Hasta La Gadget!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple years, odds are you’ve seen one of Nicholas Woodman’s little cube cameras strapped to someone’s chest or stuck to a car. Today at TechCrunch Disrupt 2013, the GoPro CEO was asked if he’d be interested in moving beyond the cube and mount form factor and into something more svelte, Glass-like, even. While he found value in Google Glass’ ability to shoot first-person video, Woodman isn’t so keen on such a device due to its limited use case (it can really only be worn on your face). “The Google Glass form factor doesn’t provide the versatility that has been so key to GoPro’s success,” he said, before going on to extol the virtues of having a camera that can be mounted on your chest, your car or pretty much anywhere. Essentially, he sees the fact that GoPro can provide any point of view for video as a key selling point for his cameras.

Instead, Woodman sees Glass (or other such wearables) as an excellent way for folks to interact with GoPro cameras. He pointed out the camera line’s functionality with current smartphones — using a handset as a remote control, or previewing and sharing footage, noting that wearables could provide similar features, only in hands-free fashion. So, we won’t see any new GoPro models meant solely for wearing, but you can bet we’ll be seeing a GoPro Glass app at some point.

Filed under: Cameras, Wearables, HD

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Digital cameras are built into just about every gadget these days. But that doesn’t mean they’re always the most convenient way to capture video footage. This little gadget aims to change that, by placing a wearable camera on your body that can shoot video POV video in a snap.

The MeCam is a compact camera that can be pinned to your clothing or worn as a necklace. It shoots 720p video at a 65-degree viewing angle, and can capture audio from up to 20 feet away. One nifty feature of the MeCam is the ring of infrared LED lights around its lens, which help it capture video in low-light conditions. Content is sent from the MeCam to your computer via USB.

Best of all, the MeCam is very inexpensive, with prices starting at just $49.99 (USD) for the 4GB model, which captures appx. 1 hour of video. Another $10 ($59.99) buys you the 8GB model, and $20 more ($69.99) gives you 16GB – or about 4 hours of video. You can order the MeCam now over at their website.

Considering that Apple’s patented nearly every tech concept under the sun, the revelation that it dabbled with a wearable display of some sort is hardly earth-shattering. According to Tony Fadell, Nest CEO and former Senior VP at Apple, Cupertino built a bunch of wearable tech prototypes but “didn’t have time” to further develop them. Fadell describes Apple’s approach as “visors, so it’s like you’re sitting in a theater,” which sounds decidedly more like a VR headset or head-mounted display than something like Google Glass. Still, Apple dismissing one of Google’s the year’s most hyped concepts in favor of focusing on its streamlined device lineup? That’s quite a burn to Mountain View.

Filed under: Apple, Google

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Via: 9to5Google

Source: Co.Design

Google has updated Glass with audio search as well as a new photography feature called Vignetting in XE9, together with YouTube results in search and Google Apps support for Glass Explorers. Users of the Google wearable can now long press on the touchpad and swipe forward to trigger a new music recognition feature, or alternatively […]

Many people read while they’re using exercise machines, but we don’t envy them; it’s not easy to concentrate on a novel when running. Weartrons may help those athletic readers maintain their focus with its upcoming Run-n-Read peripheral. The clip-on device detects its wearer’s movements and compensates for them on a host Android or iOS device, keeping e-book text steady in the midst of a treadmill run. Owners can also tap the Run-n-Read to turn pages, and the gadget doubles as a pedometer in between reading sessions. Weartrons is starting a crowdfunding campaign for the Run-n-Read today, and is asking gym rats to pledge a nominal $55 to get a device of their own. If all goes smoothly, the company should deliver its first units no later than January.

Filed under: Wearables

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Source: Weartrons, Dragon Innovation