Latest Fitness Wearables

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A smartwatch for all seasons - it's the Samsung Gear S2 | Expert Reviews

Smartwatches will inevitably take over from standard timepieces. Just telling the time doesn’t cut it anymore, when a well-designed smartwatch can take all the information that’s stuck on your smartphone and present it to you, in a far more convenient manner, just as you need it, on your wrist.

The latest model from #Samsung does all that, and a whole lot more. The new Samsung #Gear S2 is compatible with Samsung’s own range of smartphones, as well as pretty much any Android handset on the market.

We were very impressed with the Gear S2 when we looked at it initially in our full review. However, here we thought we’d look in a little more depth at all its features here and how the Gear S2 will prove invaluable throughout the year ahead.

There aren’t many round smartwatches out there, but if you’re after that classic look then the Gear S2 has you covered. It’s not just a pretty face though, as the design allows for a rotating bezel control. This is unique to the Gear S2 and lets you flick through all the information and apps at the twist of dial.

The bezel really comes into its own in Winter though. Other smartwatches rely upon fiddly little rotating crowns or awkward taps and swipes in order to navigate their menus. Those are both very hard to get to grips with if you’re wearing a nice thick pair of winter gloves. With the Gear S2’s bezel though it’s a doddle, so you can keep up-to-date throughout the winter chill, while other smartwatches go unused.

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Nokia smartwatch and fitness trackers could arrive in 2016

Rumors of a Nokia smartwatch have been making the rounds for a couple of years, and we’ve seen everything from concepts that run games to the Nokia Moonraker, a smartwatch that was said to be cancelled ahead of an official release. Last week, we told you about the Nokia OZO VR camera, and it looks like that’s just the tip of the technical iceberg with the companies upcoming accessories.

  Nokia has posted a couple of job openings, one for a Digital Marketing Designer and the other for a Senior Copywriter. While that may sound rather vanilla, those listings will deal with Digital Health products. Unless they are going the HTC route with a smart scale, it’s a pretty safe bet that they have their site set on the #fitness tracker sector and wearables.

  If you’re a fan of Nokia, any new products getting released is good news. Does that mean we’ll see a Nokia smartwatch next year? Anything is possible if they are throwing their hat into the wearables ring, and if their first batch of products are successful, we could see one before years end.

  Looking for a new tablet for the holidays? There are plenty of options, and Google has a new one that’s just become available. The Pixel C Tablet release date has finally arrived, and we’re going to give you a breakdown of what to expect from their new slate.

  Nokia may not be the company they once were, but they have been in the news quite a bit this year. A Nokia smartwatch is something plenty of folks probably thought they would never see although a new report suggests otherwise as the company could launch several wearables next year.

  Rumors of a Nokia smartwatch have been making the rounds for a couple of years, and we’ve seen everything from concepts that run games to the Nokia Moonraker, a smartwatch that was said to be cancelled ahead of an official release. Last week, we told you about the Nokia OZO VR camera, and it looks like that’s just the tip of the technical iceberg with the companies upcoming accessories.

Nokia has posted a couple of job openings, one for a Digital Marketing Designer and the other for a Senior Copywriter. While that may sound rather vanilla, those listings will deal with Digital Health products. Unless they are going the HTC route with a smart scale, it’s a pretty safe bet that they have their site set on the fitness tracker sector and wearables.

If you’re a fan of Nokia, any new products getting released is good news. Does that mean we’ll see a Nokia smartwatch next year? Anything is possible if they are throwing their hat into the wearables ring, and if their first batch of products are successful, we could see one before years end.

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The 10 best smartwatches of 2015: Christmas gift guide - Telegraph

The Apple Watch is a luxurious fashion accessory. It has a square touchscreen display and comes in three versions: ‘Sport’ in anodized aluminium, ‘Standard’ in stainless steel, and ‘Luxury’ in 18 carat gold. It runs a modified version of Apple’s iOS operating system, allowing users to download apps onto the Watch, as they would an iPhone. It also features a heart rate monitor and a “digital crown” on the right hand side of the screen for navigation.

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3 smartwatches that could give Apple Watch a run for its money - IBNLive

But there may be reasons to consider something else. For one thing, Apple Watch requires an iPhone. Pebble Time, in particular, works with both iPhones and Android devices and excels at battery life. But it falls short elsewhere.

Whether you need a smartwatch at all is another matter. Many people are happy having one, but others won’t need one yet. If you need to stay connected continually and find that pulling out a phone is inconvenient, you might be in the market for a smartwatch. It will give you regular updates, replicating notifications on your phone. You’ll also get apps like navigation and #fitness.

The original Pebble, the product of a public fundraising campaign through Kickstarter, reigned as a leading smartwatch until Samsung, Google and Apple came along. Orders began this week for a new model, Pebble Time. Apps offer business listings from Yelp, playback control for Pandora radio and sports scores from ESPN. But the app selection is short of what you get with Apple Watch or watches that run Google’s #Android Wear system. For instance, the most popular navigation app, MapsGPS, feels rudimentary.

What’s good: I can go about five days between charges, while rivals #smartwatches max out at a day or two (Apple Watch is officially at 18 hours, though I typically get several hours more). In addition, the display is always on, so you can use a watch as, well, a watch all day. With some smartwatches, the screen goes dark to save battery.

Compromises: Pebble Time achieves amazing battery life by using a paper-like display that makes graphics and text look dull and fuzzy, as though generated by a dot-matrix printer from the 1980s. On a pedometer app, I couldn’t tell whether I ran 6,350 or 8,350 steps. Unlike most other smartwatches, Pebble Time lacks a touch screen and a heart-rate monitor. Outside parties can make watch bands with heart rate and other sensors, but nothing’s available yet.

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Hands-On With Garmin's Vívoactive and Fenix 3 Smartwatches - Reviewed.com Wearables

Best known for its line of sports watches and navigational tools, Garmin has lately been trying to dive into the smartwatch category. #Wearable brands like Fitbit and Jawbone are mostly intended for moderate sports activity, but active types may prefer a more lightweight, modestly priced gadget.

It’s a tough market to break into, especially with the arrival of the Apple Watch, but Garmin seems to have carved out a niche. While not perfect, Garmin’s new line of activity-focused smartwatches are both attractive and affordable, and they steer clear of some of the pitfalls associated with other #activity trackers.

The sleek, thin Garmin Vívoactive is Garmin’s foray into the smartwatch market. Intended for moderate sports activities, it features GPS tracking, a high-resolution color touchscreen, and built-in apps that cater to sports and exercise.

Runners and cyclists will find a pace alert that triggers an alarm if you vary from a designated pace; calorie computation, based on your heart rate; an optional heart rate monitor, which is a $50 add-on; and a speed/cadence sensor for cyclists.

The metrics for swimmers calculate your distance, laps, stroke count, and pool length. The Vívoactive also has an interval feature that allows you to pause and resume a workout.

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Top 5 Smartwatches under the cost of the Apple Watch - Techly

The world of smartwatches is growing by the minute and with the Apple Watch just released (with an update on the way!), perhaps you are interested in getting a smartwatch for yourself. However, perhaps you don’t want to pay the AU$499 for entry level Apple Watch Sport. Well, we’ve got you covered. Below are the top 5 Smartwatches we’ve found under AU$499.

The Pebble Time is also a new contender in the market, after the successful Kickstarter campaign raising over $20,000,000. The Pebble Time has a Colour e-paper display with a new timeline operating system. The timeline allows you to see your events and activities from the past, future and present – allowing you to get a quick overview of your day at a glance. The Pebble Time also includes a microphone which lets you respond to incoming notifications or take short voice notes with dictation.

The LG G Watch R is perhaps the most stylish smartwatches of them all – plus, you wouldn’t think it was a smart watch. With it’s circular display coming in at 1.3-inches, the watch is simply beautiful. It features an OLED screen which means it can constantly display the time without running down the battery and runs off the Android Wear platform meaning it’s compatible with Android phones. It gives you notifications about missed calls, messages, upcoming meetings and events plus it’s waterproof and dustproof as well. The G Watch R has a battery life of 2 days (or more) and retails for AU$359.

At Google’s I/O conference in 2014, the Moto 360 was the stand out attraction. It too has a circular display and feels great when strapped to your wrist. The screen is really bright and easily readable in sunlight but perhaps the worst thing about the Moto 360 is the “bottom bezel”, a small black piece of plastic which sits at the bottom of the screen completely disrupts the circular screen – perhaps it won’t worry you but it worried me. The Moto 360 comes with a nice dock as well, charging wirelessly out of the box, however, you’ll come to be quite dependent on the dock since battery life is pretty terrible – coming in at a maximum of 24 hours. The Moto 360 runs Android Wear and comes in at AU$329.

The Sony Smartwatch 3 is a rather #fitness oriented device. With waterproofing and dustproofing up to 1.5 metres and a built-in GPS, the Smartwatch 3 is perfect to take along while jogging, running or swimming. The included rubber slap is rather comfortable, however, it is a little thick in some places which makes it awkward to wear. The built-in GPS allows you to keep track of your workout without needing to be paired to a smartphone during the workout.

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Here’s The Microsoft Smartwatch You’ll Never Be Able To Buy 

It seems like everybody is making #smartwatches these days: Apple has one, Samsung has a few, and you can get wearables from Motorola, ASUS and more. Microsoft even made one. But I’m not talking about the Microsoft Band—I’m talking about the Microsoft Moonraker: the company’s cancelled smartwatch.

Two weeks ago, I started wearing an Apple Watch. I’ve come to a conclusion: I just paid hundreds of … Read more Read more

Samsung started the smartwatch push in earnest with its over-the-top Galaxy Gear just last year.… Read more Read more

When I first strapped on the Microsoft Band a week ago, I felt like I’d been given new power… Read more Read more

Never heard of it? Don’t fret: until Friday, nobody else had either. The canned product just recently surfaced on the Tumblr of a Microsoft design employee. The blog was quickly deleted, but not before the Moonraker’s mock-up marketing images made the rounds: we’re looking at a standard, square-faced smartwatch with rounded corners, brightly colored wrist-bands and a Metro-inspired Windows interface.

  Read original article here: Here’s The Microsoft Smartwatch You’ll Never Be Able To Buy 

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Vector smartwatches on sale in September

The Vector core smartwatch collection, as the company is calling it, consists of two smartwatches – both packing a bespoke OS and similar tech – with very different designs.

The Vector Luna features a round-faced design, and comes in Classic, Performance and Contemporary versions, while the Meridian goes for a square faced look.

The Vector watches shun a touchscreen in favour of a three button control setup that handles the navigation, and it’s the Memory LCD (think e-paper) display that enables the impressive 30 days of battery life.

Vector is the brainchild of former Timex CEO Joe Santana, who has brought in Steve Jarvis, the man behind the (ugly) Timex Ironman, but also a former design chief at Nike. The team is completed by CTO Andrei Pitis.

Santana said: “Since our launch in March our team have been working very hard to perfect the Vector devices. We want to ensure our customers receive the best smartwatch we can deliver, and we feel confident that the finished product will exceed their expectations.”

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Apple Watch OS And The Makings Of A Smartphone On Your Wrist - ARC - ARC

At its World Wide Developer Conference this week, Apple announced watchOS 2, a new version of the operating system for the Watch that should give it much more interesting and robust capabilities than the #wearable launched with just six weeks ago.

The key word for watchOS 2 is native. The Apple Watch will soon be able to support native applications that do not need an iPhone to run the logistics, meaning the Apple Watch will become much more of a stand-alone device. Essentially, Apple is opening up the hardware of the Apple Watch and giving app developers much greater opportunities to employ their creativity.

The first version of the Apple Watch sports some interesting but comparatively limited hardware. It has a Wi-Fi sensor, Bluetooth 4.0, heart rate monitor, gyroscope, ambient light sensor and 8 gigabytes of total storage. The Watch also has its unique user interface features including the Digital Crown, home button, Force Touch and the standard smartphone-like capacitive touch. A microphone is embedded in the Watch and it employs Apple’s ARM-based S1 system-on-a-chip.

All of this hardware makes for some interesting opportunities. At the same time, the fact that the Watch was designed to make an iPhone do the heavy lifting means that some of the more basic functions developers might like to perform—such as GPS location—are not available natively on the device.

Apple watchOS 2 will not be available to the public until the fall of this year, but developers can get their hands on it this week. The public refresh of watchOS—just like Apple does with iOS—may point to new hardware coming to the Apple Watch later this year.

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Samsung Pay Coming To Samsung Electronics Smartwatches Later This Year

Samsung Pay is coming to Samsung smartwatches later this year. The South Korean technology giant is planning to launch a #wearable device that can also make mobile payments, according to unnamed sources speaking to the Electronic Times.

The smartwatch — codenamed Orbis — will use near-field communication (NFC) technology to facilitate contactless payments. This is the same technology used by Apple Inc. for Apple Pay on its iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch and Google’s Android Pay. Samsung Pay was first introduced by the company with the launch of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. But in addition to using NFC, the mobile payment system also uses magnetic secure transmission technology, which works with older credit card payment terminals that don’t have contactless credit card technology built in. Though Samsung uses both technologies in its latest smartphones, it’s unknown if it plans to do the same with its smartwatch as well.

Samsung’s smartwatch isn’t expected to launch until sometime in the second half of the year. It had previously said it would launch Samsung Pay in South Korea and the U.S. during the summer. But it changed its plans and pushed back the mobile payment system’s rollout to September, according to Bloomberg.

Samsung joins an increasingly crowded mobile payment market filled with several players including Apple Pay, Google’s Android pay and others. Traditional watchmakers are also joining the mobile payments game, with Swatch Group planning its own smartwatch that will support NFC and mobile payment apps that work with Windows and Android devices.

The smartwatch industry is expected to take off in 2015, growing to an $8.7 billion market globally, up from $1.3 billion last year, according to market research firm Smartwatch Group.

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Apple Watch or Android Wear? Neither. Why smartwatches aren't ready for prime time | ZDNet

By Jason Perlow for Tech Broiler | June 4, 2015 — 22:48 GMT (15:48 PDT) | Topic: Mobility

It isn’t that I don’t want to own a smartwatch. It’s just that there are so many shortcomings and the vendor offerings are so immature at this stage of the game that unless you really enjoy being an early adopter, smartwatches are just too expensive for what functionality they deliver today.

This is not to say I don’t use a #wearable now — I have a Microsoft Band, but I don’t wear it every day as a constant companion. I use it specifically to track my #fitness activity, and for its intended design purpose, it works very well. Also, at $199, it’s not a huge investment if I have to replace it in two years or even sooner.

Fitness trackers, in my opinion, have a very targeted audience and a much narrower set of functionality than what smartwatches like the Apple Watch and Android Wear devices are intended for. And as such they cost a lot less, and do less.

Both Apple Watch and Android Wear are technological marvels. There are some interesting apps coming out for each platform, but there’s nothing super-compelling yet.

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Here's our wish list for the ultimate fitness tracker | TechRadar

##fitness trackers are quickly becoming the must-have accessory for health-conscious enthusiasts and guilt-ridden couch potatoes alike. They come in many different shapes and sizes, and are a great alternative if you don’t want to spend a lot of dough buying a smartwatch.

There isn’t a shortage of trackers out there. Actually, there appears to be a new model on the market every other month, thanks to their ease of use and portability.

The wearables are inexpensive, and track your everyday activity with reasonable accuracy. Their aim is to give you an overall picture of your current lifestyle, with some even including ways to improve it. The best ones can even monitor your sleep patterns and tell you when it’s time to get up from the couch.

Taking a look at the current trackers on the market, none of them are quite the perfect wrist-worn fitness gadget. So, similar to our ultimate smartwatch experimentation, we’ve decided to cherry pick the best features from each to create our own ultimate (but hypothetical) fitness tracker.

When it comes to design, we want something that looks stylish but also provides an invisible quality that isn’t too jarring. Essentially, the tracker should be an extension of you that is lightweight and compact, and it needs to be robust enough to withstand wear and tear.

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Pebble Time review: an underdog among smartwatches

For two years, #pebble was the smartwatch company to beat. In 2012, it raised over $10 million on Kickstarter for its simple, monochrome e-paper wristwatch, putting itself and the crowdfunding site on the map. But things move quickly in the technology world. Google has since come out with Android Wear, prompting a slew of smartphone companies to suddenly turn into watchmakers. Not to be outdone, Apple joined the fray as well, positing its own #wearable as a timepiece premium enough for high-end boutiques. So when Pebble debuted the Time, its second-generation $199 smartwatch, on Kickstarter three months ago, it was facing much stiffer competition. Surprisingly, that too made crowdfunding history, raising more than $20 million in just over a month. Did 78,471 backers make the right decision? I attempt to find out.

PROS

Impressive battery life

Works on both Android and iOS

Always-on color e-paper display

Display looks great under direct sunlight

Large app library

Unique Timeline interface reduces app clutter

Voice replies

Potential for more features via smartstraps

CONS

iOS functionality is limited

Voice function doesn’t extend to Google Now or Siri

Can only choose one app for activity tracking

Pricey for what it offers

SUMMARY

Pebble needs to distinguish itself from its Android Wear and Apple rivals in order to stand out, and it does so with the Time. Its color e-paper technology results in an always-on display that looks great under bright sunlight, plus battery life that lasts up to seven days. It also boasts a brand-new Timeline interface that promises to reduce app clutter and make it that much easier to get at the information you really need. A mic adds the ability to offer quick voice replies and memos, although full voice-command capabilities are lacking. Sure, it doesn’t offer the same degree of sophisticated style and high-end features as the competition, but the ability to add more functionality over time with its smart accessory port might prove more useful in the end.

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LG Watch Urbane vs. Moto 360: Quick look

We might see some new Android Wear gear next week at Google I/O. But until then, the #lg Watch Urbane and Moto 360 are two of your best Wear smartwatches. We have both in house, so let’s take a quick look.

Both the LG Watch Urbane and Moto 360 are beautiful smartwatches. Both are also big smartwatches. Put either of these next to an Apple Watch (as we did here and here) and they’re both going to look enormous.

The Urbane is 13 percent taller, and both watches have the same width. The Moto is 6 percent thicker – and both look noticeably thicker than standard men’s watches.

The Moto 360’s big screen is still the most striking we’ve seen on any #wearable. It’s about 39 percent bigger than the LG Watch Urbane’s 1.3-in display.

The Urbane’s screen, however, is fully round. The Moto 360 has that “flat tire” thing going on, with a little chunk cut out at the bottom. That doesn’t bother us much, as it fits the horizontal borders of the Android Wear cards that slide up from the bottom – but we also get why some folks think it looks a little odd.

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Google Maps now runs on Android Wear smartwatches - Liliputing

Google’s smartwatch operating system has offered directions and turn-by-turn navigation since the first Android Wear watches launched in 2014. But what if you want to actually view a full map on your wristwatch?

Now you can. Google is rolling out Maps 9.9 for Android phones and tablets. If you’ve got an Android Wear device all you need to do is install the latest version of Maps on your phone and the new Maps app should show up on your watch.

The user interface has been tweaked a bit to look good on a 1.6 inch or smaller display. There are zoom in and out buttons (you can also use pinch-to-zoom if you can fit two fingers on the screen), a button that you can press to bring the map to your current location, and compass button.

Google Maps for Android Wear is an “always-on” app that can stay visible until you dismiss it. Worried that full-color maps are going to drain your battery? Maps can save power by dimming the screen and switching from color to black and white when you haven’t interacted with the map in a while.

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Nike CEO says there's more to come from its collaboration with Apple - Tech News - Digital Spy

Although #nike has all but given up on its own #wearable #fitness technology, it is still working closely with #apple to expand its digital community. The sports company now dabbles in the software side of things, operating a Nike+ Running app that works for the Apple Watch. Nike CEO Mark Parker has told CNBC that there is more to come from Apple and Nike. “We’re excited about the potential that the Apple-Nike relationship has,” he said. “[Consumers can expect] more from Apple and Nike, two great brands, lots of potential and opportunity, and that continues.”

While Nike gave up producing its own physical line of fitness hardware, Parker affirmed that the company remains committed to digital, adding that wearables are “a really important part of our future, and really central to our brand”.

The Nike boss also claimed that more than 60 million people use Nike’s fitness #apps, but admitted that a portion of Android users are probably included in that number.