For most of us, "history" as it relates to wearable technology goes back about three years. But in fact, wearable tech has been around for decades, and curators at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA, have put together a nifty exhibit to connect the past of the future. The exhibit is drawn from the collection of Thad Starner, a professor at Georgia Tech who was … [Read more...]
Hands-on with Eargo, a New Approach to Hearing Aids
Hearing aids often meet with resistance from the very people who could use them most—either because they're not comfortable, they're too obvious, or they're too expensive. Startup Eargo` aims to transform the market by solving all three of these common issues. At first glance, you wouldn't even think Eargo is a hearing aid. The design, says co-founder Raphael Michel, … [Read more...]
Consumer Grade Fetal Monitoring from Israel
In-home fetal monitoring is nothing new in high-risk pregnancies, although it's expensive, uncomfortable and inconvenient. We're hearing about an Israeli company is promising a consumer-level elastic band that can track the heartbeats and movement of mother and incipient baby. The PregSense band, from the Nuvo Group, will have 13 sensors that will be able to monitor the … [Read more...]
Wearable Tech Podcast for Week of May 29
Yes, we did it again. Highlights of the week from WearablesInsider.com and HealthTechInsider.com. You can listen to it through the link below, or subscribe on iTunes. Also: let us know what you think, and how we can make it better. Best comments will win a snazzy WearablesInsider.com USB slapband. … [Read more...]
Basis Adds Health and Fit Ecosystem Support, and What That Means for Apple and Google
Unanimity among tech users is hard to come by, but a lot of athletes we know are big fans of the Basis Peak fitness tracker. A new software update now lets the Peak share its data with both the Apple Health and Google Fit ecosystems. The Peak is known for the comprehensiveness of the data it collects. By joining with those widely used ecosystems, Basis data can now be tied … [Read more...]
Flawed Haptics Slowed Apple Watch Debut: WSJ
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that one of the makers of the taptic engine -- the component that makes the Apple Watch vibrate -- was shipping flawed product, leading to the short supply of product at launch. AAC Technologies Holdings, of Shenzen, China, was the supplier of the troublesome part, the WSJ reported. Apple moved manufacturing to the other supplier, Nidec … [Read more...]
will.i.am Demos the PULS on The Tonight Show
Demoing your about-to-be-released product on a top-rated television show ranks way up there on the scale of bad-ass things to do. The first rule of product demos is this: they never go right, and the higher the stakes, the more likely a catastrophic failure. (This is why the iPhone engineers went out and got drunk for a week after the not-nearly-ready phone was unveiled and … [Read more...]
CEA Wearables Innovation Awards Roundup
We wrote the other evening about Qardio's winning a CEA Innovations award for wearable technology. It was not the only one: 18 products were so honored. The way this works is that companies submit products to a panel of high-powered judges in one (or more) of 27 categories. Finalists are named in each category, and the best 15 are showcased as Best of Innovations. No wearable … [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...]
Lumo Gets Distribution Through Best Buy, Amazon
The Lumo Lift, a device that monitors your posture and vibrates to remind you when you're slouching, is now being sold through Amazon and at Best Buy's prominent wearables section, company officials say. Lumo's CEO Monisha Perkash said the $100 Lift had only been available in its online store. It can now be bought at the top 200 Best Buy stores, online at bestbuy.com, at … [Read more...]