Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re not keen on giving your little tyke the latest and greatest in terms of smartphones, but still want them to be a call away, the VivoPlay could fit the bill. Evado Filip US, the company behind the device, is packing GPS, WiFi and a GSM connection into a wristwatch form factor, which it claims is the world’s smallest communications and location device for helping families stay in touch. Parents can call the device and chat with kids and even give their rug rats the option to call up five pre-selected phone numbers. If a child were to wander away with the VivoPlay on their wrist, parents are alerted if they leave or enter a geofenced area and can pinpoint them on a map via a smartphone app. Were a youngster to find themselves in an emergency, they can hit a button that will ring up to five predefined numbers and report their location. The idea sure is a noble one, and the devices we saw looked more than child-friendly. Evado Filip reps told us that the device is being crafted with just that in mind, and the chunky rubber enclosing the communicator sure bears that out. The charger is enclosed for that reason as well, offering a decent bit of protection from the elements (and from childhood).

There’s no word on pricing or availability, but we’re told the outfit is working with carriers and that pre-orders will begin in Q2. Check out the neighboring gallery or hit the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading VivoPlay packs WiFi, GPS and a GSM connection for tracking, calling your kids (video)

Filed under: Misc

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Last year at CES, smartwatches seemed like they might become the next big thing (they didn’t). This year, the trendy wearables are all fitness trackers, which have already become something of a meme among gadget makers. Toshiba thinks it has a way to bridge both trends. Here at CES 2013 the company is showing off a concept smartwatch that measures the pulse in your wrist. Of course, it also does all the other things you’d expect a smartwatch to do, like pull in email and calendar appointments from your smartphone. We’re told that if this came to market (and we don’t know that it will), it would pair with an Android / iOS app, which would allow the watch to not just sync email, but also pull in maps and turn-by-turn directions.

The hardware itself is styled more like an analog watch than other smartwatches we’ve seen. Toshiba demoed it with different bands, some of them made of leather in serious tones like black and dark brown. As you can see, the 1.7-inch, 200×320-pixel OLED screen can display different clock faces, some of them even designed to mimic an analog watch. As far as runtime is concerned, a Toshiba rep indicated that the company is aiming for at least two days of battery life, though that figure is hardly final. In our hands-on, we noticed some charging points on the reverse side of the face, which you’d use with a proprietary charging cradle. At the same time, the Toshiba spokesperson indicated USB charging was also a possibility. Again, no word on when or if this will come to market. Even if it never surfaces, though, we can get behind the idea of smartwatches that track vitals — or perhaps fitness trackers that do a little more.

Sarah Silbert contributed to this report.

Filed under: Wearables

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If you’re active, it’s good to have a GPS watch. They have plenty of uses, especially if you run or cycle. Keeping track of your workout is one of the best features. The ones that also feature active navigation will make sure that you won’t get lost. However, most GPS watches can be bulky, counterintuitive to use, and the screen usually isn’t that great.

The Leikr sports watch is supposed to link to GPS satellites faster than others on the market. It’s also is supposed to be less bulky and easier to operate than other GPS watches, though it still looks pretty big to me. That’s probably because of it’s 2-inch widescreen, 320×240 color display. The low-glare Gorilla Glass covered face is bigger than average watches, but it’s only 1.065 cm thick. Having such a large display allows for more legible maps than other GPS watches, as well as the ability to display all of your pertinent stats – time, distance, speed, pace, calories burned and heart rate – on a single screen.

It’s got 8GB of onboard storage and has a 500 Mhz processor, and can communicate with other devices using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and is also ANT+ compatible. Its rechargeable battery is supposed to last 6 hours of active use. Its maps are powered by OpenStreetMap, so I’m not exactly sure how accurate the map data will be. You might want to swing by their website to verify that the maps for your regular haunts are complete and up to date.

The project is currently raising funds for production over on Kickstarter, and you’ll have to pledge at least $279(USD) to reserve one.

[via TechCrunch]

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

Granted, the Garmin Fenix already does decent GPS from your wrist, but there’s a limit to what it can accomplish on its basic little LCD. Enter Leikr: a Gorilla Glass beast with a 2-inch, 320 x 240 display that can throw out a wide range of endurance stats simultaneously or switch to a color navigation mode using up to 8GB-worth of onboard OpenStreetMap data. It’s designed by former Nokia engineers who claim they’ve used their mobile skills to make the Leikr catch a quicker GPS signal, connect directly to a cloud-based, Endomondo-integrated exercise portal using WiFi and Linux-based software, and at the same time stick to a smartphone-like 10mm thickness.

The project’s Kickstarter page has just gone live, with early bird deals still available — at the time of writing, a minimum $229 buy-in is required to lock down a final production Leikr by the summer. That’s hardly cheap, but it’s not at $400 Fenix proportions either, so take a look at the video after the break and the funding link below (scroll to the bottom of that page for full specs) and then, you know, dwell on it.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Leikr GPS sports watch has 2-inch screen, ex-Nokia engineers on its side

Filed under: Wearables, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: Leikr (Kickstarter)

No matter how you feel about Apple, you have to admit that the company did change the smartphone world when it unveiled the first iPhone 5-1/2 years ago. Apple then came back and set the tablet world on its ear with the iPad. Now it’s possible that Apple could be set to try to change the world of wristwatches.

Rumors are circulating that Apple and Intel are working on a new smartwatch product that will debut in 2013. Sources in China claim that Apple is working on smartwatch. This particular rumor helps make sense of the redesign of the iPod nano away from its watch-friendly square face, despite the popularity of wristband accessories and various Kickstarted smartwatch projects out there.

According to Chinese sources, the smartwatch would be Bluetooth enabled and have a 1.5-inch touchscreen display. The watch would be designed to work directly with the iPhone allowing users to make phone calls and perform other functions from their wrist. Other smartphone integrating watches have been on the market before and have proven unsuccessful, which makes this fertile ground for Apple to sow.

It’s worth noting that Apple rumors never cease and some products, such as an actual Apple HDTV and touchscreen iMacs, and have never materialized despite ongoing rumors.

[via PCMag]