PayPal comes to Pebble so you can pay while tracking perambulatory progress
Wearables are starting to come of age, and they're now about much more than just tracking blood pressure and distance while running. Today Pebble continues the expansion of its range of apps with the launch of a dedicated PayPal app. It allow for payments to be made at participating retailers and shows payment notifications so there's no need to rely on a phone.
Pebblers -- as PayPal insists on calling owners of the smartwatch -- now have the ability to make PayPal payments without having to reach into their pockets. The app can be used to pay with a payment code, or to check in to make a payment.
Ear-o-Smart: earrings that monitor your fitness levels hit Kickstarter
Developers of ‘the world’s first smart earring’ are hoping to raise over $30,000 on the Kickstarter crowd-funding website as part of a vision to "take fitness monitoring to the next level".
With most fitness and activity tracking devices typically worn on the wrist, developers of the Ear-o-Smart earring believe the wearable electronics market is missing a trick.
Preparing the enterprise for the wearable technology revolution
The future of wearable technology is so bright we’ll soon all be wearing Google sunglasses. Juniper Research expects worldwide spending on wearable devices to jump from $1.4 billion this year to $19 billion by 2018.
In another report, ABI Research claims that sales of wearable computing devices will exceed 485 million shipments worldwide by 2018. "Wearable technology such as smart glasses and those used for healthcare are better suited for the enterprise as corporate-liable devices. Smartwatches, on the other hand, will most likely follow the trend of BYOD into the enterprise," according to Jason McNicol, senior enterprise analyst for ABI Research.
Jawbone announces UP Move, UP3 activity trackers
Jawbone is expanding its collection of activity trackers with the newly-announced UP Move and UP3. The two new devices target different ends of the market, with the former being designed as a clip-on for basic activity tracking, while the latter is a fitness band meant for demanding users, who wish to have access to a comprehensive feature set.
UP Move is, as you might expect, the cheapest of the two, being priced at just $49.99. Its low cost makes it an attractive first choice for folks on a budget who wish to get into activity trackers. In fact, undoubtedly because of the low asking price, Jawbone markets Up Move as a "great option for anyone at the beginning of a fitness or weight loss journey".
Wearable tech can improve communication between humans and dogs
US scientists have developed a piece of wearable technology that could improve communication between dogs and humans.
The harness, which is fitted with sensors to monitor a dog's posture and vital signs, could also be used to help with training or to gather data.
Microsoft ignores its own Band wearable and gives away Fitbit Flex with the Lumia 830
A lot of wearable devices have accompanying smartphones. The Apple Watch has the iPhone 6, Galaxy Gear ties in with a number of Samsung Galaxy handsets, while the Motorola Moto 360 marries happily to just about any Android phone. Falling into the same works-with-anything camp is the recently announced Microsoft Band.
With a newly launched wearable, you'd think Microsoft would be keen to push it as much as possible. So when the company decided to bundle a wrist-worn device with the new Lumia 830, which do you think it opted for. Yeah... the Fitbit Flex...
Microsoft introduces Band smart activity tracker, Health platform
Microsoft is getting into the wearables business, but not with a smartwatch as the rumors have suggested for more than a week. The software giant is actually approaching this market with a smart activity tracker called Band, and a dedicated platform called Health.
Like the rumored smartwatch, which could have competed with Android Wear devices and Apple Watch, Band works on all three major mobile platforms, Android, iOS and Windows Phone. It is designed for both fitness junkies as well as average folks who wish to keep track of their daily activity.
Android Wear update adds GPS support as Sony SmartWatch 3 orders open
There are now a lot of smartwatches to choose from, and many of them need to be tethered to a phone to function properly. Google today rolls out an update to Android Wear that adds support for watches with a GPS sensor, meaning that it will be possible to leave your phone at home when you go for a run.
The GPS update is making its way to the LG G Watch, the Samsung Gear Live, and the Moto 360 over the coming days. It coincides with pre-orders opening for Sony's SmartWatch 3, the first Android Wear device to include a GPS sensor. The smartwatch is available on Verizon right now (yours for $249.99) for shipping on 30 October, and will be making its way to Google Play very soon.
Could a Microsoft smartwatch succeed?
According to Forbes, Microsoft is preparing to launch a smartwatch in the coming weeks. Forbes says the device will "passively track a wearer’s heart rate and work across different mobile platforms". So the good news is it won’t be tied to Windows Phone which only has a tiny 2.5 percent share of the mobile market.
A device that isn’t tied to the one platform is a very smart move for Microsoft. Apple Watch will probably be the device that propels smartwatches into the mainstream, but it requires wearers to have an iPhone. Android smartwatches connect to Android mobiles. If you switch from one platform to another -- move from Android to iOS for example -- you’ll need to buy a different watch. Microsoft’s device could solve that problem. There are other benefits too.
Will.i.am launches Puls -- the smartwatch that's not a watch
It's not a watch. It's not a watch. It's not a watch. Despite appearances to contrary (it tells the time and is worn on the wrist for starters...), Black Eyed Peas' singer and tech fiend will.i.am is keen to assure us that his new wristband is most definitely not a watch. Unveiling the wearable, the smart cuff, the wristband -- call it what you will, as long as it's not a watch -- at Dreamforce in San Francisco, he showed off the fact that the Puls (pronounced Pulse, not Pulls) can be used to make calls without the need to be paired with a mobile phone.
It's a device that has been teased for quite some time now. Will.i.am has been seen on many occasions with the band on his wrist, but had resisted giving away too many details. Now we know it is a curved screen device complete with its own SIM card, 16GB of memory and 1GB of RAM, and a Siri/Cortana-bating voice recognition system called Aneeda (I need a...).
X-Doria KidFit is a watch-like wearable for children -- tracks sleep and activity
Many kids nowadays are lazy and sedentary. They come from school, sit on the couch, eat Go-Gurt and watch nonsense like Adventure Time. Actually, swap the Go-Gurt for Teddy Grahams and Adventure Time for Heathcliff and it sounds like my youth, but I digress. Kids don't play outside enough and thanks to smartphones and tablets, they don't get as much sleep as they should. Hell, can you blame them? If I had an iPad in the 80s, I never would have slept.
Today, a new product called KidFit from a company called X-Doria becomes available. In a nutshell, it is a watch-like wearable that you strap onto your kids, so you can track both their activity and sleep patterns. While some may claim the use of such a product is lazy parenting, I disagree; utilizing this technology is a proactive approach to combatting obesity and fatigue.
Apple Watch not cool enough? How about a Samsung Gear Live running Windows 95?
Apple Watch could well be the device that brings wearables into the mainstream, but if you’re not a fan of Apple products, there are plenty of Android smartwatches to choose from, and if you want to really stand out from the crowd, how about a watch that runs Windows 95?
Microsoft’s veteran operating system will turn twenty next year, and enterprising Samsung Gear Live owner Corbin Davenport has managed to blend old and new, getting Windows 95 running on Android Wear.
Pavlok wristband motivates wearers with an electric shock
Have you ever needed a helping hand to break a bad habit? Maybe you want to stop hitting that ever-tempting snooze button on the alarm, or have finally convinced yourself that now would be the right time to give up fast food.
Or, you might have set yourself the target of going to the gym every day and just need a little bit of extra motivation every now and then.
Google Glass adopted by Edinburgh Airport staff as wearables explode in popularity
At the airport, it's normal to see customer service staff equipped with phones, walkie-talkies and perhaps a tablet. Passengers travelling to and from Scotland who pass through Edinburgh airport will soon find that they are greeted by staff adorned with Google Glass. Google's wearable specs are to be trialled in the Scottish airport in a bid to provide more help and information to travelers.
Customer support representatives will be able to call up flight details and answer queries using the head-mounted Android-powered hardware.
Phablet fans, get ready -- Samsung Galaxy Note 4 goes on sale this week
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is among the most important new mobile devices to go on sale in the second half of 2014, alongside Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus (which launched last week); the latter is a direct competitor. The Android phablet was slated to go on sale next month, but, in no small part thanks to the strong sales performance of the new iPhones, Samsung wants to get it in consumers' hands much sooner.
Samsung has announced that Galaxy Note 4 officially goes on sale this Friday, September 2014, in its home country of South Korea. There pre-orders started earlier this month, with consumers reportedly showing a strong interest in the device. But what if you live outside of South Korea?
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