Pebble drops smartwatch prices, adds sleep and more health tracking

In the face of Android Wear watches costing $179 and up, Pebble is dropping the price of its wearable device: You can get one for $99. The company is also adding better health tracking support and sleep monitoring with third-party apps.

Pebble drops smartwatch prices, adds sleep and more health tracking originally published by Gigaom, © copyright 2014.

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BiggiFi Android TV Stick Review

As of late, a lot of smart TVs come with a bunch of apps that allow you to use services such as Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and more.

But none of these devices do is let you play games and they’re also restricted to apps designed specifically for the particular platform. The BiggiFi, which retails for around $60 on Amazon, tries to solve those two problems.

Keep reading this review to find out whether the BiggiFi is a good addition for your home.

 

The BiggiFi advertises itself as a “family smart stick”, but in reality, it’s simply just a mini-computer crammed into a dongle form-factor that can run vanilla Android. Despite the perceived simplicity of this solution, it actually addresses the gripes we named above. Through a pure Android environment, you have access to any Android application, including games as well as apps that aren’t designed to run on the Roku or Chromecast.

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NomadKey smartphone cable Review

Smartphones, tablets, and other similar electronic devices continue to get better every year. Their sizes increase ever few months and the processor, memory and screen resolution continually improve. Generally, all of these changes are good but they do comes at a price – increased power consumption.

It is becoming normal for people to bring their charger to work. Some people even keep a spare battery with them at all times. Other people, like myself, carry an external battery charger. But what other option might you have if you do not want to carry your charger back and forth from home to work? What if you do not have a spare battery or an external battery charger? The NomadKey might be the accessory that you are looking for. Let’s check it out.

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Accessory of the Day: Aleratec game controller mount $18.99

If you ever use your phone for gaming, you’ll know that they don’t make the most comfortable of controllers. Using an ergonomic feel, the Aleratec Universal Phone Game Controller puts the gaming into your hands without making you feel like you’re suffering from carpal tunnel. It’s lightweight and fits most devices, safely securing your smartphone...

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Samsung's $20 Power Sharing Cable Lets Users Top Off Other Gadgets With The Internal Battery On The GS5, Note 4, Galaxy Tab S, And More

Now that everyone seems to be carrying around smartwatches, Bluetooth headphones, and various other bits of electronic detritus, we need ways to keep them charged up when they inevitably die before the end of a long day. Samsung wants your Galaxy phone or tablet to be the backup battery for other stuff, like a Gear watch, via the brand new Power Sharing Cable. It's a little double-sided MicroUSB cable that allows one gadget to charge another, without any AC adapter or portable battery pack.

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Xiaomi Mi Band: at just $13, all flaws are forgiven (REVIEW)

The wild world of wrist-worn wearables will, with the advent of Apple Watch, hopefully reach a saturation point and start to consolidate. The full potential of wearables is far from being realized, and the current status quo does very little to excite. Fitness bands, in particular, are basically just smartphone-connected rehashes of your mom’s mall-walking pedometer.

A few leaders are emerging, though. The latest contender comes from Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, dubbed the Mi Band. I’ve been wearing the Mi Band over the last few days to find out if it’s more than a glorified step counter. But first, let’s compare the features side-by-side with the Jawbone Up and Fitbit Flex:



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Watch out, Apple: Martian Notifier smartwatch lands on India’s Flipkart

The Martian Notifier, priced at INR 9,999 (US$165), will display alerts and notifications you choose from your phone, double up as a hands-free speaker, and support voice commands.

The Martian Notifier, launched exclusively on Flipkart today, will display alerts and notifications you choose from your phone, and also doubles up as a hands-free speaker. The smartwatch, which is mainly an analog watch with a tiny alerts window, supports voice commands, although it’s not clear how well those will work with the rich variety of Indian accents. At INR 9,999 (US$165), it may not seem affordable to many – but that’s less than half of what the Apple Watch is expected to cost when it eventually arrives in Q1 next year.


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[Review] Pebble Steel

The Pebble Steel is a more premium version of the original Pebble – eschewing the toy-like plastic chunkiness of its predecessor, the Steel embraces either a brushed stainless steel or matte black metal chassis, and protects its e-paper display with an ultra-durable Corning Gorilla Glass lens as well as an oleophobic, anti-fingerprint coating. Its look is timeless classic and looks far more like a Swiss timepiece than the original Pebble and any of its current competitors.

If you purchase the Pebble Steel direct from Pebble’s own site, the watch comes bundled with both a metal strap (pictured right with the Pebble Steel) and a leather band; curiously, if you purchase it from its distributors – such as Leader Radio Technologies in Singapore or Hong Kong – it comes with only the leather band, with the metal strap purchased separately.  For Pebble Steel’s launch in Singapore, Leader Radio Technologies bundled an exclusive custom made silicone strap (along with a pouch) together with the first 500 units.

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Sony announces SmartEyeglass and software development kit preview

Sony isn’t interested in sitting back and watching other manufacturers get into the smart glass game. They just announced SmartEyeglass which is another version of Google Glass.

The image above doesn’t look all that appealing, but Sony says it’s a prototype. It will do most of the same things that Google Glass does such as superimposing images, videos, and text. It also includes a 3 MP camera, accelerometer, gyroscope, brightness sensor, and a compass. Battery life is one of the biggest complaints with Google Glass, so Sony has added a bulky battery pack that is wired to the glasses. I’m not sure that is the answer. The prototype will connect to smartphones running Android 4.1 and higher.
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A new Android Wear smartwatch seeks funding on Indiegogo

Android Wear isn't just a platform for big hardware manufacturers. A group on Indiegogo is raising funds for their own watch design running Google's smartwatch software

One of the key differences to Google’s approach to Android Wear as compared to other smartwatch platforms is that it’s partially open source, just like Android. This means that even if you’re not one of Google’s official Android Wear hardware partners, you can still download the source code from the Android Open Source Project (ASOP) and build your own.

The group behind one of the first Android Wear smartwatches that’s not from a major partner is currently taking pre-orders on Indiegogo to raise funds to release an Android Wear smartwatch, called the Com1, as soon as December this year.

A new Android Wear smartwatch seeks funding on Indiegogo originally published by Gigaom, © copyright 2014.


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Misfit Flash Is A Plastic Version Of The Shine Activity Tracker, Now Available For Pre-Order At $49.99

With its first wearable, the Shine, Misfit took a different approach to the whole activity tracking thing. Its spherical device wasn't tied to a bracelet like its competitors', it could be popped inside of a necklace or strapped to a belt as well. And forget days of battery life, this thing could go for months. The product was compelling, but at $129.99, it wasn't cheap, so Misfit is addressing that with its second go at the market, the Flash.

The Flash has the same core design as the Shine. It's still a weird, funky UFO looking thing outlined by LED lights. It still tracks steps, calories, distance, and sleep. It's still capable of telling the time in its own peculiar way. It also doesn't require charging and instead draws its juice from a watch battery (which should last up to six months). What's different this time around is the build quality. Rather than a metal disc-shaped thing, the Flash is a plastic one.

Misfit Flash Is A Plastic Version Of The Shine Activity Tracker, Now Available For Pre-Order At $49.99 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.




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The Mophie 3000mAh Juice Pack Battery-Case For The Galaxy S5 Is Now On Sale For A Hefty $100

 It's been said that you can never be too young, too skinny, or too rich. A similar aphorism for smartphones might be, "they can never be too fast, too hi-res, or have too long a battery life." The user in search of longer untethered battery life has a few options including external packs or extended batteries for phones that support them. And today, Galaxy S5 owners get a new option in the form of Mophie's $99.95 Juice Pack.


The Mophie 3000mAh Juice Pack Battery-Case For The Galaxy S5 Is Now On Sale For A Hefty $100 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.



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Filament by WigWag, smart color LED light bulbs, now available for pre-order

To smarten your home, WigWag is a very good fit. The company’s range of smart devices has now spread to light bulbs. Filament is the name for WigWag’s smart color LED light bulbs that are both affordable and lasting. They operate with the WigWag Relay that analyzes what else is connected to your network and […]

Come comment on this article: Filament by WigWag, smart color LED light bulbs, now available for pre-order

Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

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New Android-based set-top box combines broadcast TV and online video

A new breed of TV services could cater to cord cutters by combining over-the-air broadcast TV with live streaming and on-demand programming. The hardware for this kind of service is already being built.


Israel-based video startup Vidmind is getting ready to unveil the second generation of its Android-based set-top box at IBC this week, and the device comes with a twist: Vidmind is selling its box to generation of internet-centric TV operators, offering them a combination of broadcast over-the-air TV and online streaming.

Vidmind’s first major customer is Russia’s TVzor, a new TV operator that was launched by the local consumer electronics retailer Trellas this summer. TVzor offers its customers a combination of over-the air TV that can be received with an antenna, channels that are streamed over the internet and video on demand. Vidmid’s set-top box combines all of these sources in a unified interface, and subscribers don’t really notice a difference between content coming to them through the antenna and through the internet, explained Vidmind CEO Danny Peled during an interview.


New Android-based set-top box combines broadcast TV and online video originally published by Gigaom, © copyright 2014.


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Motorola Launches the Moto 360: Hands On and First Impressions

The Moto 360 at this point is one of the most hyped products I've seen this year. However, in my time with the product it seems to be a mostly standard Android Wear watch, but with a few major differences. Motorola wanted to emphasize that this was a modern timepiece rather than a smartwatch, and they’ve implemented a great deal of new technologies in order to support the intended industrial/material design and user experience. Some of the key highlights include the round LCD display, custom antennas that are in the metal housing but don’t require any antenna lines, custom metal wristbands that don’t interfere with the antennas of the watch itself, dual microphones and custom noise cancellation profiles to handle different acoustics from being strapped to an arm, a recessed strap to improve comfort and better hug the wrist, and a custom heart rate sensor that should have better performance and reliability when compared to competing solutions.

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Ollie is a phone-controlled robot toy that does tricks and goes as fast as 15 miles per hour

Robotics company Orbotix has followed up last year’s Sphero toy with Ollie, a cylindrical robot that cruises at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour. The device costs $99 and will begin shipping on September 15th. The Sphero robo-ball was a fun toy with some interesting apps built for it, but it had issues with wireless charging and Bluetooth connectivity. Ollie addresses some of these by returning to wired charging and utilizing Bluetooth LE for easier pairing. To get started with Ollie, you simply open the app and tap your phone to the device. The process is noticeably quicker...

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The post Ollie is a phone-controlled robot toy that does tricks and goes as fast as 15 miles per hour appeared first on The Next Web.

Samsung unveils Gear VR, a wearable optimized for Galaxy Note 4 to explore virtual reality

Samsung today unveiled the Gear VR, its latest wearable device designed to explore virtual reality while on the move and optimized for use with its newly announced Galaxy Note 4. The result of a partnership with Oculus, a Facebook company and leader in virtual reality technology, the Gear VR allows you to slot in a Galaxy Note 4 to create an immersive virtual reality experience.

The Gear VR can put the user in any of the four scenarios: VR cinema, VR Games, 360-degree video and educational/experimental content. Using the 5.7-inch QHD display of the Galaxy Note 4, the Gear VR can project virtual realities in any of the four scenarios. For example, you can be sitting in a theater watching a play, but virtually move around to be in different locations of the theater. You also can play virtual reality games such as piloting a spacecraft through an asteroid field and engage enemy spaceships.

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Hands-on: Samsung Gear S smart watch

Samsung's fourth wearable, the Gear S is shaping up to be the best smart watch in the market with its 2-inch curved Super AMOLED display and 3G connectivity. Join us as we check out what's new in the Gear S at Samsung's Mobile Unpacked Event Episode 2 in Berlin.

We are glad to see Samsung replicating the same design formula it used for the Gear Fit for the Gear S; the curved Super AMOLED display wrapped around our wrist very comfortably although consumers with smaller wrists may be turned off by the larger 2-inch display. However, the extra screen estate provided more room for navigation and reading content on the smart watch.

Like the Gear Fit, the Gear S consists of a removable core module and an interchangeable rubber strap. Little effort was required to remove the core module from the rubber strap, so consumers who like to switch straps regularly should not feel inconvenienced.



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Here is the Xperia Z3 in Copper; plus a first look at Sony’s new SmartBand with E Ink display

the press picture shows the Xperia Z3 in copper and the sharp-eyed amongst you will also notice that the model is wearing a new SmartBand. A few days back we reported on the ‘SmartBand Talk’ which would come with a curved E Ink display – looks like this is the one and the same. Look for the full details at Sony’s IFA 2014 press conference tomorrow. 

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Sammy Glam: Samsung announces Gear S Strap with embedded Swarovski crystals

The newly announced Gear S was already a pretty stylish thing, so unless you’re swimming in cash, this might not be the smartwatch for you, though Samsung is interestingly mum on pricing in its press release. Apart from the crystals, there don’t appear to be any differences in the device so you will still get a dualcore 1GHz processor, a curved 2-inch AMOLED display, a 300mAh battery and a 3G modem that will enable mobile data features on the device.

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ASUS ZenWatch to be under $199 according to CEO

Android Wear has been out for a few months already, but you have a choice between only two devices. The LG G Watch retails for $229.99 and the Samsung Gear Live for $199.99. We’re waiting for more options to appear, and they’re not far off. The fan favorite Moto 360 should launch soon, though it’s probably going to be at a price premium.


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Swatch will release a touchscreen smartwatch next summer

Swatch is one of the largest watch makers in the world, and it is planning to re-enter the smartwatch market that’s been heating up lately. Swatch previously partnered with Microsoft to release a smartwatch nearly a decade ago, but according to comments made by Swatch CEO Nick Hayek to Reuters, Swatch won’t be partnering with an established technology firm this time around. Instead, it plans to launch the “Swatch Touch” on its own next summer.

According to Reuters, the Swatch Touch could include several smartwatch features, including a step counter, Bluetooth syncing and a touchscreen. But Swatch thinks that mainstream acceptance and sales for smartwatches will come from an approach that starts with a watch consumers want, not technology: “Technology alone doesn’t sell, not in watches,” Hayek told Reuters.


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Razer picks ecommerce partner to sell Nabu smartband in China

The gaming ninjas at Razer revealed today that its Nabu smartband will arrive in China in Q4 with an exclusive online sales partner.

Other details about the long-awaited bit of wearable tech – which combines an activity tracker with notifications piped from your smartphone – are stuff we know already from July or August, such as how it’ll integrate with WeChat, China’s top messaging app. Razer has also baked in support for Timi Run Everyday, the addictive side-scroller game that’s Tencent’s first smash-hit game for WeChat. Nabu owners will be able to convert their number of steps walked, calories burnt, and hours slept logged by the device into in-game rewards like gold or diamonds for power-ups.


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