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Samsung's smart belt lands on Kickstarter
Remember that health-tracking smart belt Samsung showed at its CES booth in January? You can score one for yourself. Spinoff company Welt has started a Kickstarter campaign to fund the launch of its namesake belt. Drop $119 ($69 or $99 if you're early) and you'll get a subtle wearable that tracks your waistline, eating habits, step counts and the time you spend sitting. Higher-priced Classic and Premium models mainly up the style quotient. Provided the crowdfunding run is successful, you should get your Welt as early as January -- just in time to track your efforts to shed weight after the holidays.
The best of the rest at IFA 2016
Now that we've said goodbye to IFA 2016, it's time to bring you highlights of the most interesting devices at the event. In this particular edition, you'll find some that aren't smartphones or wearables. We're talking virtual reality massage chairs, fridges with built-in tablets, as well as adorable robots and drones. Acer's ridiculous 21-inch gaming laptop is there too, along with its new convertible Chromebook. But that's just part of it, so check out the slideshow and think about which items you want the most. We're live all week from Berlin, Germany, for IFA 2016. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.
IFA 2016: All things mobile
IFA isn't as big of a mobile show it once was. Samsung and LG opted to have their big phone announcements elsewhere this year, and even Motorola had its own Lenovo-hosted soiree a few months ago. Still, we did see a few new handsets at the show, along with a cool new MotoMod attachment. Peruse our gallery below for all the mobile news to come out of IFA 2016. We're live all week from Berlin, Germany, for IFA 2016. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.
IFA 2016 showed us how far wearables have come
The wearables world has come a long way in a very short time, and plenty of companies have had to learn their lessons out in public. The first devices they launched were often far, far too ugly to find mainstream acceptance, but now the fashion and wearables worlds are perfectly aligned. That's why we're taking a look at the devices that arrived at this year's IFA, and comparing it with their more embarrassing predecessors. Think of it like #throwbackthursday, except nobody's got one of those face-worn retainers you only see in '80s movies.
Wacom's latest smartpads marry pen and paper with digital notes
Despite the many high-tech devices on display here at IFA, sometimes all you want is a pen and paper to jot down notes or draw a quick sketch. Still, there's no reason not to marry ink and tech, which is the driving idea behind Wacom's latest line of smartpads that let you capture handwritten notes in digital form. The company's done this before with the Bamboo Spark, but the latest Slate and Folio options provide different styles for the discerning dead tree aficionado.
Alcatel's standalone VR headset is a tough sell
While Samsung's Gear VR requires a smartphone and full-fledged headsets like the Oculus Rift require a computer, Alcatel's newly announced Vision doesn't need either. Indeed, it's a standalone VR headset, which is still something of a rarity in the VR world. Intel announced its own Project Alloy about a month ago and smaller companies like Sulon have come out with prototypes, but the Vision is the first working model I've actually had the chance to try on. As cool as it is though, I have to admit it faces stiff competition from the likes of Gear VR as well as upcoming Daydream-compatible phones and headsets.
IFA 2016: The rose gold edition
No, Apple didn't invent the color pink, but it certainly made "rose gold" famous. It all started last year with the company's first rose gold iPhones, the 6s and 6s Plus, which quickly inspired other manufacturers to embellish their own devices with identical hues. It's no surprise, then, that the IFA 2016 show floor is filled with rose gold gadgets, although some would prefer to be described as "copper" or "luxury pink." Whatever it may be, it's become a major trend in the tech world, one that shows no sign of slowing down. With that in mind, take a look at some of the best rose gold gadgets we found in Berlin. We're live all week from Berlin, Germany, for IFA 2016. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.
Microsoft and Mercedes bring your office calendar to your car
You can't always escape work when you're in your car, but Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz think they can at least make those corporate invasions more tolerable. They're working together on an In Car Office project that, to start with, will integrate your Microsoft Exchange info with your car's infotainment system. It'll auto-populate your car's navigation unit with driving directions for that upcoming meeting, for example, or offer to make a hands-free call to get in touch with your client when you're on your way.
DJI exec hints at future pocket-sized camera drones
It's a simple question: How would you sell my Dad a drone? Right now, most drone buyers are professionals, hobbyists or video enthusiasts. That leaves a pretty big number of people not currently browsing for a quadcopter. At least, not yet. My Dad is one of those people, so if you can sell him one, you're onto something. When I asked that question to Adam Najberg, DJI's Global Director of Communications, his answer was simple: "Size is going to be an issue. Also ease of use." So something smaller and simpler. No surprises there. But Najberg represents one of the biggest names in drones, so when he tells me what such a drone might look like, I listen.
Acer's 21-inch 'laptop' gives ridiculous a new name
Acer's made gaming laptops before, but none of them are quite like this. The behemoth you see here is the Predator 21X, which is the most redonkulous notebook I've seen in my life. The term desktop replacement is quite literal here, as it has a massive 21-inch curved display. Indeed, it's apparently the world's first laptop to have such a distinction. And if that isn't ridiculous enough, it actually has two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics cards with SLI under the hood. Two.
IFA 2016: It's a wrap!
And just like that, IFA 2016 has come to an end -- at least for us. While the event runs through September 7th, our editors are getting ready to head home to their respective countries. But don't worry, there's still plenty of content on the way, so keep your eyes peeled to the site. Until then, enjoy our video recap of the best (and worst) things we saw this past week here in Berlin. We're live all week from Berlin, Germany, for IFA 2016. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.
Garmin's spendy Fenix Chronos is a tax on golfers
I'm a fan of Garmin's Fenix smartwatches. I've been wearing the Fenix 3 for about a year, and, for me, it has a solid balance between battery life (two weeks), training tools, smart features and good old basic horological tasks. The only addition I'd like is all day heart-rate monitoring -- something added in the Fenix 3 HR. The Fenix line has never been cheap -- the 3 starts at $499, and the 3 HR, $599 -- but the new luxury Fenix Chronos will test most wallets, starting at $899. For that extra $300 you sure are getting a nice looking timepiece, but glance at the spec sheet, and you'll see some surprising downgrades. In their place are new golf features that track your putts per round, greens and fairways hit plus average distance.
Elevate your selfie game with this pocket-sized drone
Selfie drones? Sigh. We've only ourselves to blame. That said, the gadget fan inside of me is shamelessly drawn to the meretriciousness of the idea. The general problem of the aerial selfie is a nut that's been cracked already, but we're all for more options -- and Dobby (above) from Zerotech is one of them. Pitched as a "pocket drone," Dobby is (as you might have guessed) small, with arms that fold out when an emergency selfie opportunity presents itself. It's not a truly hands-free experience, as you'll need your phone to control it, but it's crammed with an array of smart features and we tried most of them here in Berlin.
Bang and Olufsen's 360-degree speakers deliver sound in style
Earlier this week, Bang and Olufsen introduced its BeoSound 1 and BeoSound 2 multi-room speakers, and we just checked them out at IFA 2016. As expected, considering they both cost upward of $1,000 each, the new 360-degree speakers look stylish and unordinary. And while they do resemble Samsung's R wireless speakers, B&O's set is made with more premium materials -- namely "rock solid" aluminum, according to the company. The biggest feature of the BeoSound 1 and BeoSound 2, however, is the fact they can project sound all around you. That, in theory, should make for a more immersive experience when you're listening to any audio.
Razer and Maingear partner on an all-out gaming PC
Maingear isn't playing favorites when it comes to partners for over-the-top gaming rigs. The PC builder is teaming up with Razer for the R1 Razer Edition, a tower PC that's as much about showing off as boosting your frame rates. Razer, as you might have noticed, handles the design -- it's monolithic, flashy and loaded with green lighting, including for the optional liquid cooling system. Even the wiring is kept super-tidy to both improve airflow and impress your friends.
A VR massage chair made me both happy and sad
One of the delights on show here at IFA was Medisana's VR massage chair, which pairs one of its high end devices with an Oculus Rift. Rather than sitting in a shopping mall and viewing your fellow patrons as a robot paws at your back, you can be transported somewhere more romantic. The VR headset is used to play 180-degree videos of beautiful foreign locations that correspond to a pre-programmed massage routine. The five-minute demo loop that I experienced was moderately relaxing, although I worry about its implications for the future.
Cristiano Ronaldo's latest tech endorsement is a ZTE phone
Sources say CR7 fell over when he saw the Nubia Z11. Absolutely no one was shocked. That's what happens when you have a reputation for being the best diver on the pitch.
Acer's latest convertible Chromebook is bigger and beefier
In May, Google announced that it would be bringing Android apps to Chrome OS, finally marrying the two operating systems in a way that makes Chromebooks that much more useful (A million-plus more apps!) All of a sudden, convertible Chromebooks sound way more appealing. Acer must've thought so too, because it unveiled the Chromebook R13 just a few days ago at IFA. Just like its R11 predecessor, the R13 has a 360-degree hinge that lets it seamlessly transition from Chromebook to Android-esque tablet in no time flat.
How an argument led to the creation of a safer 'hoverboard'
German electronics firm Hama had been looking at self-balancing skateboards, better known as Hoverboards or Swagways, for about half a year. It wanted to get into the market and so bought every single device currently available to see how they worked. As the company's Thomas Bobinger described it, these low-cost devices "didn't fit with Hama's brand," probably because of how unsafe they were. The firm promptly washed its hands of the idea and moved on to other projects, until fate decided to intervene.
IFA 2016 day one: Battle-worn BB-8 and Acer's new Chromebook
Even though we've been in Berlin for a few days, Friday was actually the first official day of IFA 2016. And, as expected, there's a lot to see on the show floor. Yesterday, we checked out Sphero's "Battle-worn" BB-8 and its companion Force Band, a wearable that lets you control the droid with hand gestures. We also took a look at Acer's new Chromebook R13, a sleek $400 laptop, as well as Withings' first smartwatch with a heart rate monitor. Much more to come from the event, but for now enjoy our recap of day one. We're live all week from Berlin, Germany, for IFA 2016. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show.
