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Wearable tech deals of the week: 2.14.14
If you've been considering a wearable purchase, but are unsure about parting with the requisite funds, today's gaggle of discounted tech may finally urge you to commit. There are activity trackers and the Galaxy Gear that's currently marked at 50 percent off waiting on the other side of the break. With a price drop that like, you'll want to decide quickly as the offer won't last long. Just window-shopping? No worries. Join us and add the gadgets you're shopping for to your Want list; every time there's a price cut in the future, you'll get an email alert!
Nintendo working on non-wearable health monitoring tech
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed the company is looking into non-wearable health monitors during a financial briefing in Japan today. New details on this venture, Iwata said, would be revealed this year, with a planned launch for Nintendo's fiscal year ending March 31, 2016. Iwata said, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, that Nintendo's main theme for the next 10 years will be enhancing the quality of life through entertainment. Health is a large part of that, and Iwata even called out the cadre of wearable health devices already available on the market as evidence of the sector's importance to consumers. Still, this is an especially odd direction granted Nintendo's inability to launch its first foray into health tech, the Wii Vitality Sensor. The Vitality Sensor was announced in 2009 and was designed to monitor the users' heart rate while playing games. Nintendo cited a problem with Wii Vitality Sensor prototypes reading a small percentage of users as the reason for canceling it.
Switched On: The next steps for digital wellness, part two
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. The last Switched On discussed many of the limitations of today's fitness monitors and how input regarding other lifestyle variations could create a more complete picture of how we control our health. But there are other health factors that change infrequently and can have a profound impact on our well-being.
Google hacked together some pretty underwhelming games for Glass (video)
While Google Glass may still be in its infancy, gaming on the wearable is practically in the zygote stages. To help change that, developers at the search giant have cobbled together some games in an effort to "inspire" developers. That said, what Google is offering doesn't seem too different from what we've seen out of other teams. There are five diversions in total (including a Fruit Ninja clone, as well as tennis and a matching game), but there isn't anything particularly exciting about them. For example, Balance tasks you with keeping a stack of shapes from falling off of your skull via Glass' baked-in accelerometer. Clay Shooter, on the other hand, has you yelling "pull!" to line up the target with your eyepiece's crosshairs, and shouting "bang!" to shoot the pigeon -- sure to be a big hit in crowded areas. Still, if you're curious what official Glass games look like, we've embedded video after the jump.
Recommended Reading: The Internet of (insecure) Things and the fight for wearable disruption
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books dealing with the subject of technology that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. The Internet of Things Is Wildly Insecure - And Often Unpatchable (1,218 words) by Bruce Schneier, Wired Pocket!function(d,i){if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement("script");j.id=i;j.src="https://widgets.getpocket.com/v1/j/btn.js?v=1";var w=d.getElementById(i);d.body.appendChild(j);}}(document,"pocket-btn-js"); The race for the connected home has been on for sometime now, and with each passing month, it seems a new arsenal of gadgets pops up. Recently, issues surrounding the security of those internet-enabled devices have come to light -- including the ability to hack those units to shoot out a crop of spam emails. As Bruce Schneier writes, locking down that new washer or smart fridge is a lot easier said than done thanks to the lack of patching options for the exploited vulnerabilities. As you might expect, Schneier begins to lay out a worst-case scenario that he says is inevitable unless we force "embedded system vendors to design their systems better."
Avegant's Glyph headset live on Kickstarter for $500
We've been telling you about the Avegant Glyph for awhile, but now you can finally plunk down some bills to get one yourself. Thanks to Kickstarter, beta-testing the device for its designer isn't without its own set of perks. For instance, 500 of the earliest backers at the $500 tier can snag a unit with their choice of colors for the device's LED ring and HDMI cable. If you miss that limited window, however, you'll still have your choice of three colors for the headset itself at the same price -- just not the accessories. Unlike the versions we've demoed up to this point, Avegant promises that the unit you receive will be lighter and more comfortable overall. Sadly, the battery life is still pegged at around three hours.
The future of beauty school is Google Glass
At least according to L'Oreal. The hair care giant (and purveyor of giant hair) just announced Matrix Class for Glass, which gives clients and beauty school students a stylists-eye view of your head. The three-part program includes a video series of in-depth beauty tutorials shot with Google's wearable; Matrix Eye for Style, an "exclusive" salon experience provided by George Papanikolas, who will record sessions with the headset; and a series of lessons for beauty professionals given by be-Glassed hair care superstars. This isn't the first or last time L'Oreal has taken advantage of the wearable; it used Glass to document Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Madrid late last year and has plans to release a Glass app sometime in 2014. It might seem like an odd coupling considering most glass holes are more Super Cuts than Vidal Sassoon, but L'Oreal says there's an intersection between the early adopters of fashion and tech. According to a study done by its partner at Fashion Week, Nurun, "The futuristic nature of Google Glass appealed to the fashion-forward, tech-savvy audience..." When we start seeing years-old issues of Wired replacing copies of Southern Hair at Truvy's, we'll believe it.
Traffic ticket for driving with Google Glass gets dismissed in court
Pay attention to the road. At least, until the cars are able to drive themselves. That's the rule, and it was probably one of the reasons why Google Glass early-adopter Cecilia Abadie got ticketed for donning the wearable at the wheel. It was a second citation, alongside speeding, although it was dismissed by San Diego Court Commissioner John Blair, noting that: "There is no testimony it was operating or in use while Ms. Abadie was driving." However, he did say earlier that Google's wearable did however, fall "within the purview and intent" of the state's ban on driving with a monitor. This particular case might have been dismissed on lack of evidence, but we reckon those wider implications (and resultant legal tussles) are far from over.
Intel's Mike Bell on what's wrong with wearables, and how he plans to fix it
If there's one buzzword that sums up CES 2014, it has to be wearables. There has been everything from cameras to earbuds. Not to mention a veritable deluge of smartwatches, wristbands and fitness trackers. Even Intel is in on the game, bringing us some of the show's most memorable wearable tech: the baby onesie, a smart mug concept, an earpiece and even a watch of its own. There's a good reason why Intel is investing in wearables, though -- and his name is Mike Bell. He's the general manager of the New Devices Group at Intel, and he thinks wearables are a massive opportunity. One problem though: He also thinks we're currently doing it wrong. To that end, he's tasked with shaping Intel's wearable future, which, if all goes well (for him), will be our wearable future too.
Lumus turns its military-grade eyewear into a Google Glass competitor (video)
Lumus has long developed heads-up displays for the US military, but now it's using a developer kit called the DK-40 to bring its HUD tech to wearables outside the battlefield. The contraption's first stop was the CES show floor, so we couldn't resist putting our fingerprints all over it. The key feature of the DK-40 is the "optical engine", which eliminates the need for a thick piece of glass to house a substantially sized prism. For the most part, the lens is transparent, but refracting light can occasionally catch the prisms and remind you (again) that it's not run-of-the-mill eyewear. And as if one display wasn't enough, the firm says it's possible to add a second one for the left eye. Folks with eyesight issues can attach a pair of prescription lenses that rest on the nose grips, but the firm is also developing a version where the medically prescribed glass will be bonded to the lenses.
Neptune's Pine isn't a smartwatch; it's a smartphone that sits on your wrist
When designing a smartwatch, the general trend is to start with a basic timepiece and add features until physics or budgets get in the way. That's not the approach taken by 19-year-old Canadian Simon Tian when he developed the Pine by Neptune. Instead, he took to Kickstarter with the idea of just shrinking a last-generation smartphone down to watch-size proportions. The result isn't really a watch in any sense of the word, but considering that the Pine raised eight times its goal on Kickstarter, there's clearly a desire for this sort of hardware. We got to spend some time with it at CES and want to share some impressions with you.
Intel outs smart earbuds that track your run and your heart rate
We're here at the opening CES keynoted by Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, and the parade of wearables has just begun. The firm's head honcho has just unveiled a pair of smart earbuds that can track your heart rate (and display it on a companion app), keep tabs on your running and get their power from your device's headphone jack. There's no word on price, but it's set to arrive sometime this year.
Sony outs the 'tiniest' gadget it's ever made: Core, a wearable built for life-logging
Sony just unveiled a new modular wearable -- comprised of a Core sensor pack and a SmartBand bracelet -- at its CES press event. Core tracks your movement and activities using a companion LifeLog app that uses that information to suggest personal highlights based on your daily communications and activities. What's more, the tech giant says you can don the NFC-powered Core in additional ways, too: as a pendent or inserted into a footpod in a shoe, for example. Folks digging the standard implementation won't be saddled with merely one or two colors like many other wearable bracelets either, as you can see above, a whole host of colors is on the way. For now, we don't have much more information about Core's capabilities or its internals, Sony Mobile CEO Kunimasa Suzuki said that his team is working with various partners on more hardware (additional clips and band designs) and software features, and we'll learn more about the plans for the Core platform later this year at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Harman integrates Google Glass into smart mirror concept, eyes safer driving with wearables
Automakers and in-car infotainment outfits have begun to make a play for Google Glass alongside vehicles and tech. Hyundai has already outed plans for using Google's headset for unlocking doors, and now Harman is looking to enhance driver safety with the device. At CES, the audio and infotainment company will show off its advanced driver assistance services (ADAS) engine, One Harman, integrated with Glass. The smart mirror concept leverages the ADAS tech and cameras in order to analyze real-time data, map lanes and calculate potential road hazards. Warnings and alerts can then be sent directly to the driver's headset, allowing the focus to remain on the open highway. Of course, Harman will still have to sell lawmakers on the new safety regimen before it can become a mainstay.
Time Machines: Casio gets smart at CES 2000
Welcome to Time Machines, where we offer up a selection of mechanical oddities, milestone gadgets and unique inventions to test out your tech-history skills. In the weeks leading up to the biggest gadget show on Earth, we'll be offering a special look at relics from CES' past. Smart devices have infiltrated our outfits in many ways, but one in particular has been a staple of our ensembles for centuries. From pockets to wrists, its accessibility has also tempted inventors to add camera optics, dating as far back as the 1800s. Although we've refined these devices for years, advancements beyond timekeeping tend to come and go. Head past the break for more of the story.
Cyanogen gets serious about its OS aspirations, ponders a future in TV and wearables
It's been three months since Cyanogen announced it was stepping out as a profit-seeking business. Flush with $7 million in funding, the company has been pushing harder than ever to achieve its goal of making CyanogenMod the third major mobile ecosystem, after iOS and Google's Android. Now with "tens of millions" of installs, the company announced today that with help from VC firm Andreessen Horowitz it's added a further $23 million to its funding pot, and with this investment it believes has everything in place to bring in more talent and expand CyanogenMod to other devices like TVs, wearables and even cars. Cyanogen's mission is to refine the Android experience while still giving consumers (and pro users) the things that made it stand out in the past: freedom from manufacturer and carrier update cycles, and the ability to customize their device just how they like it. That focus is evident in its open-source software, which is now based on Google's Android 4.4 KitKat and has recently gained encrypted text message support and built-in screencast video recording.
Yes, this is dog: No More Woof aims to translate canine thoughts into human speech
Head over to Indiegogo today and you'll find a particularly wacky (and risky) project bidding for your investment. It's a device that goes by the name of No More Woof, which admittedly sounds like it does horrible things to dogs' vocal cords, but which actually promises something very different. It's a canine-sized headset that consists of EEG recorders connected to a small Raspberry Pi computer and a loudspeaker, supposedly allowing "ionic current flows" in a dog's brain to be translated into human speech. A $65 model is said to distinguish between three different thoughts, including tiredness and curiosity, while more expensive options will have more sensors and more powerful software. The only hold-up (and it's a big one) is that this project is being offered for crowdfunding while still at the concept stage, and all investment will be kept even if the funding target isn't met. According to a disclaimer on the Indiegogo page: "Yes, we HAVE achieved some results, but we are very far from a mass-producable product. That said, we believe that within a few years the technologies we are working with will revolutionize our relation to pets and animals." Indeed, there's no evidence that ST, the Scandinavian research lab behind No More Woof and last year's equally strange iRock rocking chair, has managed to come up with anything like a working prototype -- or at least there's no sign of one in the long-but-vacant video embedded below. Nevertheless, if dog barks are eventually mistranslated by this sort of "novelty science" (a word ST actually uses to describe its own research), who'll be any the wiser?
Let's all take a moment to remember Apple's utterly amazing 1980s foray into fashion
When it comes to Apple apparel, nobody can stop talking about the rumored iWatch that may or may not make its debut in 2014, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time the company got into the wearable business. If we rewind time a few decades, we find a fabulous clothing line launched by Apple that is covered in obnoxious neon and lots of blank stares. So brace yourself and pop your collar; we're about to take a trip to the 1980s. [Product photos via So Bad So Good]
Weekly Roundup: Instagram Direct, Jawbone Up24 review, Samsung's EMC lab and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Time Machines: NASA goes virtual at CES
Welcome to Time Machines, where we offer up a selection of mechanical oddities, milestone gadgets and unique inventions to test out your tech-history skills. In the weeks leading up to the biggest gadget show on Earth, we'll be offering a special look at relics from CES' past. Our willingness to trade biomass for bits has flourished lately, and nascent virtual reality devices like the Oculus Rift owe at least some of the credit to NASA reasearch and its desire to delve into digital representations of reality. Head past the break for more of the story.
