Pebble

Check Out All of the Latest Gear at the WearableTech Expo in Los Angeles

2013-11-13 by QTOOTH

We here at QTOOTH are extremely excited to be attending the first Wearable Tech Expo to be held in Los Angeles. It promises to be a very eye-opening event with plenty of innovative technologies on display as well as talks by some of the industry’s leading luminaries. The conference is being held at the Hilton Los Angeles December 10-11, 2013. The event is tailored to explore the ins and outs of the rapidly growing market for wearable technology products and services. The two-day conference will feature live presentations and educational discussions from the pioneers of this movement who will share their profound insights on the latest wearable tech devices, trends, technologies and the future of this multi-billion dollar industry.

Sound like fun? Would you like to go? As media sponsor of the event, QTOOTH has a line on discounted tickets to the event which you can find by clicking here.

With new companies and products entering the market virtually every week, it can be hard to keep up or gain a clear perspective on where it all might be leading. This expo will help to gain some much needed perspective on how wearable technology will impact both our businesses and our personal lifestyles.

The range of topics on the agenda are extremely diverse. The Wearable Tech conference program includes:

Opening Keynote Panel: Wearable Tech – The Next Generation Electronics that will Drive Next Generation WT Products – This keynote will kick off the event, diving into the next wave of internal electronics and sensors that will drive innovation and power next generation product development.
The Smart Watch Phenomenon – Extraordinarily Useful or Simply Marketing Hype? – This panel will speak to the five-year future of smart watches and provide insight on what to expect from this market.
Quantifying Yourself – Do All Those Wearable Device Health Details and Graphs Really Make a Difference to Your Health? – Attendees will discuss the hype around health monitors and explore the truth behind functionality vs. fashion statements.
Enterprise Wearable Technology – This session will feature both enterprise vendors and enterprise end users who are working to develop and deploy cutting-edge solutions and discuss how these technologies will evolve at every point in the workforce value chain.
Fireside Chat: Creating a Wearable Tech Business from the Ground Up – Attendees will learn from an entrepreneur who has taken the plunge in building a wearable technology company from the ground up. Learn best practices, potential pitfalls and the “secret advice” for launching a successful wearable tech business.
Wearable Tech and Your Brain Waves – Really Useful Devices or Possibly Dangerous Toys? – As wearable devices begin to wirelessly monitor brain waves and brain-generated electrical signals via EEG, where’s the line between safe and dangerous when it comes to monitoring information as it’s emitted from the brain. This panel will debate that answer.
Fashion Technology and WT Design – Endless Possibilities – Fashion lovers will have the opportunity to discover the driving force behind a variety of technologies, especially smart clothing and how devices and sensors interact with and become part of the fashion itself.
Augmented Reality and a Hands-Free World – With new technologies designed to enhance visual reality, this session will explore the current state of the art in augmented reality.
Smart Materials – It’s Not Just the Toy, It’s what the Toy is Made of that Counts as Well – As wearable tech continues to grow, new materials come to market to help create the solutions. Attendees in this session will have the opportunity to discover many of these new wearable materials and get a glimpse into tomorrow’s possibilities.
Will Wearable Technology Prove Itself to be a Sustainable $50 Billion Market? – This panel discussion dives deep into perspectives on why wearable technology is either already turning into a significant marketplace or will have a shorter lifespan than expected.
Wearable Technology in the Entertainment Industry – Attendees will have the chance to examine how much of the wearable technology shown in movies such as “Tron: Legacy” and television shows can actually be implemented in the real world.
Making Sense of Google (News – Alert) Glass – Unsustainable Phenomenon or the Real Future? – Attendees will hear expert opinions on Google Glass, including the developers building applications for the device, as well as end-user content developers using Glass in creative ways.

Not only will attendees get to take part in all of these presentations and discussions, but they will also have the opportunity to go to the Wearable Tech Demo Forum and Reception. This will give them a chance to see technology and product presentations from nearly 20 companies. Nothing beats hands-on experience and this will be the place to do it.

So the question is: Wouldn’t you love to go? As mentioned before QTOOTH does have a line on discounted tickets. Click here for details.

And if you can’t make it, have no fear, QTOOTH is going to be there and we’ll be live tweeting from the event and posting many a followup story to everything that goes on. Hey, it’s what we do! Stay tuned…

Samsung Galaxy Gear – The Evolution of the Smartwatch

2013-09-04 by QTOOTH

Amid great fanfare, Samsung introduced their Galaxy Gear. The occasion for the introduction was the IFA 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, the largest of its kind in the world. It is even bigger than the CES trade show that is held every year in Las Vegas. There are so many exciting things coming out of this year’s event that it may take a while for us here at QTOOTH to even cover it all. For Samsung, this is their first foray into the brave new world of smartwatches. Let’s take a look at some of the exciting things that it represents, where they got it right and where they might want to improve the product.

First, let’s talk about the fact that smartwatches will not be for everyone. The wearing of watches is at an all time low no matter how smart they are. People are quite comfortable with getting thew time and just about every other type of data from the smartphones, or their computers, cars, tablets, radios, etc… So even despite this limited market, it is interesting to see so many manufacturers getting on the bandwagon i the rush to provide some form of smartwatch. There are already ones on the market from major players like Casio, Nike and Sony, and the leading edge of this mania came from the small upstarts like the Pebble, Agent, and others. It is also a very strong rumor that Apple will be introducing their own smartwatch within the next few weeks.

Of course the reason we here at QTOOTH have our reservations when it comes to any form of smartwatch is the fact that they are not hands free. For us the reason to go wireless is so that we can “un-tether” ourselves from our technology. Just by the very nature of a wrist mounted device means that it will take not just one hand to operate but two! One to wear the device and the other to operate whatever interface is included. Plus, the watch is located near your hand which is often located in a position that makes it difficult to see, or to hear. Of course some things on a watch can be voice-controlled, but so far we haven’t seen a lot of functionality that can be accessed by voice alone on these first smartwatches.

That said, the Galaxy Gear is one of the best options in a smartwatch that we have seen so far. Seeing that all of the might of a behemoth like Samsung is behind the project, including all of their available technologies, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Starting with its screen, the Galaxy Gear has a 320 x 320-pixel, 1.63″ diagonal AMOLED touchscreen. The brain of this smartwatch is provided by an 800 MHz processor powered by a 315mAh battery. For audio, it has a speaker and a pair of mics for recording and playing back video content. This also allows for communicating with phone calls using the built-in dialer that works with whatever Galaxy device to which it is paired. Mounted into the wrist strap itself is a BSI (back-illuminated sensor, or back-sided illumination) sensor with an autofocus lens so that the wearer can capture 1.9-megapixel still images or 10-second videos at 720p, 640 or VGA quality resolution with sound. We have yet to get clarification as to whether the sound is captured in stereo via the two onboard mics or whether those mics are only paired for noise cancellation purposes when in use for making phone calls. Samsung states that the camera is designed more for convenience than it is for image quality. The camera also comes with a pre-installed app called Memographer for media management.

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So far there are a few dozen apps that will be available for the Galaxy Gear upon launch. This may be what sets this watch apart from the others. If Samsung can get a large amount of truly useful apps available quickly it will give it a real edge over the other entrants into this field. Like most of the other smartwatches, Gear can only display one app at a time due to its limited screen size and resolution. Each app is displayed as what’s known as a “card”, which is basically a slightly over-sized icon. To navigate your way around from one app to the next all you need to do is swipe the touchscreen with your finger. The other means of navigating your way through the watch’s offerings is to use the single button that is located on the right side of the body. A single press of this button will bring you to the home screen. Double pressing the button launches Samsung’s S Voice for voice controlling options and as triple press activates the “safety assistance” feature which will send your location info and a message to a saved contact in the event of an emergency.

As much as it seems like the Galaxy Gear should exhibit some real power, it seems a bit slow when executing some pretty basic functions, like launching an app. This is surprising considering that its processor is faster than what many of us had in our main computers just a few years ago. Part of the reason for this may be because it is communicating and synching with the wirelessly attached device. This might be something that will improve as updates become available, even with its current hardware configuration. Some of the apps that did perform very well though were the watch faces, of which optional ones can be uploaded from the Gear’s Android companion app, as well as the Music app which is basically a remote control for any native or 3rd party app currently active on the connected device.

There are some odd limitations that come with what we are sure is the first generation of this device. Only 10 3rd party apps can be uploaded at a time. The interface could use a little bit of refining for a smoother experience. But one of the most interesting things is the fact that the S Voice feature can only be accessed by tapping the side button twice. That might be hard to do if your hands are otherwise occupied and misses the point of being hands-free. It would be nice if they included a specific voice command that would activate the voice control functions. That can be done as shown by Google Glass’ “Ok, Glass” to activate its voice command. As much as we’ve slagged on their device, that is one of the things that Google definitely got right.

We have a mixed review as far as the look of the device is concerned. Leaked reports had the Galaxy Gear looking pretty hefty but the one on display today was much more svelte. However, it is still pretty big and considering the color options that they have so far. Two of the colors are Rose Gold and Mocha Gray which are definitely aimed at a more feminine fashion sense. The size of this device look plenty awkward in our opinion when worn on even slightly petite wrists. For men it seems to be just about right in size and proportion. Men may prefer the JET Black or Oatmeal color, but for the sporty or flashy of any persuasion they may opt for the Wild Orange or Lime Green. Speaking of which, because of the utilitarian/industrial funkiness of the design this may not be what many people would want to wear on more formal occasions, but we suppose that is a subjective call.

Battery life on this device is pretty much limited to a single day of “regular” use. We are not sure what that means exactly yet, but that certainly puts it in a different class of fashion accessory than the average watch which can be worn for months at a time, or longer, depending on a person’s needs. That means that the Samsung Galaxy Gear will need to spend a fair amount of time on its included micro-USB-equipped plastic charging dock. The dock connects through five metal pins, or leads, located on the rear of the watch.

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Another limitation, and perhaps its most significant, is that it is only compatible so far with the Galaxy Note 3 and the new Note 10.1. It is most likely to work with the Galaxy S4 phone when it gets the Android 4.3 update. What’s really unfortunate though is the fact that it will most likely never work with any non-Samsung smartphone or tablet.

So, to be honest, the future has arrived and the Dick Tracy watch is now a reality. In fact, it’s better and more powerful than anything he could’ve imagined. And yet will people want it? We’d love to get your feedback in the comments below or contact us directly.

The Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch will cost $299 when it starts shipping on September 25th to the world, except to the US and Japan who will have to wait until October. Strange release dates. Perhaps they just want to tease the two biggest markets for a bit? Or perhaps they’re afraid that they’ll sell out immediately once the US and Japan csan get them directly. We’ll see!

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Apple Applies to Trademark ‘iWatch’ Name in Japan

2013-07-03 by QTOOTH

Apple has filed an application to trademark the “iWatch” name in Japan, the first known patent application for the name in any country. The application was filed early last month but was not announced until last week. It has not yet been approved.

The patent application may or may not signal that Japan will be first to get an Apple iWatch, but there are compelling reasons for Apple to focus on Japan when it comes to wrist wear. According to Digital Luxury Group, about 50% of Japan’s online searches for luxury watches came from mobile phones in 2011, versus 17% of all searches worldwide for luxury watches. So many Japanese buyers of high-end watches are already very comfortable with mobile devices. And Japan is a major exporter to China, which has become the world’s top market for luxury watches.

Japan’s Sony has already launched a SmartWatch, which is compatible with Android phones, and last month it upgraded its product offering with the SmartWatch 2, which features more apps, a high-resolution display, longer battery life, and NFC. NFC (near field communication) enables wearers of the watch to share data with the Android smartphones by tapping the watch to the phone.

The other major connected wristwatch on the market is Pebble, made by a Kickstarter company which raised an unprecedented $10 million dollars in one month. Pebble is a Silicon Valley startup that manufactures its watches in China. They run Android and iOS apps. Until now Pebble watches have only been available online, and buyers have to pre-order and wait for their watch to ship. But today 9To5Mac reported that the Pebble watch is coming to Best Buy stores as soon as this weekend.

Nike also makes a smart watch, the Nike FuelBand. Apple CEO Tim Cook wears a FuelBand, which uses sensors to track a user’s movement throughout the day and report on their activity level.

via RCR U.S. Wireless News.

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iOS 7 Massively Expands Bluetooth Support for Smartwatches, Fitness Trackers, Other Devices

2013-06-17 by QTOOTH

Using a Pebble or any other smartwatch alongside iOS isn’t nearly as convenient or user-friendly as it should be, but thankfully Apple plans on fixing that come fall. As part of iOS 7 (and OS X Mavericks), the company is greatly broadening its support for Bluetooth, a huge boon for smartwatches, fitness trackers, medical devices, and other products based around the technology.

“Less will be needed of the user”

In a post at the official Bluetooth blog, chief marketing officer Suke Jawanda outlines some of these changes. First, he confirms that Bluetooth Smart is a big part of AirDrop, an iOS 7 feature that lets nearby users quickly exchange photos and documents. With the new operating systems, Bluetooth hardware will also gain access to Apple Notification Center Services (ANCS), making the task of pushing notifications to smartwatches and other wearables far more seamless for developers. Rather than having to come up with clever workarounds — as Pebble had to do with iOS 6 — the expanded support ideally means users shouldn’t have to worry about fussing with settings to get things functioning properly.

Bluetooth Smart devices will also see inclusion in iOS Preservation and Restoration services. What this means is that rather than needing to hold down a sync button on your Nike Fuelband, the fitness tracker will automatically push your stats to Nike’s iOS app in real time without requiring any user intervention — even if the app is closed. It’s equally big news for the growing number of Bluetooth-based medical devices on the market and in hospitals; patients won’t be encumbered with nearly as many special directives to ensure everything is communicating properly. As Apple has famously said in years past, it should “just work.” We’ll have to see whether Apple’s execution can live up to its promises when iOS 7 ships this fall. With Android also embracing Bluetooth Smart, Jawanda hints that we should hear more about Microsoft’s standing at Build later this month.

via The Verge.

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