Category: Gadgets

Jonathan Adler is a wearable technology designer for Garmin

| January 12, 2015

The new Vivofit 2 is going to present a considerable difference from the brand’s original fitness band.

Among the large number of announcements and unveilings that have been made at CES, there have been many that have occurred within the wearable technology category, and this includes the decision that Garmin has made to include designer Jonathan Adler in its fitness band team.

This is one of several steps that companies like Garmin are making to make wearables something consumers want to wear.

So far, the lack of fashion in the wearable technology industry has presented a considerable barrier to its adoption by consumers. People aren’t looking to wear something all the time when it doesn’t look good. This has caused a trend within the industry that has involved notable partnerships between the product creators and known fashion designers – as was the case between Garmin and Jonathan Adler.

This has allowed the Garmin Vivofit 2 wearable technology to look considerably different from last year’s model.

While the actual tech of the device did undergo a handful of moderate improvements, it is the design of these wearables that is now worth mentioning. Certainly, the always-on display, year-long battery life, and backlighting, among other improvements are interesting and could be quite appealing to the wearer, but what is also quite interesting is the addition of the interchangeable bands that were created by the well known designer.

The new Garmin mobile technology has been designed to be seen as it is worn, instead of hiding it away, as has been the tradition with previous generations and with a number of other brands. The new “Style Collection” from the brand makes it possible for a wearer to choose the band that is appropriate to his or her personal taste and for the specific occasion. Among the options are various choices in leather and steel.

The basic shape of this wearable technology has remained essentially the same as what it was last year; as has the size. The device is designed not only to track activity and various types of factors surrounding exercise, but it also monitors a wearer’s sedentary behaviors, particularly in the case of the signature red bar that grows increasingly longer with the amount of time that a person remains stationary.

Augmented reality glasses provide consumers with 007-like technology

| January 7, 2015

A military company has now announced wearable tech that brings the devices to consumers.

A company called Osterhout Design Group has been creating heavy duty augmented reality smart glasses over the last six years, for the military and has now announced that it will begin offering products to the consumer market.

This has occurred because of the response that consumers have had to other similar devices, such as Google Glass.

Osterhout Design Group (ODG) intends to offer a more consumer friendly version of its military augmented reality glasses, with a price tag of under $1,000. It has also announced that it will be making that product available before the end of this year. This wearable technology will be capable of doing everything that the military grade devices can do, but will be smaller by about 30 percent, lighter by about 20 percent, and will have a more consumer appealing look.

These augmented reality glasses will be capable of a number of different kinds of functions.

Augmented Reality - MilitaryThe AR wearable technology will be able to record video, display high-def video, and lay visuals overtop of the view of the real world. The current most recent version of the smart glasses from ODG were released in 2014. Their design has a more rugged fit and are bulkier in size than the wearable devices that will be released for consumers. Those wearables are currently cost around $5,000.

The current version of the smart glasses have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, Bluetooth, WiFi, as well as a global navigation satellite system, in addition to sensors that can determine the direction that the wearer is facing and the angle of the head. The operating system used by the device is an altered version of Android. The battery life for this device can be as short as two hours or as long as almost a full day on one charge, depending on the way in which it is being used.

These augmented reality wearables are capable of doing essentially anything that a tablet can do. The company will be releasing a developer kit to mke it possible for third party players to be able to begin creating apps to be used with the device.