I didn’t believe this was possible, but…you can apparently open a bottle of wine using just a shoe (without breaking the glass)?! I recall loaning out our corkscrew when camping before…this is a good trick to remember for occasions like that.
Smart socks (no, really!)
The emerging wearable technology craze has spread…to socks. Crazy idea? Well, not really, when you dig deeper. Sure, they act as an ultra-precise step tracker. However, with multiple sensors in the sock communicating to your smartphone via an anklet, they can help warn people who are excessively heal-striking. This might even be of some use to barefoot runners (few of which run truly barefoot, so they’d be used to wearing socks already), though barefoot runners instinctively avoid heal striking already. It can also monitor your cadence and notify you of changes needed to meet goals there.
You can read more about them at SenSoria’s website or preorder here. Check out the video below.
Sensoria Fitness Smart Sock Tracker from Heapsylon on Vimeo.
Smartwatches at CES2014
As expected, CES saw the introduction of a few new smartwatches, all hoping to grab marketshare and build sales momentum before the rumored Apple iWatch hits the market later this year. Intel showed off a reference design powered by their new Edison chip, which is likely to be popular with OEMs.
The Meta smartwatch is targeting the premium end of the market with style and a higher price (TBD, but likely more than $200). Functionally, it offers similar remote-display capability as other smartwatches, though it sounds like Meta is putting a lot of attention into producing a watch that is comfortable and more easily integrated into your life. We’ll see.
Pebble took the guts from their smartwatch and wrapped it in a couple of different metal options at a $250 price point. It sounds so far like a pretty welcome change that was done right. The bigger news, though, is that Pebble will finally be opening up an App store soon, and it’s the apps (or lack thereof) that have been the bane of every smartwatch on the market to date.
The Polar V800 integrates GPS with a typical smartwatch feature set, to provide all around functionality for those with active lifestyles. I regularly use a Garmin Forerunner to track my running so at first glance this sounds great, but users of those Garmin devices will be familiar with how quickly the battery will die when GPS is active. Polar claims a 14 hour battery life when GPS is active (or 50 hours in what they call lower power GPS mode…I’m not sure what that is, I assume just infrequent GPS updates). So it might work OK as a smartwatch, but I’m not convinced that the bulk of this will be worth it, I’d rather strap on my Garmin when going for a run, and use that in conjunction with a slim smart-bracelet instead. Maybe when I see the V800 in person I’ll change my mind.
On the smartwatch horizon for 2014 are two 800lb gorillas ready to enter the ring. The first up will be Google, expected to release their smartwatch very soon. Later in 2014, it’s almost certain that Apple will release a smartwatch as well, and if you ask me, that’ll happen before WWDC to help get developers on board with it – the strength of any smartwatch is ultimately measured by how the apps use it, so Apple will want to tap that resource to help them dominate the market.
2014 is shaping up to be a fun year in wearable technology!
Movea Fitness Band
Yes, it’s yet another wrist-worn activity tracker, this time the Movea G-series. They’re claiming to be the most accurate wristband, able to even detect the posture of the user. However, this is only a reference design at this point, awaiting a manufacturer to step forth and bring this to market or incorporate its technology into their own product. A vaporware product like this is readily dismissed, yet if you poke around Movea’s website, you’ll see they’re also providing the platform to OEMs to incorporate gesture-based control into interactive TV experiences. With this wristband, they’re showing off one of the critical pieces of the puzzle, to allow for gesture-based TV control…and I think this is a market we’ll see devices addressing in 2014 (Apple iWatch). Read more at The Verge.
