Aug 09
Apple ran into a bit of trouble when it was discovered that the company’s design for the clock on the iPad version of iOS 6 was pretty much ripped off from the Swiss Federal Railway
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Aug 08
inWatch One smartwatch has GSM connectivity and a heavily skinned version of Android
Posted in: Today's Chili
From Kickstarter projects to rumored devices from the biggest gadget manufacturers on earth, smartwatches of all kinds are popping up all over the world. The latest such wearable was unearthed by our good friends at Engadget Chinese, and is called inWatch One. It sets itself apart from other smartwatches with a custom version of Android 4.0 and a GSM SIM card slot to give your wrist access to mobile voice and data networks. inWatch has a 1.54-inch 240 x 240 capacitive display, a dual-core 1.2GHz CPU of unknown origin, a 2-megapixel camera and a 500mAh battery. Connectivity comes courtesy of the aforementioned GSM (likely for China-friendly 900/1800/2100 MHz bands), WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS radios. As for that custom Android build, dubbed inDroid, its been tailored to fit the watch’s smaller screen and works with some of China’s most popular apps; WeChat, Sina Weibo, QQ and Baidu music are all supported. Interested? It’s available now on the company’s website for RMB 1,788 million (about $293 US).
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile
Via: Engadget Chinese
Source: inWatch (Chinese)
Aug 08
Newcomers like Pebble might be the current darlings when it comes to connected watches, but it doesn’t mean that established players are standing still. Back at CES, Casio showed a G-Shock watch with Bluetooth (GB-5600A) capable of receiving calls and text-message notifications (with sound and vibration), plus automatic time updates from an iPhone. Today the company announced a pair of G-Shock watches (GB-6900B / GB-X6900B) with Bluetooth 4.0 LE that extend the existing functionality to select Android handsets. In addition, both watches feature music remote control (via AVRCP, presumably) and the ability to set alarms and timers from Casio’s companion smartphone app. Battery life is a pretty impressive two years (with 12 hours of Bluetooth use per day) on a single CR2032 battery. The GB-6900B and GB-X6900B will be released in Japan on September 21st for 18,000 yen (roughly $187) and 20,000 yen (roughly $208) respectively. All that’s needed now is a retro-looking Databank or calculator watch with Bluetooth, right, Casio?
Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables, Mobile
Via: Far East Gizmos
Source: Casio
Aug 06
The Argus, named after the all-seeing Greek god with 100 eyes, is a wearable computer that helps blind people see borders and boundaries at very low resolution.
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Aug 05
Judging by a recent FCC application, Adidas is about to add a new player to its miCoach lineup: the X_Cell performance monitor. According to the manual, the wee device can either be worn on your clothing or strapped to your chest for use in sports like football, soccer and tennis. So attached, it’ll store seven hours or more of your sprinting speeds, dodging and cutting forces, jump forces, workout times and heart rates. You can then connect via Bluetooth to the miCoach iOS app to monitor your progress or brag about it on Facebook or Twitter. Adidas has yet to announce it, so there’s no word on cost or an arrival date — but when it does come, coasting through practice might be a thing of the past. To see a flip-side image, hit the break.
Filed under: Wearables
Source: FCC
Aug 03
While Samsung hasn’t been shy about its desire to build a new smartwatch, we’ve had few clues as to what that wristwear could look like. However, Moveplayer has uncovered a trio of Korean design patents that, combined, could represent a design template. Registered between March and May, the patents show a watch with both Android-style controls in the middle and a prominent flexible display. The device looks plausible, but we wouldn’t leap to conclusions — companies frequently patent designs that won’t necessarily ship. There’s also no clear connections to a previously filed Gear trademark associated with wearable technology. If Samsung ever releases a watch in this mold, though, it will at least seem very familiar.
[Thanks, JunK]
Filed under: Wearables, Samsung
Source: Moveplayer
Aug 02
OpenGlass uses Google Glass to identify objects for the visually impaired (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
Dapper Vision’s OpenGlass project sees Google Glass’ camera as useful for more than just hands-free pictures — it’s a tool for interpreting the world around us. To show that potential, the two-person group has tested two of its Glass apps with visually impaired wearers. The first, Question-Answer, lets the poor-sighted ask both Mechanical Turk and Twitter for help in identifying objects. Memento, in turn, automatically recites notes when the user looks at a recognizable scene; it can warn users about dangerous equipment, for example. Dapper Vision tells us that the OpenGlass apps will stay in limited testing until Google lets developers offer Glassware to the general public, but the company isn’t sitting still in the meantime. It’s devising a way to reward Question-Answer contributors with BitCoins, and it will demonstrate new Glass-based augmented reality software next week.
Filed under: Wearables, Google
Source: OpenGlass
Aug 02
Remember those “Fortaleza” AR glasses we saw in a leaked Microsoft document back when the Xbox One was still the Xbox 720? It looks like those might actually be a thing, if a patent application from Redmond is any indication. It touts the idea of “multiplayer gaming with a head-mounted display,” claiming the device could receive voice commands, track your eyes, calculate depth and recognize the faces of fellow players. All that would be in the rather narrow service of letting you invite others and accept invitations to a game through strictly visual means, though. That makes it similar to another recent Microsoft patent we saw for augmenting live events with AR, since the emphasis is on a specific usage rather than the eyewear itself. We might even see an application some day for actual gaming on such a device, but meanwhile, check after the break for more images.
Filed under: Gaming, Wearables, Microsoft
Via: NeoGAF
Source: USPTO
Aug 01
Pebble owners who’ve paired their watches with iOS devices have been lagging behind their Android-using counterparts, at least when it comes to email notifications. A new update for the iOS app, available today, is bridging that divide by introducing Gmail and other IMAP account notifications to Pebble. Previously, iDevice owners were limited to the default iOS 6 mail client, whereas Android users could choose between the default option or their Gmail accounts. Version 1.2 of Pebble’s iOS app includes a very simple setup for adding Gmail (or generic IMAP) accounts, and alerts will be pushed so long as the Pebble app is running in the background. To download the update, head on over to the source link below.
Filed under: Wearables
Via: Mobile Burn
Jul 31
Glass hasn’t exactly been revered for its brilliant image quality, but that’s not stopping Google from making a push among budding filmmakers. The Glass Creative Collective, a partnership with film and design schools, is intended to familiarize students at a handful of institutions with the video-capture wearable. Several colleges, including the Rhode Island School of Design, UCLA and the University of Southern California are on board — students will reportedly begin exploring the device as a filmmaking tool beginning this fall. Glass could be a fit for documentary filmmaking, and for capturing point-of-view footage, of course, but performance limitations would likely prevent it from taking on a starring role in any production. We’re a bit skeptical that the Creative Collective will be a booming success, but Google’s promised to circle back with results once the program gets off the ground.
Filed under: Cameras, Displays, Wearables, Alt, Google
Via: CNET
Source: Google Glass (Google+)
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