Wearable Computing & Fashion - Page 12

Two-factor authentication is the security term on everyone's lips these days, with major global players all moving to this more secure method of self-identification, ranging from manufacturers to retailers and Government agencies alike.

In the latest news, Google has published its offline-enabled authentication app, suitable for smartwatches. Available to download for free off Google Play, this app is thankfully available without being always-online, allowing users to identify themselves efficiently and easily through a wrist-worn device.

There is also word on NFC authentication with this update, meaning that we could see authentication tags and wristbands in the future, meaning users are able to simply tap a product to their phone, computer, tablet or even television to confirm it is actually them.

Everyone who's ever played Fallout has always wanted their very own Pip-Boy, as evidenced by the Fallout 4 Pip-Boy special editions selling out in mere minutes. Now you can make that desire a reality with the Rufus Cuff, a stylized and futuristic-looking device that essentially straps a smartphone to your wrist.

Marketed as "more than just a smartwatch", the Rufus Cuff offers functionalities befit of a fully-fledged Pip-Boy-like "wrist communicator". It sports a 3.2-inch touchscreen and can run Google Play apps, send and receive voice and video calls, play music, and has a full suite of fitness hardware like an accelerometer and gyroscope. Essentially the wearable is a union between smartwatches and smartphones.

"The Rufus Cuff is an advanced wearable device with a revolutionary new take on wrist real estate. With a beautiful 3.2-inch widescreen, radical design, and reimagined form factor, the Rufus Cuff ends the era of the watch and ushers in the Wrist Communicator."

As wearable tech continues to expand into our everyday lives, OEMs are charged with finding innovative new ways to optimize and streamline wearables--especially in the battery life department. With this spirit in mind, Samsung has just revolutionized the world of wearables with its new line flexible strip batteries.

Samsung unveiled its new bendable battery duo, the Stripe and the Band, at this year's InterBattery 2015 showcase in Seoul, displaying a new generation of power solutions for two key wearable types. The South Korean tech giant called the new tech the "embodiment of the age of wearable batteries that is applicable to any curves of a human body."

Since the Stripe sports an ultra-slim 0.3mm battery strip with "innovative energy density", it could pave the way for nonexisting wearables like smart shirts, necklaces or hairbands. Thanks to its shape and size, the Stripe is extremely versatile and can mold and fit a huge assortment of form factors.

We already know that the Oculus Rift requires a GeForce GTX 970 or AMD R290 graphics solution to simulate VR, but it looks like GTX 970 owners will be able to run every single bit of software that Oculus will offer in the official Rift storefront.

In a recent Reddit thread, a curious gamer posed a specific question about future-proofing his rig for further generations of Oculus Rifts. Is it better to buy a GTX 970 to support the first generation, or should you pick up a GTX 980Ti so your setup is ready for Oculus Rift gen 2?

According to a verified Oculus VR employee, the GTX 970 will be enough to support the Oculus Rift for quite some time: "A consumer owning a 970 will be able to play everything on our store," said Oculus expert Philanthropi.

LG Electronics has partnered with REEDS Jewelers to create an expensive luxury watch that isn't like most other smartwatches currently available.

The watch features a 1.3" full circle P-OLED display, runs Google Android Wear, and features a 410mAh battery. Owners can receive smart notifications, alerts, navigational prompts, fitness integration, and use the "OK Google" feature. The watch itself has a handmade alligator strap and features 23-karat gold.

If you have deep pockets, you can visit the REEDS' website and pre-order a unit for $1,195. The limited edition watch will have an initial run of just 500 units - with each model receiving its own serial number to authenticate it.

Gaming peripheral company Razer has unveiled a redesigned version of the Nubu wearable during the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) convention in Seattle. The new device is able to monitor steps taken, distance, calories burned, activity minutes, and sleep duration each evening.

The wearable has an OLED 128x16 single color display, and features a 3-axis accelerometer and cylindrical vibration motor.

Pre-orders begin on September, and the updated Razer Nabu will begin shipping in October 2015. It has a $99.99 MSRP.

Apple has made its first appearance in the wearables market, and is already within striking distance of No. 1 company Fitbit, according to IDC. Apple shipped 3.6 million units during the second quarter of 2015, trailing Fitbit by just 0.8 million units - with the wearables market getting a whopping 223 percent year-over-year growth, increasing from 5.6 million units up to 18.1 million units.

Fitbit leads with 24.3 percent market share, with Apple (19.9 percent), Xiaomi (17.1 percent), Garmin (3.9 percent), and Samsung (3.3 percent) in the top five. It looks like Fitbit needs a drastic boost to keep its overall market lead, as Apple clearly took wearables by storm.

"Anytime Apple enters a new market, not only does it draw attention to itself, but to the market as a whole," said Ramon Llamas, research manager for wearables at IDC. "Its participation benefits multiple players and platforms within the wearables ecosystem, and ultimately drives total volumes higher.

Swatch is taking a relatively cautious approach to the smartwatch market, in an effort to avoid directly competing against the Apple Watch, Motorola Moto 360, and other smartwatches. However, the Swiss watch company has plenty of growth for its smartwatch product portfolio - while providing individual smartwatch features in its devices.

"Our product is called Touch Zero One and that gives enough room for Zero Five, Zero Nine," said Nick Hayek, CEO of the Swatch Group, according to the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper in Switzerland. "The Touch Zero One is not the end of the progression."

The Swatch Touch Zero Two will launch during the Rio Olympic Games 2016 next summer in Brazil.

In late 2014, Intel and watchmaker Fossil Group announced they were going to develop fashionable smartwatches, and we've finally received glimpse of the wearables.

During IDF, Fossil showed off three Intel smartwatches, powered by Google Android Wear, with all three expected during Q4 this year. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich and Fossil SVP Gregory McKelvey announced the watches during the opening keynote of the 2015 Intel Developer Forum (IDF).

Designed for consumers seeking fashionable, yet tech-centric smartwatches, it looks like Fossil wants to take aim at the Apple Watch. One watch looks quite similar to the Motorola Moto 360, and features a silver finish, leather straps and a black bar type look that many of you may already be familiar with.

If you've had $20,000 burning a hole in your pocket, be prepared for January 1, 2016 because Microsoft will begin shipping the 84-inch version of its Surface Hub on the first day of next year.

During the Windows 10 event earlier this year, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Hub, surprising most. The TV-sized tablet is designed to be an advanced, collaborative teleconference system for the enterprise. There are two different versions: the 55-inch HD screen with an Intel HD GPU for $7000, or the massive 84-inch 4K version packing an NVIDIA Quadro K2200 GPU for $20,000.

Microsoft didn't expect the Surface Hub to be so popular, as it has missed its September 1 ship date due to the pre-orders far exceeding its manufacturing expectations. Will you be buying a Surface Hub? If you could have one, which would you choose?

Kinematix has been heavily promoting its TUNE, a wearable designed for runners, able to collect all sorts of information - well beyond pace and speed - including each foot's ground-contact time, heel-contact time, and more.

TUNE includes insoles with electronic sensors, able to to sync with small electronic devices that connect to the outside of the shoe. After each run, athletes are able to take a closer look at their technique throughout the workout - and the TUNE app even shows how to properly do exercises.

The insole is extremely thin and should be able to fit into most shoes, and since the insole isn't in direct contact with a person's foot, there should be no need to try and wash it.

Swatch CEO Nick Hayek said his company will release the Swatch NFC smartwatch this summer, and there are already 20,000 units ready for launch. The connected watch isn't designed to be a smartphone on your wrist, but will be able to support wireless payments and other mobile functions.

"We will launch it in the US, China and Switzerland," Hayek said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal. "We have 20,000 already in stock and we are very optimistic about the watch."

Hayek didn't disclose what impact the Apple Watch has had on the company, but Swatch's effort to join the smartwatch market should be a telling sign. I think it's a good move by Swatch - as the Apple Watch and other smartwatches won't take the high-end market - but will pressure the lower-end Swatch target market.

One thing that unites all wearables would have to be their lackluster battery life, but it looks like researchers over at Microsoft's WearDrive project might have solved this.

The researchers are using a RAM-based system that doesn't rely on a battery, something that would save battery life in wearables. The way this works is by pairing the wearable with a smartphone through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, with the more energy consuming apps processed on the smartphone, instead of on the wearable where it consumes the important battery life.

Microsoft's WearDrive energy saving system was tested on an Android-powered smartphone, with the researchers noting that there was a "negligible" impact on smartphone battery life, while there was a 300% improvement on battery conversation on the werable. The we arable was also 800% faster than normal application runtimes, which is a huge achievement. The WearDrive also deactivates when it's out of range of a paired smartphone.

The new version of Google Glass will be powered by an Intel Atom processor, thanks to the detectives over at 9to5Google. They've reported that the new version of Google Glass will be called 'Enterprise Edition', or just 'EE'.

The updated Glass will feature a bigger prism, which is the little part of the wearable device that you look into, while Intel will provide an Atom processor. The larger prism is very welcomed, as it will help reduce eye strain and allow larger Now cards to be placed in front of your vision, while the Intel Atom processor will provide improved performance and better battery life.

Additionally, heat management has been improved, and thanks to the Intel Atom processor and its increased battery life, you should get through more of the day with the new Glass. Google has also reportedly developed an external battery pack for Glass, which I can't see many people using. Where are you going to install an external battery pack? On your ear? The new Enterprise Edition will also feature 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band Wi-Fi.

The Apple Watch brought attention to the smartwatch and wearables market, but it looks like initial demand for the watch is dying down.

If you're thinking about purchasing an Apple Watch, you'll be happy to know there are plenty of them available to choose from. Even though some estimate 13 million to 20 million units have sold, the hyped Apple wearable isn't seen as a necessity.

"The initial demand for the Apple Watch looks lackluster," said Brian Blair, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities, in a statement on CNBC's "Power Lunch." "It's not clear what the killer app is. It's nice to get notifications, but it's a nonessential product."

The wearables market is growing, and while analysts can't agree on what the future holds for the evolving market, Intel isn't going to sit on the sidelines and wait it out. Intel recently announced it purchased Recon Instruments, a company known for creating connected eyewear for athletes.

"Going forward, we'll continue leading the smart eyewear category for sports, and we'll be able to bring our technology and innovation to completely new markets and use cases where activity-specific information, delivered instantly, can change the game," said Dan Eisenhardt, co-founder of Recon, in a blog post.

So far in 2015, Intel introduced the Curie hardware model, a new system-on-chip (SoC) designed for wearable products, while also announcing a partnership with Oakley. The company didn't stop there, as Intel will also work with Google and TAG Heuer in the smartwatch market.

There are plenty of smartwatches, fitness bands and other wearables that we can choose from, though it looks like manufacturers are still fighting to get casual consumers to spend.

There are a few different barriers that must be addressed, such as the following: lack of persuasive uses, no killer apps, limited functionality, and style, according to a recent Business Insider Intelligence consumer survey.

When asked why they don't have interest in a smartwatch, 51 percent of those surveyed said they simply don't see the point of owning one. Perhaps providing a killer app could help woo new users, and that would essentially kill two birds with one stone.

Huawei has been forced to delay the launch its debut smartwatch, caused by an unknown problem in China. The smartwatch, powered by Google Android Wear, will be released in the United States and Europe sometime during Q3 - and suspected issues stem from Google services used in China.

"We're experiencing some problems with Google's Android Wear [the watch's operating system] in China," Yang said, in a statement published by the Wall Street Journal. "It's a new product."

It looks like Huawei will leave the hardware specifications alone for the watch: 1.4-inch AMOLED (400x400) display, 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor, 512MB RAM, and 4GB of storage capacity. The watch is just 11.3mm thick and is powered by a 300 mAh battery.

It looks like Apple is planning some big upgrades to the Apple Watch 2, with 9to5Mac reporting that the next iteration of Apple's wearable to feature some big improvements.

Apple Watch 2 should feature a FaceTime camera, which will allow you to make video calls directly from Watch 2. One thing that keeps the Watch from really excelling is its constant reliance on the iPhone, something that Watch 2 will hopefully solve. Apple is working on something it's supposedly calling internally "tether-less" that would see Watch 2 having more functionality when not connected to your iPhone.

Battery life is also reportedly set to be improved on Watch 2, where Apple should be able to make the wearable faster, better, and either have similar, if not improved battery life when compared to the current Apple Watch. The last rumor is that there will be a few different models between $1000 and $10,000 - with Apple set to possibly introduce Watch 2 variants based on titanium, tungsten, palladium, or platinum. Prepare your credit cards, people.

The Apple Watch has created a new revenue stream for Apple, and there is something else the company is able to sell along with the wearable: extra watch bands. Almost 20 percent of Apple Watch customers are purchasing at least one extra watch band, according to data Reuters has received from Slice Intelligence.

Apple hasn't issued a statement regarding the number of smartwatch units sold, but Slice believes around 2.79 million units have been sold. However, the entry-level sports band costs just $2.05 to make and sells for $49 - so there is plenty of extra room for Apple to cash in.

The Black Sport Band, Milanese Loop and White Sport Band appear to be the top three favorite extra bands that consumers are picking up. The Milanese Loop is $149, so consumers are seeking an added bit of luxury with their Apple Watch.