Asus has released the following video of their new smart watch, call the ZenWatch.
Category Archives: Wearables
Top 15 IFA 2014 announcements from the Tech World and news on the iPhone 6 & iWatch
Update from yesterday’s post.
1) LG announces full details on their new upcoming round smart watch. The model number is LG-W110. This won’t be available until October. It sure looks hot. Specs include a 1.2ghz Snapdragon 400, 1.3 inch P-OLED 320 x 320 screen (plastic organic LED), 4gb storage, 512 ram, 410maH battery, 9 Axis for the sensors (Gyro/ Accelerometer/ Compass), Barometer, PPG, IP67, heart rate monitor and running android wear. The strap is leather. The P-OLED display is important as it covers 100% of the display. The Moto 360 doesn’t. The display also works perfectly under bright sunlight according to LG.And being IP67 means it can be submerged underwater at to a metre in depth for 30 minutes. So far this is the watch to get out of all that have been announced. And it features a stainless steel frame and will be offered with an interchangeable 22mm calf skin leather strap.
2) ARCHOS announces the 40 Cesium Smartphone – Windows Phone 8.1 budget phones, ultra-clear 4-inch screen. Available in September for only £79, the ARCHOS 40 Cesium is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 Quad Core processor and comes with three coloured back cases – yellow, blue and black. Only good point is a LED notification.
3) The iPhone 6 will have a new rounded true tone flash.
4) DropBox slashes its prices to remain competitive along with new features. Dropbox Pro now costs $9.99 a month for 1 terabyte of storage. You also have the ability to share links with password protection, to share links that expire on a certain date, and to share some files in “read-only” mode. Pro users also get the ability to remotely wipe a lost or missing device.
5) The new Nexus X (not Nexus 6) details have been revealed. a 5.2 inch screen, massive Snapdragon 805, 13mp camera, processor running at 2.7ghz, running android v5.0. The 64gb version retail price is around £360. Makes a mockery of the iPhone pricing! Source – http://lowdown.carphonewarehouse.com/just-in/motorola-nexus-x-price-and-specs-leak/
6) WSJ reports investors willing to pay $10 billion for Snapchat. No wonder Snapchat turned down Google’s $3 billion offer.
7) Amazon’s new purchase Twitch is suffering an online attack by a group called Lizard Squad.
8) Seagate announces world first 8 TB hard drive. Only for commercial customers which is a shame. I would kill for an 8 TB drive!
9) BlackBerry Khan – this is the code name for the new high end BlackBerry Porsche phone. Likely to cost $2,000. New specs reveal it should have 3GB RAM, a Dual-core 1.7GHz CPU, 64GB of storage and a 3.5 inch touchscreen. Clearly there is a market for this high end BlackBerry.
10) Kobo announces its new Aura H20 ereader, which is certified to be able to spend up to 30 minutes in one meter of water, making it ideal to use at the beach or in the bath or more. The device has 265 dpi e-ink technology, the highest resolution currently available in an e-reader, a 6.8 inch anti-glare touchscreen and the price will be £140 in the UK
11) Sennheiser have announced the CX 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 and 5.00. The new CX buds come with red, white or black cables and sport the Sennheiser logo on the exterior. Clearly taking on Beats Audio with the colour scheme. The CX 3.00 are likely to cost around £45. They do look good. The CX 5.00 adds a 3 button remote with mic.
12) According to John Paczkowski at re/code, Apple’s reported September 9 event for the new iPhone will also see the launch of Apple’s first wearable. Apparently, Apple will reinvent the smart watch.
13) Pandora has been given approval for use on Google Glass
14) Sony’s new Z3 Compact Tablet will be an IPS Panel. No more shatter protectors.
15) View your twitter stats – head over to analytics.twitter.com . The dashboard should now be open to every account that has been open for at least 14 days, isn’t restricted/protected/suspended, and (curiously) that primarily tweets in English, French, Japanese, or Spanish.
16) Samsung announces the Gear S Smartwatch (see dedicated post) and Samsung Gear Circle. The Circle is a dedicated bluetooth headset.
17) Jabra has announced new wireless in-ear fitness headphones that aim to give you a full training solution with Dolby Digital Plus sound, in-ear heart rate monitor and Sport Life App. The Jabra Sport Pulse uses standard Bluetooth connectivity and NFC, connecting to your smartphone for music and phone calls, but also to its Sport Life App.The app, which Jabra says can be integrated with existing fitness apps, can track your fitness level, consumed calories, distance, speed, pace, heart rate, heart rate zone and work-out times. The app also includes activity-based training, pre-defined training programs, interval training, zone training and target pace training.
Top 25 Latest Rumours, News and Announcements for Wednesday 27th August 2014
Below are details of rumours and announcements since yesterday.
1) HTC teases a 64 bit, 8 core phone for China. And then HTC announced the LTE-equipped Desire 510 for a worldwide launch. The 510 is a 4.7-inch device with a fresh plastic design in either white or navy blue.
The Desire 510 pulls design notes from both the Desire 816 and 610, but has much lower-end specs with a 4.7-inch display of 480 x 854 (FWVGA), Snapdragon 410 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage (SDcard expandable) and a simple 5MP camera, Android 4.4 and Sense 6.
2) Samsung opens registration for its Developer Conference 11-13 November at the Moscone West Centre in San Francisco. And it costs $499.
3) California law is now changed – every cellphone sold in California will now have to include a remote disabling option that lets you render a stolen device unusable. More importantly, this antitheft security measure will have to come enabled by default.
4) Moto Luge leaked by TKTechnews. Looks like a rebranded Moto R from a few years ago.
5) Windows Phones dealt a blow by Huawei. Wall Street Journal reported that Richard Yu, the head of Huawei’s consumer business group, that although his company would be interested in building handsets based on another OS, it just makes no sense to do so right now because it’s found that consumers don’t want to buy Windows Phones.
6) Ralph Lauren is making a move in to the wearable devices market this week, as a number of ball boys and one player at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships are outfitted with new, iOS-connected nylon shirts that track health and fitness data.
7) Rumoured Phosphorus coprocessor for the iPhone 6 will be able to track information from various wearables and other built-in sensors that provide heart rate, cholesterol, blood sugar and calorie levels
8) iPhone 6S rumour – It will feature the new A9 chip that will be a 16 nanometer chipset
9) Huawei stops backing Tizen. Says it has no future.
10) Sony announces the M2 Aqua. The worlds most waterproof and dustproof phone. IP65, IP68. Other specs include a 4.8-inch qHD display (540 x 960 pixels), a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, an Adreno 305 GPU, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel Exmor RS rear-facing camera, 8GB of expandable storage, 4G LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and a 2,330 mAh non-removable battery.
11) Google releases Slides for iOS to complete its Office editing apps for iOS.
12) Motorola to releases updated SKIP as a keychain fob.
13) Sony releases the DSC-KW1. A camera that looks like perfume bottle.
KW1 comes with a 3.3-inch OLED display to go with a 19.2 MP camera. The camera is equipped with a 21mm f2.0 lens that can be rotated 180 degrees.
16) Google on track for releasing Android One next month. Android One is supposed to be capable of offering the most recent, powerful software experience to low-end specced phones. Specs go, expect 5 MP camera, 1700 mAh battery, 1 GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 400-ish processor. The price these devices will be sold at will span from $115 to $165.
17) Moto G2 specs revealed – screen 5 inch 720p, thinner bezels, 8mp camera, micro sd, front speakers, snapdragon 400, 1gb ram, changeable back covers – bargain phone
18) Via Appleinsider – Apple has a new patent granted by the USPTO that describes various control mechanisms that could be used with flexible displays, to replace components such as physical buttons with more durable and resilient alternatives, and to create alternate means for detecting sound output, providing haptic feedback and even performing other tricks like making it easier to open a MacBook lid.
19) Huawei to launch the Ascend Mate 7 at IFA 2014 – a 6 inch phablet, with fingerprint recognition and car integration. Other specs include 8 GB internal memory with microSD card slot, 2 GB RAM, 13 MP camera at the front and a 5 MP rear shooter along with Android 4.4.2 KitKat. Huawei is also said to be launching a sapphire display version of the Ascend P7 at the IFA
20) Bloomberg reports – Apple to release massive 12.9 inch iPad in early 2015. Now would you buy this huge tablet? Certainly seems like Apple is not going to let Samsung take control of this larger tablet size too.
21) Amazon Fire Phone likely to only have sold 35,000 units. Source Engadget.
22) Archos launches ahead of IFA 2014 connected weather station, light bulbs and beanies. The weather station will monitor temp inside and outside, include plant sensors. The Weather station will track temperature, humidity, air quality, atmospheric pressure, and noise levels. The Archos Weather Station system is expected to be available in September for $149. Sounds similar to the Netatmo Weather station. The Archos Music Light is a combination LED bulb and Bluetooth speaker that screws into an standard Edison socket for both illumination and tunes for $49. Only the music can be controlled.
23) Archos has announced some budget phones.The 5-inch 50b Platinum smartphone available next month for £119. The smaller 45c Platinum will launch around the same time for £99, and the 101 Oxygen will be following up in October for £199. The Platinum will run Android KitKat, have a quad-core processor, dual SIM support, and an 8 megapixel primary camera. The 101 Oxygen will have a 1080p display, 1.5 GB of RAM, and run on a quad-core A17 ARM processor. More info at Archos http://www.archos.com/gb/products/smartphones/index.html?#idplatinum
Latest Rumours, Leaks, Announcements – Tuesday 26th August 2014
1) Sony Z3 Compact Tablet and Sony Smart Watch
Above screen shot via Xperia Blog depicting new Sony Z3 Compact 8 inch tablet & new Sony Smart Watch.
2) Motorola Moto X – rumoured new Moto smartphone. 5.3 Inch display 2K resolution, Snapdragon 805 clocked at 2.7GHZ a 13.1 MP camera with OIS. Running android v5.0.
3) Motorola Moto X+1 – rumoured 3D screen and optical zoom on camera
4) Sony Playstation Network – DDOS attack takes out service
5) BlackBerry Passport – specs revealed – a 4.4-inch square display, resolution of 1,440 x 1,440 pixels, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.2GHz quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and a large 3450mAH battery. All day usage and more possible.
6) Via TKTechnews.com. Images of the Nokia Lumia 830. Just look at that camera!
7) Via Pocketnow.com – Samsung Gear 3 Smart Watch – the next Tizen powered smart watch by Samsung will feature a curved display.
8) Via Reuters – eBay considering spinning off PayPal
9) Chrome Remote Desktop to get a recording option. Spyware he we come.
10) Huawei Ascend P7 successor to have a sapphire screen via telegraph.co.uk
11) LG announces the LG G3 Stylus. While it shares the LG G3 name, the display has been downgraded from a 2560 x 1440 resolution down to 960 x 540, but in the same 5.5-inch size. The processor similarly been downgraded to a quad-core set running at 1.3GHz. It’s only got 8GB of on-board storage, 3G data but does have a stylus and the same software experience. The camera is 13mp but at the moment I am not sure if it includes the laser focus and OIS
12) Samsung Note 4 to feature new finger print scanning tech. Apart from Paypal payments, it will also allow for web sign ins.
13) Asus teases its smart watch for IFA Berlin 2014
14) Amazon beats Google and buys Twitch for $1bn.
September Gadget and Smartphone Madness Begins Today
There are going to be an outrageous amount of leaks, rumours and then a wave of new hardware being announced. Rather than clog up the news with individual posts over the next few weeks I am going to try an experiment and create a single concise post summarising all the tech snippets.
This single post will go live everyday at 6.30am UK time.
Obviously, if there is any new hardware worthy of an individual post then this be created.
In addition, there will be lots of new hardware device reviews in the months of September and October. So stay tuned.
Phones Show Chat 5th Anniversary – Podcast & Hangout
Yesterday, I was a guest along with a number of other people on the Phones Show Chat Podcast, number 253. This was also the 5th Anniversary podcast, so a special Video Hangouts On Air was produced.
If you wish to just listen to the audio only, click here for all the info and download links. http://stevelitchfield.com/sshow/chat.html
Video – This is LG’s next Smart Watch – and it looks fab
LG have released and official teaser about there next smart watch.
However, slow it down and capture a frame and this is what you get below.
Move over Moto 360 perhaps?
Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast is now live – Please RT
As you know, I co-host a weekly podcast with David from UKMobileTech called Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast. It is a light hearted tech podcast broadcast bi-weekly. To subscribe click here for iTunes or copy and paste this link into your favourite podcast app.
Episode 22 is now live for your listening pleasure.
Concrete information on the Moto 360 Smartwatch – Price and Specs
Courtesy of an accidental release by Bestbuy.com, concrete information on the Moto 360 has been released.
The price will be $249 with the following specs –
– Compatible with most devices with an Android 4.3 or later operating system
– Bluetooth 4.0 technology – Enables wireless syncing to select devices for hassle-free connectivity.
– Voice activated -Allows you to use spoken commands to operate the smart watch via the built-in microphone.
– Vibration alert – Discreetly notifies you of important events.
– 1.5″ backlit LCD touch screen -With 320 x 290 resolution and 205 ppi makes it easy to navigate features and provides easy-to-read visuals. Corning Gorilla Glass 3 construction offers durability, and the adjustable brightness allows custom use.
– Built-in optical heart rate monitor – Helps you achieve or stay within your ideal heart rate range.
– Built-in pedometer – Measures the number of steps taken, so you can easily monitor your fitness progress throughout the day.
– Digital watch interface – Provides crisp, clear readouts of the time and date. Built-in alarm and calendar features help you stay on schedule.
– Waterproof up to 3.3′ for up to 30 minutes – So you can safely wear the watch while swimming or engaging in other aquatic activities.
– Stainless-steel case and plastic case back
– Offer durability. The adjustable-length Horween leather band and metal buckle closure deliver a secure, comfortable fit.
– Built-in lithium-ion battery pack – Provides long-lasting operation. The battery-strength indicator lets you know when the battery needs to be powered via the included dock and charger.
-Texas Instruments processor- Helps ensure fast, efficient performance.
– WiFi Wireless N Connectivity
And there you have it. So whose interested. And what’s with the Wifi Wireless N included. This seems a little odd. Clearly there are still some more specs to be revealed!
Google explains what Android Wear is with new videos
So Google has released a batch of videos explaining what Android Wear is all about. So are you convinced enough to buy one after viewing these videos below?
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 