Author: Julie Campbell

While smartwatches may be growing in popularity, their ugliness is holding back consumer interest.

The latest tech trends are clearly headed toward wearable technology, and recent developments in smart jewelry is starting to prove that there is a way to wear these mobile devices in an attractive and fashion friendly way that has not yet been achieved by smartwatches and augmented reality glasses.

Google Glass and Samsung Galaxy Gear may have cool features, but wearers look like made for TV sci-fi movies.

The fact that the devices are ugly is making them a harder sell, despite the fact that they have the potential to provide consumers with a range of very interesting features. This trend in wearable technology is changing, though, as a growing number of different smart jewelry options start to become available from various different companies – primarily startups. The key is that they maintain functionality and practicality but they don’t actually look like computers.

Some of the top forms of smart jewelry look like a regular necklace or ring, despite the added features.

Among the forms of wearable technology that have been making headlines over the last while, without calling Star Trek or The Jetsons to mind include the following:

• Cellini Bluetooth Pendant – this device from CSR looks like a sleek and attractive pendant that is worn on a necklace. An app allows the user to change the color or brightness of an LED contained within the pendant in order to match the wearer’s mood or clothing. This is available for Android, or for iOS 7 users. In the latter case, the pendant can be told to alert the iPhone user of incoming calls, texts, or emails through a change in color, vibration, or a flashing light.
• Netatmo June Brooch/Bracelet – this jewelry, comes in the form of gold, gunmetal, or platinum in which is set a stone that resembles a large diamond. This is in the form of a broach or is set onto a leather wrist strap. It functions with an app to alert the user as to how much sun exposure he or she has had, as well as the UV index and local forecasts.
• Smarty Ring – this device is, of course, in the form of a ring and features an LED display that alerts the user to incoming calls, social media updates, and messages.
• NFC Ring – also a ring, this smart jewelry has built in NFC technology built into it. The idea behind this piece is to program this mobile device to hold data or perform various functions, such as unlocking a near field communications enabled smartphone.

Smart headphones called “Dash” have called themselves the first wireless ear buds in the world.

The Dash is currently billing itself as the first wireless ear buds to be available anywhere in the globe and these mobile devices depended on meeting their $260,000 Kickstarter funding goal to get there.

This new smart gadget will offer wearers fitness tracking, music, and even communication.

The Dash smart mobile devices have been created by BRAGI, a company based in Munich. They are ear bud style headphones that will provide a range of different wearable technology features and will communicate with smartphones. This, despite the fact that they consist only of two little buds that sit inside the ear. They will not require any wires to connect them to a handset in order to function.

The Dash mobile devices are capable of holding and playing back more than 1,000 music tracks.

The ear buds are fitted with several sensors that allow them to monitor the wearer’s movements as well as some of their biorhythms, so that it is possible for the user to be able to gauge how far he or she has traveled, oxygen saturation, heart rate, and even the amount of energy that has been spent through an activity.

Through Bluetooth technology, they can also be wirelessly connected to a smartphone so that the wearer will be able to receive and make cell phone calls without any need for an additional mic. Instead, they use a bone conduction microphone to allow this to be possible. The added benefit of this method is that it will isolate background noise for a higher quality audio communication.

A five-field capacitive sensor makes it possible for the Dash ear buds to be operated by way of touch. This means that everything from accepting and declining a call to changing the volume or accessing additional features can all be accomplished without any fumbling around. This will be especially appealing to athletes and others who are undergoing serious training. It allows them to leave their handsets behind while still taking advantage of many of the features that those mobile devices provide.