Hasta La Gadget!

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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Fitbit’s been in the fitness-tracking game for a while now, but today marks its first official entry into the wearable band space. Shown off here at CES 2013, the Flex is a wireless band much in the vein of Nike’s Fuelband and Jawbone’s rebooted Up. But while it shares many similarities with those existing products, there are a few very notable areas where it breaks apart from the pack– namely, the inclusion of Bluetooth 4.0. Now, health nuts can wirelessly update their stats to an iPhone or limited selection of Android (!) devices via that standard without having to manually sync.

While it doesn’t boast the Yves Behar design that Jawbone fancies, the Flex should prove to be a welcome accessory for fashion conscious consumers. To that end, it comes in five different colors — navy, black, tangerine, slate and teal — and features a thin strip of LEDs that can be activated by a simple tap. Those lights, five in total, each represent 20-percent towards a user’s assigned goal, so current progress can be easily monitored. And, as you might expect, there’s a vibration motor within the band to alert users based on settings made from the companion app.

The Flex is indeed a waterproof product and can be worn in the shower or even the swimming pool, though we wouldn’t advise you take it diving. Despite this H20 resistance, the Flex won’t track your butterfly strokes (or doggie paddles), but it will keep count of your steps, calories burned, sleep and distance walked.

Perhaps one of the most welcome innovations of this particular wearable is its ability to play friendly with Android — specifically, the Samsung Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S III. Users who purchase this band will be able to download that app from Google Play at the end of January. Further, there’s one additional perk for Android users: the ability to tap-to-pair with NFC. In theory, this functionality should provide users with easy access to their stats, but we (in addition to the company’s many reps) had significant trouble triggering the action on repeated occasions.

If you’ve been monitoring the fitness-tracking space, but have been holding out for a band that offers just a little extra, then it’s worth considering the Flex. You can look for it to hit this spring for $100. Stay tuned for a video demo of the Flex in action.

Sarah Silbert contributed to this report.

Continue reading Fitbit Flex hands-on at CES 2013 (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables, Wireless

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So, you’ve been monitoring virtually every aspect of your athletic performance and tweeting it to the world, but not your heartrate or other basic performance factors? Apparently that just won’t do, sport-o, so 4iiii has announced the chest-worn Viiiiva monitor. That’ll let you add those indicators to sportwatches like those from Garmin or Timex through the ANT+ interface, or iPhones and iPods using Bluetooth. To lighten your training load, you can record the data with the Viiiiva alone, then sync it up later and record, plot and analyze your stats with a clutch of iOS fitness apps like Strava or Training Peaks. You’ll be able to pick one up soon for $79 on at 4iiii’s site (see coverage) and select retailers, so head to the PR after the break and feel the burn.

Continue reading 4iiii unveils Viiiiva heart rate monitor that wirelessly links to your iPhone or smartwatch

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables

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We’ll say this about Basis: no one can accuse it of rushing products to market. It was a whole year ago back at CES 2012 that the company first announced its fitness band, which only just went on sale six weeks ago. It’s a pretty promising device, actually, with sensors that track sweat output, heat dissipation, blood flow and heart rate. Unlike other fitness trackers, too, it can automatically detect when you’re asleep or working out, so that you don’t have to log that information manually. The problem is, there aren’t yet any mobile apps, meaning you have to view all your data through a web console. Well, we have some good news: the company just released screenshots of its Android app, which fortunately has the same clean UI as the website. The bad news: it won’t actually be available to download until later in Q1, and the iOS version is still in development.

For now, here’s a little preview of what you can expect. The “Insights” feature gives you a daily summary, with everything from sleep quality to resting heart rate to calories burned. If you like, you can scroll through the days or view your progress in one-week increments, though a Basis rep hinted monthly and yearly views might be added later. Additionally, you can page through so-called habit cards, which keep tabs on how well you’re sticking to a healthy routine, doing things like getting up from your desk and moving around. As we said, the app will be available on Android by the end of Q1, following a period of beta testing. If we can catch a demo here at CES, we’ll update this post with a short hands-on video but for now, help yourself to some screenshots below.

Filed under: Wearables

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Source: Basis

Pulse Oximeters are an essential hospital tool and serious athletes rely on them to track the efficiency with which they pump oxygen into their blood stream. Masimo’s new iSpO2 puts these rather important health metrics within reach of the consumer by tying the sensor to your favorite iOS device through an app. The device, available now for $249 through Amazon, feeds your blood oxygen level, pulse rate and perfusion index (the rate of blood flow to your finger) to an easy-to-read app. In addition to just large raw numbers, the app also offers a history-tracking graph, along with a confidence rating for the reading — so you know when the data coming in and out is reliable. The device itself is primarily light soft-touch plastic and rubber, with a slightly glossier clip that goes over your finger. At the opposite end of the device is the standard 30-pin connector for plugging into your old-school iOS devices. Though, frequent upgraders will be happy to hear that Lightning adapters work perfectly fine with the iSpO2.

Primarily the monitor is aimed at athletes and aviators who tend to find themselves in unpressurized aircraft. Beyond that, there could be general health applications for those with chronic circulation issues or other blood-related health problems. The sensor even works when under stress from constant movement — an important feature since Masimo expects runners and hikers are expected actually wear the device when active. For a bit more, check out the gallery below and the video after the break.

Continue reading Masimo iSpO2 hands-on: track your pulse and blood oxygen with your iPhone

Filed under: Wearables, Software

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