The Pentagon today announced a massive partnership with Apple, Boeing, Harvard and others on designing gadgets and sensors that could be molded onto the outside of a jet or worn by soldiers on the battlefield, Reuters reported Friday.
Defense official praised the “rapid development of new technologies” by the private sector which often out-innovates the Pentagon's own solutions.
During its big Galaxy Note 5/S6 Edge+ event last week, Samsung showed off a video teaser of its upcoming Apple Watch competitor, the Gear S2. For folks who missed the keynote, the clip is now available on the company's Mobile YouTube channel.
We can glean quite a bit from the video. The Gear S2 will have a round watch face, similar to the Moto 360 and the LG G Watch R, with round icons and other UI elements to match. It also looks like it will feature heart rate and fitness tracking capabilities.
Clothing and accessory giant Fossil took the stage at Intel's Developer Forum (IDF) on Tuesday to unveil new wearable products. Among them was a connected band, a connected watch, and a new smartwatch based on the Android Wear platform.
The watch bears a circular face, similar to that of the popular Moto 360, which sits upon a classic leather band. Other than that, however, and the fact that it features an Intel processor, Fossil is being fairly coy regarding specs and other device details.
Misfit, a wearable products company, on Thursday announced its most affordable activity tracker yet, the $20 Flash Link, and a brand new Link app that can turn the new activity tracker into a multi-function smart button.
“We’re focused on making products everyone can use. Flash Link is not just a more affordable wearable, it’s a more powerful one,” said Tim Golnik, Misfit’s Vice President of Product and Design.
The good news doesn't stop here as the firm's discounted its Shine and Flash accessories which now cost $70 and $30, respectively, down from their respective prices of $100 and $50.
Following the shut down of the Google Glass Explorer program and the reorganization of the Google Glass team, some theorized Google Glass may be dead. However Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, says the Google Glass technology is too fundamental for Google to end the project.
If you find Apple Watch's $349 price tag a bit on the expensive side, you may be happy to know that you'll be able to take it for a test drive for far less than that. Gadget rental startup Lumoid says that it plans to rent out the Watch for $45/week, once it launches next month.
Lumoid, which already rents out FitBits and similar devices, says the $45 will get you the Sports version of Apple Watch, and $25 of that will go towards the purchase price if you decide to buy it. The firm will also offer the Steel version for $55, but will not carry Edition models.
Apple's Watch has just won an aptly named iF Gold Award from the International Forum in its annual industrial design competition, and it's not started shipping yet!
According to the award organizers, the meticulously designed wrist-worn gizmo is “already an icon” even though it's slated to ship in April.
Also, the device's tour of the world's fashion and lifestyle magazines continues with another Watch appearance, this one on the cover of the Chinese magazine Yoho.
In case you had any doubts — yes, some developers are busy writing their first games for the Apple Watch.
But first, let's get something straight: because Watch apps will initially run as extensions on your iPhone that stream image assets and UI back to your wrist, don't expect to see graphics-rich shooters playable on your wrist anytime soon.
With that off our back, puzzlers seem like a really good fit for a wrist-worn device like the Watch.
And sure enough, as reported by TouchArcade, a developer that goes by the name of NimbleBit is planning to release Letterpad, an upcoming word puzzler for the iPhone and iPad, with support for the Apple Watch.
Wanna see how it's going to look and feel like? Read on for the full reveal.
We know Apple's upcoming Watch, due in March, will double as a fitness and a health tracking device, but could it be classed as a regulated medical device?
According to the preliminary guidelines published Tuesday on the United States Food and Drug Administration's website, any wearable device which wants to be considered a medical device must prove that it can treat specific diseases or conditions, as first noted by AppleInsider.
If not, any such device should be considered a general wellness gadget, not a regulated medical device.
Can't wait for the Apple Watch to track your health? Fitbit announced the availability of the Charge HR and Surge on Tuesday, after unveiling the products last October.
The Charge HR, available from Fitbit's website for $149, is a heart rate tracker on the wrist, with an OLED screen, an exercise mode, Caller ID, automatic sleep detection, and a water resistant design with 5 days of battery life. It's available in plum, black, blue, or tangerine.
Alcatel Onetouch, the brand for mobile phones and mobile broadband modems made by TCL Corporation and Alcatel Mobile Phones, announced at CES 2015 in Las Vegas its foray into the hot market for wearable devices.
Specifically, the firm showed off the Onetouch Watch, a line of premium-design smart watches that work with the iPhone and cost more than half as much as the Apple Watch, which will start out at $349.
With its fashionable Watch, Apple has officially entered the jewelry business. As one might imagine, the development has now captured the attention of the wearable industry which appears to be racing to add some shine and glamour to their accessories.
At the CES 2015 in Las Vegas, Misfit has announced a partnership with the crystal jewelry maker Swarovski to produce a range of fitness and sleep-monitoring sensors outfitted with a Swarovski crystal.
The Swarovski Shine Collection, as it's called, is basically a range of fully waterproof accessories which includes new wireless activity and sleep monitors and nine matching accessories for all Shine devices.