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Holiday Gadgets 2014: Wearables and Body Tech
by Douglas Dixon
Wearables for the new year- Smart watches and eyewear -- Though not yet implanted
Contents
  
Wearables / Smart Watches
Why a Smart Watch?
- Accessible: Pocket watch to wrist watch - as phone peripheral
- Fit and function
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Dick Tracy 2-Way Wrist Radio / TV
USPS Comic Strips Classics, 1995
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- Phone Display
- Notifications - Alerts, calls, messages, reminders
- Information - Weather, news, sports
- Text, graphics, color photos,and/or video?
- Phone Interaction
- Accept / reject calls
- Respond to messages
- Control music
- Buttons or touch?
- Voice Peripheral - Mic / speaker
- Voice control
- Wrist phone with speaker? Walkie-Talkie?
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, plus 3G?
- Personal Monitoring
/ Fitness
- Health feedback - sensors
- Heart rate, skin temperature, galvanic skin response (stress), UV light ( sun exposure)
- Downloadable Apps
- Watchfaces
- Open platform, link to companion apps
- Peripheral or Stand-alone?
- Built-in GPS
- Download music
- Fitness band or Wristwatch?
- Fashion statement or Nerd gear?
- Timex functional
- Rolex luxury chronograph
- Casio fitness / feature
- Square or round?
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See The Political Power Watch Stops Ticking - New York Times, Oct. 31, 2014
"iWatch" Limitations - Wristbands
- Music player on the wrist
- Phone on the wrist
iWatchz Q Collection Clip Wrist Strap for iPod nano 6G
- Music & fitness, but no wireless connectivity
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Apple iPod nano Gen 6
- Multi-Touch interface - navigate music by tapping or swiping
- 1.54 in. color TFT display, 240 x 240, 220 pixels per inch
- Music, FM radio, photos, accelerometer
- Redesign adds fitness tracking, larger icons,
- Introduced 9/10 - 8 GB $149, 16 GB $179
- Redesigned 10/11 - 8 GB $129, 16 GB $149
- 1.61 x 1.48 x 0.35 in. (40.9 x 37.5 x 8.78 mm), 0.74 oz. (21.1 g)
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 Find the iWatchz Nano Wrist Strap
on Amazon.com
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Belkin EaseFit Armband for iPod nano 7G
- Bluetooth to speaker, but not to phone
Wrist-Size Display
- People want larger displays - iPhone 4 at 3.5" - iPhone 5 at 4" - iPhone 6 at 4.7" - iPhone 6 Plus at 5.5"
SkyMall Wristband iPhone Holder
- Handy and secure! Rotates! Ideal!
Predator Wrist Gauntlet
- Arm bracer wrist computer, compact wrist-mounted console
 
Control unit for Predator's advanced weaponry and technology
- Sat-Com communication and tactical tool, with holographic projection
- Controls for Bio-Mask - Alternate vision modes, zoom, recording/translation, targeting laser
- Controls for Cloaking Device, Self-Destruct Device
- Plasma Caster, Power Punch Glove
- Also power source - Recharge from any common power source
- Predator movie (1987) and sequels
- http://avp.wikia.com/wiki/Wrist_Gauntlet
Top
Fitness Bands
Fitbit - Wireless Activity Trackers / Wristbands
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- Motivates you to stay active, live better, and reach goals
- Real-time stats on wrist
- Track steps, distance, calories burned
- Monitor how long and how well you sleep
- Sync and view on iPhone and Android
- Sync to Fitbit.com Dashboard
- www.fitbit.com
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"Everyday, active and performance fitness products"
Fitbit Zip - Wireless Activity Tracker
- Tracks steps, distance, calories burned, $59
Fitbit One - Wireless Activity + Sleep
- Tracks steps, distance, calories burned
- Adds floors climbed, sleep tracking,
silent wake alarm, $99
Fitbit Flex - Activity + Sleep Wristband
- Tracks steps, distance, calories burned,
active minutes, sleep
- Adds active minutes (no clock, floors climbed), $99
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Fitbit Charge - Activity + Sleep Wristband
- Tracks steps, distance, calories burned,
floors climbed, active minutes, sleep
- Adds auto sleep detection
- Adds Caller ID - OLED display for watch
- $129
Fitbit Charge HR - Heart Rate + Activity
- Tracks all-day activity stats and sleep; Caller ID
- Adds continuous heart rate, multi-sport
- $149 - soon
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Find the Fitbit Zip, Fitbit One, Fitbit Flex, and Fitbit Charge trackers
on Amazon.com
Fitbit Surge - Fitness Super Watch
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- Tracks all-day activity stats and sleep
- with continuous heart rate and Caller ID
- Adds call & text notifications
- Adds music control
- Adds GPS tracking
- Touch screen display - monochrome LCD with backlight
- Battery - 7+ days
- www.fitbit.com/surge
- $249 - soon
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- Tracks 7 days of detailed motion data, daily totals for past 30 days
- Stores heart rate data at 1 sec. intervals during exercise and 5 sec. other times
- Components: GPS, Digital compass, 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscope
- Optical heart rate monitor, Altimeter, Ambient light sensor, Vibration motor
Fitbit App + Dashboard
- iPhone and Android apps
- Fitbit.com Dashboard - Online tools
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- Sync tracker stats - Wirelessly with smartphones
- Track - View progress and analyze trends with charts and graphs
- Record workouts - Log workouts, track run and hike stats,
map routes & see a monthly exercise calendar
- Share & compete - Invite friends and family to share stats,
send cheers and taunts, compete on leaderboard
- Log food - Barcode scanner, calorie estimator,
meal shortcuts & expanded food database
- Earn badges - Get goal progress notifications,
celebrate fitness milestones
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Top
Microsoft Band - Fitness and Productivity
 
Microsoft Band
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- Rubber styling, narrow OLED display, 1.4", 320 x 106
- Full-color touch screen, read in direct sunlight
- Balance of fitness and productivity
- Wear all day to track both activity / exercise and sleep quality
- Continuous heart rate monitoring, calorie burn measurement
- Microphone for voice control
- iPhone, Android, Windows Phone
- $199
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"Keeps fitness and productivity insights a glance away"
Fitness tracking
- Guided workouts - from fitness partners
- Heart rate tracking, 24 hours - Calorie burn, sleep patterns, peak and resting heart rate
- Running - Pace splits and heart rate
- Sleep - Length and quality
- GPS - Distance, pace, route mapping
- UV monitor - UV index for sunscreen
Notifications - Vibrate
- Phone - Incoming call and voicemail
- Messaging - Text with pre-set instant response, E-mail
- Social updates - Twitter, Facebook, Weather, Finance
- Time / alerts - Watch, Timer & Alarm, Calendar alerts
- Personalization - Background designs and colors
- Cortana personal digital assistant - Windows Phone 8.1
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- Capacitive 1.4" TFT full color display
- 320 x 106 pixels, 11 x 33 mm
- Thermal plastic elastomer band, adjustable fit clasp
- Dust- and splash-resistant
- Dual 100mAh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer batteries
- 48 hours normal use; GPS will impact
- Full change under 1.5 hours
- Charge cable connector - Magnetically-coupled
- Bluetooth 4.0 (Low Energy) [not Wi-Fi]
- Windows Phone 8.1, Android 4.3-4.4
- iOS 7.1 and later (iPhone 4S to 6)
- Size small, medium, large - 39, 41, 49 mm wrist height
- $199
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Microsoft Health App
- Cloud-based service - Crunches data from Band and other devices, smartphones, fitness bands
- Store, share and convert data from fitness devices and services
- Deliver powerful insights to help you achieve fitness goals
- www.microsofthealth.com
 
10 Sensors
- Optical heart rate
- 3-axis accelerometer/gyro
- Gyrometer
- GPS
- Ambient light
- UV (sun exposure)
- Skin temperature
- Capacitive
- Galvanic skin response (stress)
- Microphone
Top
Smart Watches
- OS Notifications from phone to watch
- App information to watch
- Commands back to phone - Manual and voice
Martian Watches - "Make the Classic Watch Smart" - Notification, Voice
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- Analog quartz wristwatch with Japanese movement
- Plus integrated OLED display, 96 x 16 pixel
- Kickstarter 2012
- Notifier $129
- Voice Command $249 / $299 - Mic and speaker
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"Brings the convenience of notifications to a fashion-forward timepiece at a down-to-earth price"
- Display world clock, weather
- Display notifications and alerts from apps on phone - iOS or Android
- Caller ID (shake to reject), text messages, e-mail, calendar, games, bank alerts, fitness stats
- News headlines, finance, sports, weather, travel updates
- Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest
- Android, iOS7 Notification Center
- Vibration - Customized pattern for each notification type
- Filters - Chose which alerts to pass through to watch
- Tap watch glass to dismiss a notification or recall for up to 5 min.
- Camera remote control - Snap photo, activate 3-sec. timer
- Phone wireless leash - Find phone (if walk away from phone)
- Battery - Up to 6-7 days, 2-3 hour charging; Separate analog watch battery runs up to 2 years
Martian Notifier - Scrolling line of text
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- Upper command button, lower select button
- Bluetooth 4.0 (Bluetooth low energy)
- RGB LED light
- “Light Touch” vibrating motor
- 3-axis accelerometer
- MicroUSB connection
- 1.70 in. / 43.2mm diameter, 0.5 in. / 12.7mm thick, 1.83 oz / 52 grams
- $129 - White, red, black; Quick-Change Bands - colors
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Martian Voice Command - Passport, Victory, G2G - Smartwatch
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- Adds hands-free voice communication
- Noise canceling microphone, Directional Personal speaker
- Talk, listen, and initiate voice commands
- Answer or place a call, hands-free texting
- Passport/G2G
- 1.53 x 1.46 x 0.52 in (39 x 37 x 13.34 mm), 2.5 oz (70.9 g)
- Victory - 1.61 in diameter x 0.58 in (41 x 14.8 mm), 3 oz (85 g)
- Passport, Victory (shown) - $299
- G2G - $249
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Find the Martian Notifier and Martian Voice Command watches
on Amazon.com
Top
Pebble Smartwatch - ePaper Display, Customizable
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- Lightweight and comfortable
- Clear ePaper display with backlight, 1.26", 144 × 168
- Week-long battery life, waterproof
- iOS and Android
- Not touch; No mic, speaker
- Kickstarter, since 2013; Price drop 10/14
- $99, $199
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"Customizable watch that conveniently and subtly delivers the information that you want directly to your wrist"
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- Display readable in bright daylight or underwater, Scratch-resistant
- Shake for backlight - Ambient light
- Notifications - Text message, email, calendar
- Vibration alerts
- Phone calls - Caller ID, accept / dismiss
- Notifications - From OS/apps - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
- Music playback - iTunes, Spotify, Pandora
- Button menu controls - Music, Notifications history, Alarms set
- Watchfaces, Settings, apps
- Pebble app - iOS, Android
- App settings, download Apps, Watchfaces
- Open platform - Downloadable apps
- Over 1000 apps, JavaScript, C
- Categories - Daily, Tools & Utilities, Notifications, Remotes,
Health & Fitness, Games
- Software updates downloaded wirelessly
- App locker saves apps - max 8 downloaded
- Companion phone apps to pass data (one at a time)
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Pebble Watch / Pebble Steel
- e-Paper display - 1.26-inch, 144 × 168 pixel, LED backlight
- Magnetic charger - port on left side
- Rechargeable battery lasts 5-7 days on a single charge
- Bluetooth (2.1+ EDR and 4.0)
- Water resistant to 50 meters / 5 ATM
- Standard 22mm watchband
Pebble Watch
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- Polycarbonate case
- TPU rubber / silicone band
- 33 x 50.8 x 11 mm, 37 g
- $99
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Pebble Steel
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- Marine stainless-steel / PVD, leather band
- Brushed stainless and black matte (metal band separate)
- Corning Gorilla Glass, oleophobic, anti-fingerprint coating
- RGB LED light for charge status
- 43 x 34.1 x 10.3 mm
- $199
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Find the Pebble Watch and Pebble Steel
on Amazon.com
Top
Google - Android Wear - "Information That Moves With You"
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- Connects your phone to your wrist, at a glance
- Useful information when you need it most
- Receive notifications and respond [Whatsapp illustrated]
- Multiscreen - Access and control other devices from your wrist
- Google Now information, Google voice search - "OK Google"
- Monitor health and fitness
- Offline music and GPS tracking
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"Organizes your information, suggests what you need, and shows it to you before you even ask"
- Respond to text messages; Get meeting notifications, weather updates
- Latest posts and updates from your favorite social apps
- Notifications from shopping, news and photography apps
- Music - Pause, play, and skip tracks
- Cast a movie to your TV
- Voice response - to texts, instant messages and emails
- Call a taxi, send a text, set an alarm, make restaurant reservation
- Ask questions like "Will it rain this weekend?"
- Achieve exercise goals with reminders and fitness summaries
- Fitness apps provide real-time speed, distance, time for your run, cycle or walk
- Daily summaries showing step count and heart rate
- Android smartphones 4.3 and above
- Updates
- Offline music playback - Download to watch, listen via Bluetooth headphones
- GPS sensor support - Fitness apps track distance and speed without phone
- Downloadable watch faces: coming
Android Wear Products
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Samsung Gear Live
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Moto 360
- Modern timepiece
- Comfortable, familiar, and crafted
- Backlit LCD, bottom screen light sensor, 320 x 290
- moto360.motorola.com
- $249
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LG G Watch
- Buttonless sides - Touch and voice-based user interface
- 1.65” IPS LCD display
- Up to 36 hours
- 37.9 x 46.5 x 9.95 mm, 63 g
- www.lg.com/us/smart-watches
- $229
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LG G Watch R
- "Fusion of classic style and the latest wearable technology"
- "At a glance, you’re real-time connected to the world around you"
- More traditional design, with a round display
- Full circle P-OLED display, 320 x 320
- Heart rate monitor
- Outer dial - Non-rotatable, minute/five-minute/quarter-hour marks
- 46.4 x 53.6 x 9.7 mm, 62 g
- www.lg.com/us/smart-watches/lg-W110-g-watch-r
- $299
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Find the Samsung Gear Live, Moto 360, and LG G Watch
on Amazon.com
Top
Apple Watch - "Everything A Watch Should Be"
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- Force-sensitive Retina display, custom font
- Heart rate sensor
- Digital Crown - Multifunctional input (like iPod Click Wheel)
- Side button - Friends - Contact favorite people - thumbnails - Message, call
- Microphone for voice control, speaker
- Precise timepiece - within 50 millisecs, automatically adjusts to local time
- Add specialized functions (complications)
- Stopwatches, weather updates, stock quotes
- Alerts and notifications, messages / email, phone calls, fitness monitoring
- iPhone 5 or 6
- Spring 2015, ~ $350 / $500 / $4000+ ?
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"Everything we think a watch should be. Available in three distinctive collections."
- Home screen - Access favorite apps
- Alerts and notifications - Gentle tap, discreet audio cues
- Messages - Dictate or preset Smart Replies
- Handoff - Start a message on watch, continue on iPhone
- Email - Alerts, read, flag, mark read / unread, trash, open on iPhone
- Phone - Built-in speaker and microphone, transfer to iPhone, car speakerphone, Bluetooth headset
- Silence incoming calls by covering with hand
- Glances - Swipe up on watch face - Quickly show information
- Calendar, maps & directions, stopwatch, Remote camera, display photos, weather, stocks
- Buy coffee using Apple Pay, Passbook boarding pass, control Apple TV
- Digital Touch - Direct to others - Send sketch, Walkie Talkie
- Fitness monitoring - Heartbeat, motion, exercise, standing
 Messages, Calls, Email
- Digital Crown - Multifunctional input (like iPod Click Wheel)
- Scroll, zoom, select without covering the screen; Push to return to Home screen
- Force Touch - Distinguish light tap and deep press for contextual controls
- Voice input - Raise wrist and say "Hey, Siri"; press and hold Digital Crown to dictate
- Heart rate sensor - Back of case, behind ceramic cover with sapphire lenses
- Infrared and visible-light LEDs and photodiodes
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 4.0 to iPhone
- MagSafe inductive charging - Completely sealed, magnetic alignment
Apple Watch Line
- Three lines
- Two case sizes: for different size wrists, 38 or 42 mm
- iPhone 5 or 6
- Available in early 2015 (spring?), starting at $349
Apple Watch
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- 18 models
- Stainless steel or space black stainless steel cases
- Sapphire crystal
- Range of stylish bands
- ~ $350 ?
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Apple Watch Sport
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- 10 models
- Anodized aluminum case, silver or space gray
- Strengthened Ion-X glass
- Colorful, durable bands
- ~ $500 ?
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Apple Watch Edition
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- 6 models
- 18-karat gold case, yellow or rose
- Sapphire crystal
- Exquisitely crafted bands and closures
- $4000 - $5000 ?
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WatchKit Apps - Condense app information to easily scan ("Glances")
- Calendar - Schedule, meeting reminders, accept / decline calendar invitations
- Maps - Current location, directions, routing, turn-by-turn navigation
- Music - Control music iPhone; Listen directly when iPhone at home
- Apple TV & iTunes - Navigate and control library on Mac or PC
- Remote Camera - Live preview, snap photo, set timer
- Time - World Clock, Timer, Alarm, Stopwatch - Graph real-time average of lap times
- Info - Favorite stock, weather report, favorite photos zoom/scroll
- Siri - Dictate message, view next event, find nearest coffee shop
- Settings - Airplane mode, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, Mute on/off, locate iPhone
 
Activity monitoring - Calendar, Maps, Passbook
Fitness - Complete picture of all-day physical activity
- Measures quantity of movement, plus quality and frequency
- Suggests personalized daily fitness goals and encourages you to achieve them
- Heartbeat - Records when press two fingers on screen
- Accelerometer - Measures total body activity, counts steps, helps calculate calories burned
- Gauge intensity to improve calorie tracking
- GPS and Wi‑Fi in iPhone - Measures distances
- Activity app - Progress at a glance, three rings
- Workout app - For dedicated cardio sessions, real-time stats (time, distance, calories, pace)
- Three rings to close:
- Move - Weekly goal for active calories to burn per day
- Exercise - Brisk walk or above, recommended 30 minutes a day
- Stand - Remind to stop sitting, at least one minute in 12 different hours during the day
Passbook and Apple Pay - Convenient, secure payment
- Passbook - Store boarding passes, tickets; Alert when discount or loyalty cards are relevant
- Apple Pay - Buy coffee, groceries, and more right from your wrist.
- Securely use credit and debit cards (unique Device Account Number)
- Double-click button, hold wrist up to contactless reader to send payment information
Digital Touch - Connect with other Apple Watch wearers, wrist to wrist
- Sketch - Draw with finger, animate, send
- Walkie-Talkie - Direct with built-in speaker and microphone
- Tap - Thinking of you - silent, gentle tap on wrist, customize
Top
Samsung Wearables - Companion Devices
Samsung Wearables
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Gear Fit
- Band - 1.84" curved Super AMOLED - $149
- Monitor heart rate, notifications
Galaxy Gear
- 1.63" Super AMOLED, 1.9 MP camera - $149
- Personal assistant, Place and answer calls
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Gear 2 / Neo
- 1.63" Super AMOLED, 320 x 320, heart rate sensor
- Gear 2 - 2 MP camera - $299
- Gear 2 Neo - polycarbonate, no camera - $199
Gear Live - Android
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Find the Samsung Gear Fit,, Galaxy Gear, Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, and Gear Live
on Amazon.com
Samsung Gear S - Watch Phone
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- Samsung’s first network-connected wearable
- 3G cellular in addition to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
- Make and receive calls directly from the wrist
- 2.0" curved display - around contours of the wrist
- To $299 / $399 based on carrier
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- "Extends the smartphone experience to users’ wrists through connectivity and convenience"
 Messaging
- Notifications - Even when away from phone, from social networks, calendars, applications
- Schedule, news, navigation, weather, music
- Contacts, notifications, messages, emails, QWERTY keyboard
- Health and fitness companion - with enhanced multi-sensors, heart rate, built-in GPS
- IP67 rating for dust- and water-resistance
- www.samsung.com/global/microsite/gears
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- 2.0" Super AMOLED, 360 x 480)
- Heart rate, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, ambient light, UV, barometer
- 39.9 x 58.1 x 12.5, 67g (Blue Black), 84g (White)
- 300 mAh Li-ion battery, typical 2 days
- Tizen-based wearable platform
- 1.0 GHz dual-core, 4 GB memory
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Top
Eyewear
Google Glass - Explorer Edition
"Smart eyewear that lets you live lighter, and stay in the here and now"
- Titanium band frame, companion lens frames and detachable shades
- Display, camera, head motion, voice actions, side touchpad, bone conduction audio / earbuds
- Wi-Fi to Internet via phone, Bluetooth to earphones
- MyGlass companion apps for Android / iOS
- 1.51 oz (43g)
- $1500
- https://glass.google.com
- Videos - https://www.google.com/glass/help/
  shades & frames
- Hands-free - Activate Glass display, respond to notifications
- Head tilt - Tilt up to wake up / see notification, nod up for off - On-head detection
- Voice actions - "OK Glass" - Send message, make call, take picture, record video, Google search, get directions
- Scroll/select - Tap / swipe right side touchpad
- Pictures and video - Tap camera button on top of frame - 10 sec videos
- Timeline - Navigate row of cards - History of notifications and actions in order
- Glassware services - Gmail, music, live updates on sports, stocks, weather
- Screencast to MyGlass app
- Glass Explorer Edition - $1500 - Charcoal black, tangerine red, cotton white, shale gray, sky blue
- Comes with choice of free shade or frame
- Frames $225 - Titanium, feather-light, 4 models
- Recommended prescription: lenses cut within +4 to -4 with astigmatism to 2D
- Shades $150 - Polarized, impact-resistant lenses, 3 models
- Twist on and off Glass when not wearing frames
- DVF - Diane von Furstenberg - 5 Frames. 8 Shades.
- Stereo earbuds $85- customizable with 5 interchangeable color caps (included).
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- Display - Equivalent of 25-inch HD screen seen from 8 feet -
- [LCoS color, LED illuminated, 640 x 360]
- Camera - 5 MP photos, 720p video
- Audio out - via bone conduction transducer; Mono earbud
- Can be used as Bluetooth headset
- [3 axis gyroscope, 3 axis accelerometer]
- [3 axis magnetometer (compass)]
- [Ambient light sensing / proximity sensor]
- Wi-Fi - 802.11b/g, Bluetooth
- 16 GB storage, 12 GB usable, synced with Google cloud storage
- Battery 1 day typical use. Video more battery intensive
- Micro USB port
- Android 4.4 KitKat
- 1.51 oz (43g)
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