As leaked yesterday, Jawbone today released two new fitness trackers: the Move and the UP3. The $50 Move is a low-end step and sleep tracker very similar to the Misfit: a metal disc that fits into either a clip or an extra-cost strap. Its user interface is a set of small LEDs that come alive when you press the disc. It's powered by a watch battery, and comes in five colors. … [Read more...]
Verge Review of LG’s G Watch R: “Meh”
The Verge spends some time with LG's G Watch R, and comes away less than fully impressed. They like its round face, but Android Wear's interface is based on rectangular cards. Circling the square results in notifications being cut off awkwardly. And if the central feature of an Android Wear watch is the notification function, that's sort of a problem. Also, like any other … [Read more...]
More Speculation on Apple Watch Pricing: $500 for Stainless?
In the absence of any real news about the Apple Watch, speculation about timing and pricing continues at a low boil. Today, MacRumors is passing along a bit from a French rumors site that the stainless steel version of the Apple Watch will hit the market at $500, with the gold version coming in at between $4,000 and $5,000. The entry level price for the watch was announced … [Read more...]
Jawbone to Release New Products: Report
The Information, a pricey paid news site, is reporting that Jawbone is about to release two new fitness trackers: one at the low end of the market, the other at the high end. The Up MOVE is a $50 device that clips to your clothes. The UP3 will cost $185 (the current top-0f-the-line Jawbone tracker sells for $130 -- "is packed with new sensors and has a slick black design." … [Read more...]
Apple Watch Not Due ‘Til Spring: Report
9to5Mac has the transcript of Apple internal video that implies that the Apple Watch won't ship until "the spring" of 2015. The company's been saying publicly only that watch would be available in "early 2015." Retail SVP Angela Ahrendts, recruited from Burberry to run the stores, told staffers that the watch would come out after Chinese New Year, which in 2015 is on … [Read more...]
Michael Bastian Unveils Smartwatch That’s More Watch Than Smart
The wraps have come off the Michael Bastian watch that we wrote about a while ago -- the one made in collaboration with HP -- and it's nice timepiece with not all that much tech built in. Actually "not all that much tech" in the NB Chronowing means that Bastian kept his eye on what he was designing: a watch, not a gadget. The Wall Street Journal reports that there's no cell … [Read more...]
Samsung Gear S Comes to US Next Week
Samsung's Tizen-based Gear S smartband starts shipping to the US on November 7, the company announced today. The device looks and acts more than a little like will.i.am's PULS cuff, but not as slick: two inches wide with a curved Super AMOLED touch screen and built-in SIM card so it can stand alone without being tethered to a phone. Fitness tracking is done with a Nike+ app … [Read more...]
Microsoft Announces Band Wearable, Health App, and Cloud
With Microsoft moving so aggressively toward cloud services and mobile technology, you could have seen this a mile away, even without the recent leak: the company has announced the Microsoft Band wearable and the Microsoft Health cloud service. First, the band. It's a full-featured device most closely resembling the Samsung Gear Fit. Black plastic, touch-sensitive color … [Read more...]
SensoTrack Hits Kickstarter With Earpiece Fitness Tracker
We got an e-mail about a new-ish Kickstarter campaign for an ear-worn biometric tracker, the SensoTrack. The device looks like the marriage of one of those old behind-the-ear hearing aids attached to a Bluetooth headset. It claims to track heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, respiration, location, pace and body position, as well as the usual stuff like speed, steps, … [Read more...]
Noted in Passing: Lenovo’s Wristband
It seems like all the Cool Kids have one, and now Lenovo does, too: there are several media reports that Lenovo's got a smartband that looks a lot like the Fitbit Flex. It tracks the usual stuff: steps, distance, calories, sleep, and heart rate. It's a notification device, too. And, interestingly, it can apparently unlock your PC, which seems like something that Apple should … [Read more...]