike+ support across many iPhones and iPods, but that affection appears to be growing even deeper. Both 9to5 Mac and AllThingsD report that fitness expert Jay Blahnik, who consulted with Nike during the FuelBand’s development, joined Apple earlier this month. While the new hire hasn’t outlined his role, it’s easy to see him working on wrist-worn devices given Tim Cook’s professed interest in the category. We’ve reached out to the company for more details, and we’ll let you know if we learn more. Whatever Blahnik’s exact duties, his career move suggests that fitness plays an important role in Apple’s device roadmap — fans may want to lace up their running shoes.

    [Image credit: Nggcali12, Wikimedia Commons]

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    Source: 9to5 Mac, AllThingsD

    Hyetis Crossbow Watch Sports 41-Megapixel Camera

    Hyetis Crossbow Watch Sports 41 Megapixel CameraYou might think that your spanking new Nokia Lumia 1020’s the bomb, but sorry to burst your bubble, bub, the Hyetis Crossbow watch will sport a 41-megapixel camera instead. This can be classified as a smartwatch, where it looks more at home on the wrist of a superspy rather than a gizmo that one would wear in a futuristic science fiction society. Definitely the highest resolution camera ever incorporated into a smartwatch to date from what we have seen so far, the Hyetis Crossbow will boast of connectivity to Android, iOS and Windows Phone 8 devices, now how about that?

    Important details such as messages, weather and email will be able to show up on the timeface of the watch, in addition to whatever wireless connection that you are hooked up to at that point in time. Connectivity options will comprise of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC. An inductive charging pod will be used to juice up this technologically advanced timepiece, and just in case you cannot wait to drop some serious coin for this, no pre-orders are being accepted by Hyetis just yet. The thing is, when pre-orders open, one of these timepieces will cost you a whopping $1,200 – and to think there isn’t even a single piece of bling on it!

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  • Hyetis Crossbow Watch Sports 41-Megapixel Camera original content from Ubergizmo.