WearableToday-MP3

The other day I talked to someone who is training for a marathon. They tried a couple wearables to help in their process but wanted something more. Both Luke and I look into the mind of a runner and hopefully help in conveying the message. Luke also got a 360 camera and was showing us what it can do for his trip to Europe.

Season 3 of Wearable Today comes to an end with episode 99. Since Luke will be in Europe and I will be heading to SXSW, we will be taking a few weeks off before we jump into Season 4.

Wearable Today Episode 99 Show Notes

* Follow us on Reddit!

* Everyone loves having more Pie, so why not have thirds? The Raspberry Pi 3 was announced today, and has some major upgrades. It has Bluetooth and WiFi built in, and includes an new 1.2 GHz quad-core processor integrated on to the board. The Internet of Things groups are abuzz with what this could mean for more IoT devices, and even makes a great first computer for developing countries. The new device goes on sale today for the same amazing $35 price point as the Pi 2.

* Google’s Project Tango is pushing the bounds of how our devices see our world, and Lenovo has finally announced the launch date of the first consumer version of the technology. According to an interview at Mobile World Congress, the first Tango-powered Lenovo phone will be launching this July, with a price point around $500.

* Apple has still not announced their Apple Watch sales numbers, but another research firm is taking a crack at their own estimate. IDC has put their estimates at 11.6 million, which is a little under the numbers we reported a few weeks ago by Canalys. FitBit still led the pack with 21 million devices sold, and Xiaomi comes in second with 12 million sold.

* As more companies get in to IoT and wearables, there’s the possibility of every manufacturer inventing their own standards, which could lead to incompatibility for customers, and prevent the widespread adoption. Some of the major sensor companies are now coming together to agree on standards that they can all follow. At the Embedded World conference this week in Germany, Advantech, ARM, Bosch, Sensirion, and Texas Instruments came together to unveil the M2.COM platform, which is all about sensors. The standards for connectors and form factors should make it easier for manufacturers to integrate with other hardware, but allow them to freedom to build whatever they can imagine.

* Playstation VR hasn’t gotten much attention, but apparently Sony is about to make some big announcements. They’ve invited members of the press to an event right before GDC (the Game Developers Conference). Since Sony has not backed down on their claim that the device will launch in the first half of 2016, we’re expecting that they will announce a price and launch date.

* One surprise to come out of Mobile World Congress was a new smartwatch from Haier. At first glace it looks like just another Android Wear device, but actually it runs a full version of Android underneath.

This week we look at WearTech’s eventual move to LTE service. Will this replace your phone or other devices? We also take a quick look at the Apple/FBI iPhone issue – was the right decision made to say no? I talk about Domotz home automation and building my electronic drum kit. Luke shows off the new 3D printed items for the C3P0 build.

Wearable Today Episode #98 Show Notes

* Check out the links on the Wearable Today subReddit

* LG announced several VR devices at Mobile World Congress this week. The Rolling Bot will be marketed as a cat toy, but it could almost be a tele-presence device because it has a video camera, audio for playback, and a laser in it to make your cat scramble around. They also announced a VR headset that connects to the new LG G5, that looks like a pair of steampunk glasses. And to create content for them, they showed off the LG 360 Cam. No prices for any of these devices has been announced.

* A couple weeks ago I riffed on one of the Original WearTech companies in View-Master. They must’ve heard the riff because Mattel has debuted the Augmented Reality headset that turns the discs into a 3D show. View Master Viewer DLX is launching in Fall for $30. Make sure your phone fits first.

* HTC has finally announced it’s initial pricing for the Vive, the VR headset that is impressing people even more than the Oculus Rift. At $799, it will be $200 more than the Oculus, but will include a lot more too. It will have two base stations to help track your movement, and two custom controllers. This will allow the device to track your movement through space, not just the direction you are pointing.

* For all you investors out there you might be wondering what the top Weartech stocks are. Motley Fool has cataloged the top 3 Wearable Stocks for you to invest in. Of course, Apple leads the board because of iPhones and iPads. But if you want to invest in a proven company that is adopting Weartech, UnderArmour might be the best play.

* Microsoft is taking the lead on a new Internet of Things (IoT) standards group, that also includes Cisco, Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung, and many others. The goal is to create standards that work across devices. Formerly a part of the Open Interconnect Consortium, they new Open Connectivity Foundation will be creating standards for all companies to use. Noticeably absent are Google and Apple. Google already created open standards for IoT devices called Weave and Brillo, and Apple usually introducing their own standards that other people can adopt.

* Will-i-am is back with a new smartwatch called “Dial” in the UK. He sat down with the Telegraph and said that even though Puls was a beta project, the new dial will be a improved version of the Puls. The 1.63 inch screen has a 2 MP front face camera and will be an untethered 4G device. You will get a Bluetooth headset with it to make calls, stream music, track fitness and more. The Dial is expected in early April in the UK only.

* Wearable devices are great, and people would love to connect them directly to the internet through a mobile carrier,...

This week we look closer at the world of VR headsets. In the next year many companies will come out with products along this trend. Some will cost $100 and some $1000. But will you be adding it to your mobile collection?

Wearable Today Episode #97 Show Notes

* Apple has never released any of their sales numbers for the Apple Watch, but that’s not stopping analysts from taking an educated guess. Jason Low at Canalys says that Apple sold over 5 million Apple Watches in the 4th quarter of 2015, bringing total sales over 12 million for the year. This would make Apple the market leader in Smart watches, although not overshadowing the 37 million “band devices” sold in 2015, which Fitbit comfortable leads.

* Will 5G change wearables? That’s right, the successor to 4G is already in discussion by Verizon and AT&T, and the hope is to have lower latency, faster speeds, and even smaller devices. This could mean a big change for wearables, as storing information on the wearable won’t be as big of a concern, since streaming data could be as fast as local storage. Early AT&T field tests could be happening in Austin, Texas by the end of the year, but of course, these will be internal tests that require new hardware.

* Many fitness brands have bought up software products to expand their lineup, and increase their marketing reach, and now Runkeeper joins the list. Asics purchased Runkeeper to bring the two fitness brands closer together, and provides Asics the ability to communicate directly with Runkeepers 45 million users. Wired has more thoughts about this might impact the future of both brands, and reminds us that Under Armour owns MyFitnessPal, and Adidas has Runtastic. Thus far, all these brands have been interoperable, but perhaps soon we will start to see more division as brands aim to build an ecosystem around a singular point.

* Kevin Plank, the CEO of Under Armour met with Fortune Magazine last week to talk about the Super Bowl, their athletes, and wearable technology. In the 23 minute interview, he discusses the incredible growth they’ve seen, how tracking your own biometrics is the wave of the future, and much more. He is very excited about the future of weartech, and the value that Under Armour can provide by aggregating all the data that people are collecting through devices like the HealthBox. Watch the whole interview and hear the passion of the person in charge of the entire company over on fortune.com.

* Mobile World Congress is next week. TechCrunch looks at some of the weartech that is coming from the conference. Samsung will be debuting the S7, LG will unveil the G5, and lots of VR from HTC and Samsung. Even Blackberry will have some announcements that might just vault them in the Android arena.

* Ready to upgrade your thermometer? That is what Flo thermometer is trying to do. A simple heat reading device, it can not only tell your temperature via pointing the device at your head, you can also create a series of memories so you can keep track of you or your child’s health. You can also use this device to check the temperature of other items like liquids you are about to consume.

* Standing while at work is a tough gig. Fatigue continually works against you and postitions such as doctors need to be able to keep sharp.

This week Luke shows off more of his C-3P0 build and his first post on Thingaverse with the eye piece he configured for the mask. I was geeking out over my new QSC Touchmix-16 that I got this morning and it’s wearable component. I was configuring this board sitting in my living room.

Wearable Today Episode 96 Show Notes

* Android Wear has new updates coming soon! New gestures are being added that allow more hands-free navigation, devices return to ambient mode even quicker when you drop your wrist, and you can even make calls from your watch, if it has a speaker built in. On top of this, the second generation Moto 360 is already receiving this update, which includes better indoor run tracking that can interface with apps like MapMyRun and Fitbit.

* Oral Roberts University is taking an interesting approach to keeping their students in shape. All students are being required to wear Fitbit activity trackers, and to sync the data with school systems so that they can be monitored by staff members. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based school hasn’t yet heard any outcry from students or parents, but some privacy advocates are saying the data should be opt-in instead of required.

* If you’re watching Wearable Today, you’re probably already ahead of the curve on knowing about wearable technology. Let’s look even further into the future with this article from the Washington Post. Here they discuss some weartech that augments your body’s strengths and gives it a place to sit, stealth technology built in to your clothes to hide you from eyes above, and technology that uses your body as the conduit for information.

* If you have a caffeine addiction, you should take a look at this next wearable. Joule is a wrist strap that provides 65mg of caffeine over 4 hours. The creator claims that this is a faster way to get your fix, and better than the ups and downs of drinking coffee. Right now the product is launching on indiegogo with a delivery date of later this year.

* Can weartech make you an artist? Mihkel Joala thinks so, and has created a device to do it. The SprayPainter uses a smartphone and a spraygun with a light on it to automatically create works of art just by waving your hand over the surface. You setup the smartphone to point at the area you want to paint, and then as you run the spray gun over the surface, the smartphone triggers SprayPainter to start and stop spraying, at up to 200 times per second. By using multiple colors of spray paint, you can make full color graffitti in designs much more complex than your own skills may allow. The indiegogo campaign has already full funded, and early backers should receive their $149 device in July of this year.

* Here is a new way to keep notes. The Rocketbook Wave is a conventional pen and paper 80 page notebook that sends your notes to a mobile device. When you want to clean out your Rocketbook, simply put it in the microwave and it will clear all the notes. The pens are a special thermochromic ink that disappears at 140 degrees F

* Students at TU Delft in the Netherlands showed the power of printed stainless steel with the introduction of

Luke and I have been doing some house cleaning. Luke shows off some old iPod mini watch bands and I talk about the tech upgrades in the house including a new Netgear Nighthawk X4S Smart WiFi Router.

Wearable Today Episode #95 Show Notes

* If you’ve been to a hospital for anything serious, you’ve probably had wires hooked up to your chest to check your heart health. This is called an ECG and can be an awkward experience for people. The wires usually run to machine next to the bed, so if you need to go to the bathroom or otherwise move around it can be quite an ordeal. HealthWatch has come up with a solution, with a tight fitting shirt that has the appropriate technology embedded into it. And the monitoring device attaches to the shirt too, making the monitoring more constant as well. This could open up the possibility of at-home monitoring, freeing up hospital beds and lowering healthcare costs.

* The educational aspects of wearable technology are just getting started. In a new video from my friend Paolo Tosolini, Nikki Kloeppel provides some 360 degree coaching, where you sit in the middle of a job interview and can watch all the participants. Although the content is short, it’s easy to imagine having this kind of immersive education for all sorts of topics. You can watch it with Google Cardboard, or on the YouTube website at the link in the show notes.

* The New York times has a bold article on the future of wearables, saying that right now, most of the wearables you see will end up in your junk drawer. His personal experience with a FitBit, a Jawbone UP, and an Apple Watch has turned into an indictment of the entire industry, with some numbers to back it up. Most sales numbers have not met expectations, and the industry has not grown as fast as it was predicted to a couple years ago. You can read the full article, which includes a few reasons why he feels like the industry has had slow adoption, over on the New York Times website.

* The luxury smartwatch family is getting another member! This one comes from Isaac Mizrahi in the form of a Swarovski crystal-studded watch for women that works with both iOS and Android. Engineered by HP, the device has a 3-line display that appears within a traditional watch face, and allows users to send and receive text messages, and receive all the standard notifications. The device will launch this week for only $249.

* Finally, at CES I met up with the folks at Blocks – the modular smartwatch. I interviewed them for Geekazine, as well as Fitbit Blaze, H2OPal and Quitbi

* Are wearable tattoos here? Kinda. The MC10 is working on reshaping healthcare with the introduction of the BioStamp Connect System. While you are not going to a parlour, finding the tramp stamp and laying on a table to have it put on, the BioStamp patch will create a “Tight skin coupling”. You can have multiple patches on your body. These devices offer 3-axis accelerometer and Gyroscope, integrated electrodes for sEMG and electro cardiac activity, and other sensor information.

I came back from another conference and we’ve got two weeks of news to catch up on. Luke is working hard on his C3P0 outfit and shows off the progress.

Show Notes for Wearable Today Ep 94

* Apple is building VR! According to the Daily Mail, Doug Bowman has joined Apple, and as a former director of Human-Computer Interaction with a focus on VR, they think this points to same big changes at Apple. No other information is known at this time, but the fact that Apple is getting behind VR, it points to a very interesting 2016.

* 4D rides at amusement parks have been pretty popular for a while now, but what if you could look all around you and enjoy the experience in VR or AR? Darren Brown’s Ghost Train will be an all new type of experience, where you are inside an actual train car, suspended 10 feet in the air. Multiple participants should be able to ride the experience at once, but how it will play out is yet to be determined. The ride will be launching at Thorpe Park in London later this Spring.

* MyKronoz is a new Swiss company focusing on building smartwatches. Their new ZeRound watch connects to Android and iOS devices, and runs it own custom software. At only $99, this watch provides a nice entry level option for people only concerned with making calls, getting notifications, and basic fitness tracking. Look for it launching in March of this year, just a few weeks away.

* Samsung is doubling down on VR, taking on the task of producing more VR content themselves. They’re opening a studio in New York to build the experiences, which will likely be exclusing to Samsung devices initially.

* We look at FitPal and it’s crowdfund

* Focus – is 2016 the year of VR?

* From Jeff: This year is the year for VR goggles – so the industry is implying. Oculus was a big name at CES and I have been seeing a lot of companies using VR. While at NAMM, I watched an Augmented Reality segment with drummer Steve Gadd on different Yamaha drum sets. I watched a company with a VR drumset.I even listened to House of Cards star Kevin Spacey talk about how VR will change multiple landscapes. Being able to emmerse yourself from anywhere. This last weekend with the east coast blizzard, you could have stayed home, put on goggles and still attended a show.In five years we’re going to see VR change some businesses. For example, you will have a choice to see Episode 9 in 2D, 3D, 4D, or VR. Imagine that – you can watch X-Wings and Tie Fighters fly over your head in battle, or watch a piviol scene and hear a voice behind you. You turn your head and feel like you’re in-between a conversation.

Even though that is a ways away, companies that try to adopt the new technologies will be doing it now. That is the one thing about the Porn industry. They are those early adopters.

And from what I saw, the news at the AVN awards this last weekend was Virtual Reality was kicking into high gear.

* From Luke: I think this year will be a big turning point for VR. That’s been said every year for the past several years, but we’re finally seeing the hardware come out, and the software to back it up. The Oculus Rift has gone in to real production, and I’ve heard several people say the HTC Vive is an amazing experience. Microsoft is going HoloLens, Google has cardboard,

As I do every year, I went to CES to check out the new technologies. Of course, that included weartech as well. I am back and have a few items to show. I show off the Huawei Honor wearable and Sony Walkman I got at the show.

Wearable Today Episode #93 Show Notes

* Under Armour has unveiled its “Connected Fitness” platform, along with the first three devices: The HealthBox, the SpeedForm Gemeni 2 RE shoe, and set of connected headphones. The HealthBox includes a few other devices including a fitness band and scale, and will connect with the rest of the platform to help change the way athletes live. The devices will retail for between $150 and $400.

* The largest organ on the human body is the skin, so it’s important to take care of it. L’Oreal announced a new wearable at CES that helps detect the UV damage that hits our skin every day. It’s a patch that you put on your skin, and connects to your smartphone to tell you how much UV exposure you’re getting. Able to be worn for up to 5 days in the current iteration, the device should be lauching by the end of this year.

* What if your body became part of your next wearable tech? The TipTalk is a new smart band that attaches your watch, and can vibrate. But not just any vibrations, these vibrations are more like a speaker, and when you stick your finger in your ear, you can listen to calls or voicemails, completely covertly. Samsung says the device will retail for less than $100 by the end of the year.

* The Oculus Rift has come out of development and is ready for consumers… for $600. This price seems too high for some people, but the creator has taken his defense public, citing user experience as the main reason for the inflated price. Not wanting to cut corners and cause the destruction of VR before it even starts, Oculus is expecting technology costs to drop over time as they have in every other field, and eventually reach a lower price point. Palmer Luckey, the creator, cited Tesla as company following a similar route, creating great experiences to build excitement before creating more affordable experiences.

* CES Wearables – Jeff talks about:

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Ember – a coffee mug that tells the temperature

Lumo – helping you sit up straight

OhMiBod – for Keegal exercises

3D Rudder – a board to move you around in VR gaming

80x lens for your iPhone

Oliba – wearable tracker for your stuffed animals

Griffin Travel Power Bank for Apple Watch

Wearable Translator – speaks 6 different languages

Fitbit Blaze – newest Fitbit wearable also alerts with texts, phone calls

Blocks – the startup that puts modules in the watch band

H20Pal – a hydration tracking system

MyKronos ZRound – newest wearable watch from MyKronos

* Luke also notes

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Twitter Backing Muzik

Withings Go

Belty the smart belt

 

I came back early for the show due to the major snowstorm. Luke shows off some weartech gifts he got to continue on his C3P0 build. We also go over some of the expectations at CES 2016.

Wearable Today Episode #92 Show Notes

* We’ve talked weartech for your wrist, your eyes, your belt, and your butt, but what about… your brain? Wearables are now here that monitor your brain, but can they be really effective? CBC News talked to some experts who say that even if these wearables can monitor 1-200 brain cells, that’s a minscule amount compared to billions of brain cells most people have. They also talk to some makers of brain weartech that actually stimulates your brain, but at this point most of the results seem to be anecdotal, with nothing concretely attributable to the new wearable devices.

* In “Big Bang Theory”, Howard built a contraption to cheat his wearable. If you are not an electrical engineer, you might need some other ways to do it. From movement to sleep, you can trick your weartech. But really, whom are you fooling?

* You may have heard last week that Philips began blocking 3rd party bulbs from working with their Hue Bridge. If you did, you certainly heard the backlash from frustrated customers, and you weren’t alone. Philips is now reversing that decision and will be rolling out an update soon that allows 3rd party bulbs back in the pool. Philips does caution that these bulbs might have incompatibility issues, but they leave that up to the user to determine.

* In the past we’ve talked about how you can track your vitals for preventative measures. PDFDevices goes through points you can take note to so you are healthy and safe in the coming years.

* Many people predicted that the Apple Watch would spell the end for companies like Fitbit, who only offer basic fitness trackers without all the bells and whistles of a smartwatch. But looking at Amazon and Apple’s App Store, that doesn’t seem to hold much truth. Amazon announced that the Fitbit Charge was one of the top 3 devices using the same-day delivery option, and the App Store ranking for the Fitbit app was in the top 5 for several days after Christmas, indicating that it was getting a lot of new downloads. Maybethe 8 year old company actually knows a thing or two about creating great products at the right price.

* Earlier today several photos of the Google Glass Reboot hit the web. The main design hasn’t changed but it looks like there are many new features. Magnetic charge/sync, foldable bow, front light, 5GHz wireless, new battery and improved heat management. Finally, a larger prism and better placement of the power button may make Glass more useable by the masses.

What to Expect for WearTech at CES 2016

I take a look at a few companies exhibiting. These companies include:

* Righteye, helping with vision performance

* Mocacare, a heart rate tracker with more options

* Withings, a popular weartech company will be unveiling new products

* Supersuit, gaming gear

Back from London for a new episode! Luke was at the Theater all week acting as Luke Skywalker. Of course, no spoilers on this special Star Wars edition of Wearable Today.

Wearable Today Episode #91 Show Notes:

* The Pebble Time brand of smartwatches are getting a native Health app built by Pebble itself. Previously limited to 3rd party apps, now you can track your steps and sleep with an app that integrates into the Pebble timeline. This will make the health stats much more visible, and Pebble Health will automatically sets goals and give you tips for a more active lifestyle. The functionality will be coming to the Pebble Time, Time Steel, and Time Round devices in the next firmware update.

* The HTC Vive is one of the most anticipated 3D Heads-up gaming devices in recent months. They’ve made some huge breakthroughs as Engadget reports on a developer forum where the manufacturer is very pleased with recent work. Recently, HTC announced that they would be pushing back the launch date to April of next year, using the extra 6 months to provide a much better product. Early reports have already given the technology high praise, and this new breakthrough should make the device more stable for consumer use.

* Do you remember Magic Leap? The company got a $542 million investment last year from Google, Qualcomm, and others, then went dormant. Now they’re back, raising another $827 million to continue their research and product development. The videos shown so far for the weartech could have competitors scrambling. However, they first have to actually release a product. No timeline updates for release have been given. You can read more over at wareable.com.

* 2015 has been a breakout year for wearables, with smart watches and fitness trackers becoming almost common place, and constant new announcements in the field of VR and AR. Forbes has put together it’s list of the biggest wearable news stories of the year, and it might surprise you to learn that most of the items are things that didn’t go so well. They mention lackluster performance from Apple, Google, and Samsung, while Fitbit stays the course. Will all these companies make big strides next year, or will one rise to lead the pack?

* CastAR sends refunds to most backers who didn’t receive their units. The company raised over a million dollars in 2013 for the headset. Not only are those who didn’t receive a headset getting refunded, the company will supply them with a headset when they are officially ready in 2017.

* Omate is another smart watch running Android and it will include the 3G radio along with the complete Android 5.1 OS – not just Android Wear. This makes the watch usable without connection to a phone.

* I show off the Scottevest SEV 8.0 fleece jacket I used while in London. This is a 19 pocket jacket with RFID protective pocket to keep hackers from getting your information.

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The Star Wearables

* Want C-3PO Parts – the Dented Helmet

* Lobot’s Headset

* Stormtrooper How-to’s

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