The Fossil Group, marketer of watches under 14 brands and recent purchaser of Misfit, said today that it plans to release "more than 100" new wearable devices this year. Do the math and it makes sense. The Fossil brand alone has three types of conventional watch-style devices -- one with a digital display, one with no digital display, and one with LEDs that act as … [Read more...]
Under Armour Teams with HTC and JBL on Integrated Fitness Hardware: CES Day -1
The fitness clothing maker Under Armour, already into the software business with its purchase of MyFitnessPal and Endomondo, is diving into the hardware business with a Healthbox suite of connected devices. Healthbox, developed with HTC (better known for its cellphones) comprises a band, a heart rate monitor, and scale, and is available for preorder for $400. (HTC previously … [Read more...]
Intel to Ship Curie Development Board (Finally) This Quarter for Less than $10: CES
As part of his CES keynote address, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said the microprocessor giant will finally ship the Curie button-sized development platform this quarter -- roughly a year after it was first announced. The Curie platform is key to Intel's position in the wearables and dev platform market; it's at the center of the company's upcoming "America's Greatest Makers" … [Read more...]
Misfit Trades the Disc for the Tube with Its New Ray Tracker: CES Day -1
For all the product variations from tracker company Misfit, the core product has always been in the shape of a disc. Until now. At CES, Misfit, recently acquired by the Fossil Group, introduced the Ray -- a 12mm by 38mm aluminum tube. It performs the same function as the flagship Shine 2, but with a tubular form and a single multi-color LED instead of a flat disc with a … [Read more...]
Garmin Goes Tactical With New Tactix Bravo: CES Day -1
Garmin has done a great job segmenting the fitness band market from the most casual user to the most ambitious. At CES, it's debuting a device for the most hard-core audience yet: the tactix Bravo, a rugged device with a scratch proof screen and a display optimized for night-vision goggles. The tactix Bravo comes with "specialized software optimized for both aerial and land … [Read more...]
Withings Announces Connected Temporal Thermometer: CES Day -2
Withings, maker of the popular Activé line of dual-dial smartwatches and a line of connected health appliances, has announced a temporal thermometer, the Thermo. It works by pressing the device to a patient's temple, pressing a button, and holding the device steady for two seconds, until it vibrates slightly. The temperature, measured by an array of 16 infrared sensors … [Read more...]
Wearable Claims to Reduce Nausea: CES Day -1
If you suffer from motion or morning sickness, you are probably familiar with surprisingly effective over-the-counted elastic bands that suppress nausea by pressing against a nerve on the inside of your wrist. ReliefBand Technologies is at CES with an electronic version of that, an FDA-cleared device that claims to send specific patterns and intensities to help settle your … [Read more...]
TempTraq Debuts 48-Hour Continuous Temperature Monitoring Patch: CES Day -2
Taking your temperature is a simple thing, but is essentially a one-time act that's repeated as desired. TempTraq, a $20 connected device from Blue Spark Technologies, deploys a surprising amount of technology to track your temperature for up to two days -- and make it sharable as you need it to be. The TempTraq is a patch that the user activates with a smartphone app via … [Read more...]
New WiFi “HaLow” Standard Uses Less Power, Has Greater Range
The WiFi Alliance, which controls the WiFi standard, has approved the 802.11ah version of the ubiquitous wireless standard, dubbing it "HaLow." WiFi HaLow operates in the 900MHz frequency band, below the 2.4GHz and 5GHz band. That lower frequency means lower bandwidth than the other bands, but greater range and less power draw. That makes it particularly well-suited for IoT … [Read more...]
MediaTek Debuts SiP Tailored for Wristware: CES Day -2
The semiconductor company MediaTek is kicking off CES with a new system-in-package for wrist-worn wearables, including GPS, Bluetooth Low Energy, and support for 320x320 MIPI displays. Finbarr Moynihan, MediaTek's general manager of corporate sales, told Wearable Tech Insider that the MT2523 series is based on a Cortex M4 with 4MB RAM and 4MB flash memory. "This would … [Read more...]