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BLOCKS Reveals Modular Smartwatch

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The BLOCKS modular smartwatch is an impressive new prototype.

BLOCKS is making a smartwatch with as much versatility as Batman’s Utility Belt.

STATES CHRONICLE – BLOCKS presented their newest modular smartwatch prototype with several working modules. The short but sweet presentation left interested parties wanting more.

The concept of modular design in the world of smart devices is still something new. Not every major name has modular devices and users cannot easily get a hold of such device. Nevertheless, the technology is coming along nicely.

When BLOCKS revealed their prototype, less than one year after their successful Kickstarter campaign ended, viewers were left in awe. BLOCKS managed to assemble a sleek and efficient smartwatch with a very accessible interface and classic design. And that was just the Core for the modules.

In regards to the smartwatch Core, it appears that BLOCKS is currently going with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 2100 SoC.

Five different modules were presented, which may at first not sound like a lot but the current prototype or better said, the current girth of the average human wrist, can only hold between one and four modules. The BLOCKS website currently boasts with over a dozen modules, so it is safe to say that either careful consideration in choosing or several wrists will be used.

The modular assembly and dismantling process seems easy and intuitive, however, it may not yet be drop or shock resistant. The modules assemble by easily being plugged into the watch, or attached to each other.

Modules range from functions such as Camera and Flashlight to SIM cards or Flash Memory. The Extra Battery will be one of the more popular choices, and BLOCKS have stated that they’re also working on something referred to as an Adventure Module.

The modular smartwatch prototype was presented with the Flashlight Module, the Heart Rate Monitor Module, the Temperature and Barometric Pressure Module, the Extra Battery Module, and, while not an actual module, the smartwatch’s adjustable strap band.

The OS appears to be a customized version of open source Android. Several apps readily and always available within the core were presented. Most modules will apparently be used with one additional app each. It was unclear, however, if utilizing the app will be similar to plug and play, with individual apps being installed on their respective modules or if the user would be required to pre-install the apps.

The BLOCKS modular smartwatch is currently available only for pre-order for the price of $330. The pre-order package includes the Core, with four additional modules. The first batch of watches is scheduled to get to the initial Kickstarter backers in October.

Image Courtesy of BLOCKS.

Motorola’s Moto 360 Smartwatch Released and It’s Spectacular

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A while back we talked about Motorola’s Moto X+1 and now it’s time we took a look at Motorola’s Moto 360 Smartwatch, the second most eagerly awaited smartwatch, after Apple’s iWatch. After taking a quick look at the device, we must admit that the device is pretty spectacular and it’s almost everything we’ve imagined it would be, starting with its great circular and classic shape. Let’s take a closer look at the device below.

Moto 360 Smartwatch[quote][/quote]

Moto 360 Smartwatch

Hold on to your horses, because the Moto 360 smartwatch is here and it’s spectacular! Motorola finally released their much anticipated smartwatch, after announcing it in March, alongside their operating system for wearable devices, the Android Wear.

The Moto 360 smartwatch is stylish, minimalistic and smart. The rounded display is timelessly classic; it is an LCD Gorilla Glass 1.5-inch touchscreen that is encircled by the slim metal band. It has a thin black line in the bottom of the screen for sensors, which could prove to be irritating. It has a built-in heart rate monitor and a step counter. Unfortunately, it does not have sleep monitoring software, something that many were expecting.

The Moto 360 smartwatch runs Google’s Android Wear operating system, an OS designed for small screens. The device is water resistant and its battery lasts all day, says Motorola.

Will the Moto 360 smartwatch be a hit? We can’t make any predictions until we see what Apple has up its sleeve. Apple is set to launch the new iPhone 6 and the iWatch at their September 9 media event. The pressure is huge for Apple and if they do smartwatches right, the Moto 360 smartwatch could be left for dead. But if Apple creates something similar to the 360, then the device could have a chance.

Does the Moto 360 smartwatch look appealing to you? Will you buy it? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

Intel 3G Snakeskin Smart Bracelet – Will it Catch On?

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Things appear to be moving at light speeds in the tech world; yesterday we reported on Google’s partnership with University of California Santa Barbara to create a quantum chip and today we’ve got news from Intel. The Intel 3G Snakeskin smart bracelet was just released and it is called MICA, or My Intelligent Communication Accessory; we’re going to take a quick look at it!

MICA or the Intel 3G Snakeskin Smart Bracelet

Intel 3G Snakeskin Smart Bracelet

The MICA, My Intelligent Communication Accessory, is a luxury smart bracelet from Intel that is made from snakeskin (did we hear PETA yelling?) with 3G cellular connectivity, which means that it doesn’t need a smartphone to work.

It was designed by Humberto Leon and Carol Lim and aside from snakeskin it also has semiprecious stones on it, such as lapis lazuli and obsidian. It is available in two colors, white and black and it is believed to be priced at around $1,000, although there is no official confirmation of the price just yet.

Intel spokesperson, Ellen Healy, had this to say about the Intel 3G snakeskin smart bracelet, MICA:

This bracelet is a fruition of our efforts and we’ve been making progress in wearables for about a year now. We aren’t limiting ourselves to fitness or health or fashion—there’s going to be more to come from us in the coming months.

So, will the Intel 3G snakeskin smart bracelet, MICA catch on? To be completely honest, we don’t think so. The world doesn’t need a $1,000 luxury smart bracelet, it needs smartwatches that look nice, do their tasks well and are as affordable as possible. Sure, MICA will sell and make a little splash, but it will soon be forgotten, just as many luxury devices that graced the tech world with their presence.

What are your thoughts on the Intel 3G Snakeskin smart bracelet? Would you buy one? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

Samsung Gear S Unveiled – The First Smartwatch to Make Phone Calls

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In a recent post we took a look at some impressive new Samsung tablets and now it’s time we saw the latest from Samsung, the Samsung Gear S, the first smartwatch that is capable of making phone calls without a smartphone to initiate the calls.

This new device was unveiled by the company on Wednesday, August 27, and it was quite a pleasant surprise. It is a wonderful-looking smartwatch with a curved display that Samsung is calling Gear S.

Samsung’s wearable device, the Samsung Gear S has a 2-inch Super AMOLED display and is based on the Tizen mobile OS. Tizen is Samsung’s alternative to Google’s Android mobile operating system. It comes with 3G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

While many seem a bit disappointed that Samsung hasn’t added Android Wear operating system to the Gear S, the device is quite impressive without it.

The Samsung Gear S is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor, it has a plethora of sensors packed in the tiny case, such as a barometer, a GPS, a pulse rate dearer, a compass and even a UV monitor.

Samsung Gear S

JK Shin, Samsung mobile chief, released a statement in which he said that:

The Samsung Gear S redefines the idea of the smart wearable and the culture of mobile communication. It will let consumers live a truly connected life anywhere, anytime.

This announcement was scheduled to coincide with LG’s unveiling of the LG G Watch R, a smartwatch which runs Android Wear operating system. The LG smartwatch sports a rounded display and is the company’s flagship wearable device.

Along with the Samsung Gear S launch, the South Korean giant announced that it would launch the Samsung Gear Circle, which is a wireless Bluetooth device that has a magnetic lock that goes around the user’s neck when it is not in use and it alerts the user of incoming calls and notifications through vibrations. Both products will be available in October, 2014.

Apple is also expected to unveil a smartwatch, their first wearable device ever, in an event that is thought to take place on September, 9. Although a date has not been confirmed yet, many blogs have unofficially confirmed it. We will keep you posted.

Would that be something you would be interested in or is it too weird to wear a vibrating device around your neck? Drop us a line in the comment section below and share your thoughts about the Samsung Gear S and the Samsung Gear Circle.

The Upcoming Microsoft Smartwatch is Going to be a Cross-Platform Device

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upcoming Microsoft smartwatchThis month we reported how Xbox One update gives its users plenty of goodies, including more storage and today we’ve got even more goodies from Microsoft. News has come to light about the upcoming Microsoft smartwatch and how it is going to be a cross-platform device. We don’t yet know when Microsoft launches their new and eagerly-awaited product, but we hope they do it soon. Rumors are that Microsoft is getting ready for a summer launch and if that happens we could have the Microsoft smartwatch before we have the new iPhone 6.

The Upcoming Microsoft Smartwatch

Forbes has learnt that the upcoming Microsoft smartwatch is going to be a cross-platform device, which means that it will synch with iPhones, Android phones and of course, Windows Phones. It’s quite surprising to learn that Microsoft will choose to go down this cross-platform route, but how else can you breakthrough the market that is being dominated by Apple and Samsung?

The upcoming Microsoft smartwatch will borrow sensors from the now famous Kinect, which is a series of motion detecting sensors that can be found on Microsoft’s Xbox gaming consoles.

There are indications that suggest the smartwatch will have a heart-rate monitor that will run non-stop. Other fitness devices or smartwatches require you to turn the feature on.

Another cool thing about the smartwatch is the design. Although they are only speculations and nothing official has been revealed, the upcoming Microsoft smartwatch is going to look similar to the Samsung Gear Fit and it will have a full-color touch screen on the inside of the wearer’s wrist. This peculiar positioning of the screen makes the viewing of notifications more private and easier to view.

Microsoft’s move into smartwatch territory is a very smart one and the timing couldn’t be more right. Apple is rumored to announce its first smartwatch, the iWatch, sometime this year and Samsung is also rumored to launch a new smartwatch in the summer that will be capable of independently making calls.

Obviously, when a spokesperson for Microsoft was asked to comment on these rumors, they said they had nothing to share. If you want to be up to date with the news about the upcoming Microsoft smartwatch, we recommend you check in with us, we’ll be monitoring the web for you.

Are you excited about the upcoming Microsoft smartwatch? Are you going to buy one? Do you think Microsoft’s move of making their smartwatch a cross-platform device is a good one? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

Get Ready for the Upcoming Samsung Standalone Smartwatch!

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Samsung standalone Smartwatch 2Did you ever want to be a hero in an action or spy movie? Did you always feel you have a lot in common with James Bond, Dick Tracy or Jason Bourne? If the answer to these questions is “yes”, then get ready for the upcoming Samsung standalone smartwatch!

This product is announced to become the next best thing in the wearables department, as Samsung wants to give us a fully independent watch – phone. How is this different from any high – end Samsung smartwatch on the market?

Well, first things first, this watch won’t need a smartphone and an afferent app to function, as it will be an independent phone altogether. Secondly, this is more than just a phone around your wrist, but a multi – functional piece of hardware that will be able to take photos and send e-mails. It will also sport a GPS, a Bluetooth and a heart monitor.

If you are a “technogeek”, you will probably love the new gadget. However, from a financial point of view, this new device might not be exactly what Samsung needs in order to boost sales. Let’s not forget that the company has serious competitors in the wearable niche, with Apple announcing its own smartwatch to become available later on this year and Google planning to break all barriers when it comes to innovative gadgets. Moreover, according to the specialists, Samsung has already 4 smartwatches on the market and none of them entered history for being the most successful one on the planet.

Wall Street Journal talked to people familiar with the matters and here is what they had to say about the upcoming Samsung standalone smartwatch:

There’s still the question of why people really need to buy smartwatches today, said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at IBK Securities in Seoul. Samsung is estimated to be the dominant vendor of wearables, but it will take quite a bit of time for sales to contribute to the company’s earnings, he said, adding that the market for smartwatches is weaker than smartphones.

Besides the issues related to business and finance, let’s take a look at the Samsung standalone smartwatch from the consumers’ point of view. While it is fun to walk around showing off your Dick Tracy – type of gadget, you might also be forced to pay for a service plan with a carrier, as the watch – phone comes with a SIM card. And who wants to give up a smartphone and a satisfactory service and plan just to have a phone – watch and benefit from lower – quality services? We guess we’ll have an answer to this dilemma pretty soon.

Qualcomm Toq Smartwatch Now on Pre-Order

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Toq is the product that Qualcomm has launched recently after having spoken about it first in September. For the unawares, it is a smartwatch and comes with the Mirasol display from Qualcomm again. The entire watch has most of its sub parts made by Qualcomm themselves leave alone the metal body or the plastic that has been used.

qualcomm-toq

And now the good news with the smartwatch is that it is now open for pre-order. Things that buyers would get in the package apart from the smartwatch of course include a WiPower LE wireless charger, a USB Cable and the AC adapter as well as set of books for instructing the user to set up the watch. The watch is able to connect to any device that runs on Android 4.0.3 Jelly Bean and the connection requires no physical wire.

What the basic functions that the smartwatch can synch with the Android device are the calendar, stock prices, playing music and then getting notifications on the watch as well as messages. The watch has a simple touch screen and these settings can be initiated though the screen that is just of 1.55 inch dimension. Connection between the phone and the watch is established via Bluetooth, so the two have to be at a maximum of 100 meters.

The Mirason technology that the display features allows for easy outdoor viewing also. There is the AllJoyn feature also on the watch. The battery pack of the watch gives it a sustainability of many days and nights. The battery capacity is 240 mAh.

For $349.99 interested people can pick up the device in black color which happens to be the only option it comes in.

Apple iWatch – Will it Release This Year Before Samsung Galaxy Gear?

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The tech world is saying that the world of smartphone is getting saturated. Hence, major brands are showing great interest in manufacturing wearable gadgets like smartwatches. Though Samsung and Apple were the two brands that were in the news that were said to be working on their version of smartwatches, Sony has already gone ahead and announced their wearable smartwatch called the SmartWatch2 earlier this year.

Some time ago, Apple had patented the iWatch brand name. This was time Apple fans came to know that Apple is planning to release a wearable smartwatch very soon. This also sparked rumors on the possible concepts for iWatch. But still there are major speculations that the iWatch will not arrive in this year. However, there are other tech experts who feel that device is sure to arrive within this year.

rumored iwatch design

In the recent past, it was in the news that Apple has hired sizeable numbers of engineers for designing the iWatch. It seems that Apple is currently developing prototypes of iWatch. That is the reason why the company is hiring new candidates to build the new wearable gadget. As of now, it is only Citi that claims the device will arrive in this year.

Samsung is also on the verge of revealing its Samsung Galaxy Gear smartworth on Sept 4 at Berlin’s IFA 2013 tradeshow event tomorrow. However, before Samsung, Apple and Sony talked about their smartwatches, Motorola had released MOTOACTV smartwatch but it did not attract much popularity. However, even there are speculations that Motorola is working on a successor model possibly the MOTOACTV 2.

Recently, it has been known that Apple has signed up two Taiwanese suppliers to build the iWatch. The news was revealed by a tech expert from Taiwan who also predicts that the device will arrive in 2014. The names of the two companies are Quanta and Inventec which will split the order of building the iWatch in a 60:40 ratio. The aim is to build 38m devices in the coming year. Another rumor reveals that both the companies will produce more than 63m devices.

Still, no other details apart from the name of the device have been officially announced by Apple. However, Apple’s growing interest in wearable computing is what made the iWatch one of the much awaited tech gadgets of the recent times.

A smartwatch is wearable wristwatch like gadget that could be connected to user’s smartphone through Bluetooth and then users will be able to see all the recent notifications like new messages and call alerts on the screen of the smartwatch without the need of checking the same on the phone. At the beginning of this year, Pebble Technology from US already launched and sold 85000 Pebble smartwatches priced at $150.

Samsung Galaxy Gear the Smartwatch is Prepping up to be Launched at IFA Event

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Throughout this year, we have been hearing that Samsung has been working on producing a smartwatch this year. The device is surely a competition for the Apple’s iWatch which is still under the curtains. However, Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch is expected to be debut at the mega unveiling event in the coming month.

The IFA event will be held on September 4 and during the event Samsung is going to unveil new devices including the Galaxy Gear. The event will be held at Berlin and it will serve as a platform for major technology companies to unveil their new gadgets. During the IFA event, Samsung will launch the widely anticipated phablet Galaxy Note 3 with 5.7inch display powered with Exynos 5 Octa eight-core CPU. It will sport a 13MP camera and all new S Pen software.

Samsung-Galaxy-GEAr

The Galaxy Gear will not just be a tool to see notifications but also users will be able to make calls, play games, and surf on the internet. It will run on the latest Android version. It will also sport a crisp display that will make it easy for users to view the display under bright sunlight, long lasting battery and web connectivity. The Galaxy Gear which will be unveiled next month at the IFA event will soon be made available for purchase after it’s unveiling.

Wearable devices seem to be the next best and huge money making niche for major handset manufacturers like Samsung and Apple. Last year, Samsung surpassed Apple as the best and largest smartphone manufacturer in the world and since then Samsung is making effort to widen its portfolio by making powerful smartphones and tablets. Again, it aims to beat Apple by releasing the smartwatch device first.

The timing of Apple’s wearable device still remains doubtful. Analysts were of the view that the Apple’s smartwatch would launch along with other new iDevices like the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C that are going to release soon. However, according to recent reports, Apple’s smartwatch is not going to arrive this year. According to a news report, Apple has hired around 100 engineers to complete the iWatch project.

With Samsung and Apple jumping into the smartwatch niche, it is quite evident that the niche is expanding and more companies will join the bandwagon in the near future. In June, Sony had showcased their edition of second gen SmartWatch as well. At the beginning of the year, the Pebble smartwatch had also entered the market. In the past, Motorola had also attempted manufactured a MOTOACTV smartwatch which has been now discontinued by the company.

The Sony SmartWatch is not an independent device but needs to be used with a smartphone to carry out most of its functions. So, we are not sure whether the Samsung Galaxy Gear will be an independent device or will have to couple with a smartphone to use it. However, if it is a standalone device, it will create quite an uproar in the market provided it is advertised well.

The news about the arrival of Samsung’s Galaxy Gear is still a rumor as there has been no confirmation from Samsung’s end. Both Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy Gear is expected to be available for purchase by the end of October.

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