belty
Latest
Belty the self-adjusting belt just got a smarter, classier sequel
One of many odd things to come out of CES 2015 was Belty: a self-adjusting belt that would literally cut you some slack if you enjoyed your dinner a little too much. As mentioned last week, following the exposure at CES, the company behind it, Emotia, decided a redesign sequel was in order. After the heavy, thick (but coolly industrial-looking) prototype, the new "Good Vibes" (or GV) model is slimmer, lighter and looks, well, more like a dress belt you'd actually see on sale in a clothes store. And it's not just a pretty (leathery) face.
The weird world of offbeat wearables
While most of us have yet to morph into a gadget-laden "gargoyle" (like the one in Snow Crash) the wearable market has still lavished an endless assortment of devices to scatter about our person. The majority of offerings fall into the fitness tracker and smartwatch categories, all with a relatively predictable set of features. There's an oft-missed underbelly to the wearable category, however, one that's rife with devices bearing more unique qualities. Some are valiant and useful products, while others treasure entertainment value and extreme fashion above all else. We've collected a few samples of the weird and wild side to the wearable world that may finally help you pull your new look together.
Best of CES 2015 Awards, Offbeat: Belty Smart Belt
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-54529{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-54529, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-54529{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-54529").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Without fail, CES always manages offers up something a little unusual alongside the halls (upon halls) of TVs, tablets and home appliances. In fact, it's the weird things that often catch our attention the most. So, what about Belty the smart belt? The name alone screams "offbeat," but it's the way the wearable pulls it all off that caught our eye. It not only adjusts for your waist automatically (the cool part), but also offers up metric data... and associated health warnings, if needed. We present the Best of CES 2015 Offbeat winner. Marty McFly would probably wear one.
The Belty motorized belt keeps you comfortable, tries to keep you active
Fitness and activity trackers come in many shapes and sizes. Some you wear on your wrist; others you stick in your ears; and some you clip onto your belt. Emotia's prototype activity tracker actually is a belt; or more specifically, a belt buckle called Belty. As you'd expect, it measures steps like every other tracker, and connects to your phone via Bluetooth to feed this data into an app, which acts as a virtual fitness coach. You can also set it to vibrate when you've been sedentary for too long and, more importantly, it can keep tabs on your changing waist measurement, which can be a good indicator of your risk of developing weight-related conditions. What I've described so far is all well and good, but forget that, because this belt buckle is also motorized, and capable of tightening and loosening itself to keep you as comfortable as possible at all times.
