“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only,” Coco Chanel said. “Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what’s happening.” What’s happening is that the multibillion dollar worlds of technology and fashion are colliding like never before. Fashion editors were out in force for the launch of the Apple Watch and Google has teamed up with Luxottica sunglasses brand, which makes Ray Bans and Person, to design a new range of Google Glass. And that is not all. The latest company to attempt to connect tech and fashion is Intel. The company chose to stay away from the growing list of smart watch developers and instead  integrate technology into objects that people would wear anyway. In collaboration with fashion company Opening Ceremony, Intel is entering the fashion universe with the release of its latest wearable device, MICA, short for My Intelligent Communication Accessory. MICA is a bracelet aimed at the women on the go, combining a technology suite and an every-day accessory; a device which is meant to be the first wearable designed with fashion as a top priority. The bangle was first announced during Fashion Week in September; it comes in two colors: black and white, both with an 18-carat gold coating. The black one has black water snake skin, Chinese pearls, and lapis stones from Madagascar, while the white one has white water snake skin, tiger’s eye stones from South Africa, and obsidian from Russia. At this time, technical details are scarce. The 1.6-inch curved sapphire glass touchscreen display of the device is placed on the inside of the wrist, a design choice that adds to the device’s privacy. MICA will be able to connect with Facebook, Google, and Yelp...

Era of Personal Computing, PC-plus Era or even Post-PC Era – Where are we? What stage in the evolution of technology have we entered, which have we exited? What marked the transition? In 2006 HP launched a new campaign called The Computer is Personal Again, putting more emphasis on empowering users and enterprises and paying little attention to the technical matters. That was a moment when many remembered the great distance computing had traveled from room-sized devices that were anything but personal, to the small devices we carry today that satisfy such personalized needs. Every year, technology developers do their best to present to consumers either new devices or improved versions of the previous models. In the past few years, critics have been more vocal than ever,  alleging lack of innovation. Are they right. or does everybody need to calm down and take a deep breath? If we are to reflect upon the history of technology we see a clear pattern: at first, devices are used by businesses. Only after reaching a stable foundation are they produced for the masses; then the product needs to mature before the mass market adopts it. Some say that innovation comes in cycles of fifty years, equally divided between the enterprise environment and the general public’s adoption life cycle. Ideas will never cease to surface. But in order to have a new idea succeed, the timing must be right. A new idea typically comes only after the previous one is perfected. Each innovation is built on the knowledge a previous one brought. People have to be mentally prepared to embrace the new. With the expansion of the hardware, the software sees considerable growth. Software is growing in value and perhaps the best example would be the gigantic move...

One of the hottest tech topics of the year in the technology world has been wearable gizmos like smart watches and Google Glass. As hot as these inventions are, they have privacy implications that must not be overlooked. By April 2014, the initial 10,000 people that are currently testing the prototype will multiply. With the eminent adoption of the “all-knowing eye”, reviewers and scientists are uncovering problems and discovering solutions. The most prevalent concern is related to privacy. The fields of discussion are various, from the privacy of a walk down the street, to the security in the work environment. Privacy is already affected primarily by the cameras installed everywhere, from storefronts to busy intersections; the new Google Glass mechanism will rule over all of them, combining a miniature computer with everything it means plus a recording camera that’s seamlessly mounted on the glasses – you might not even know that you’re being recorded as you take your evening stroll in the park. What will organizations do? Having the freedom to wear a small recording device at the office gives both employees and management the potential to modify how transparent things really are in the work environment. The HR department will suffer important changes, as here is where organizational policies are developed – here is where disputes between employees, and between employees and management are handled. Perhaps this will ease up their work, perhaps they’ll need a Video Review function, or perhaps they’ll focus on determining if and to what extent will Google Glass be allowed in the workplace. It’s absolutely relevant the worry that this watchful eye could easily turn into a spying eye, more so than the current highly used devices that have the recording function as part of their mechanism. “Smartglasses...

Qualcomm introduced its Toq Smartwatch to the marketplace on Dec. 2. The wearable computing device is available in limited edition to US customers, directly from Qualcomm’s website. Toq is considered an experiment and should be regarded as such. It doesn’t want to (nor can it) replace flashy smartphones, but comes to play as a peripheral device meant to work as an extension of the smartphone (Android-only, for now). It covers the standard commands for a smartwatch such as alerts, SMS replies with canned responses, Bluetooth headset compatibility, and a few bite-sized apps like Accuweather and Etrade. Third-party developers will be allowed by Qualcomm to build applets for the little gizmo; they will be able to use AllJoyn, another Qualcomm technology designed to let phones and watches communicate directly with each other. With a 3.2oz weight, a wrist band that ranges is size from 6 to 8.7 inches, and a display size of 1.55in, Toq throws in the Mirasol display technology, a combination of a full color screen with low power consumption (IMOD – Interferometric Modulation). 222ppi and a button-less display that has touch screen capacities, the device goes through multiple days between charges (3 to 5) and when the time comes to refill the battery (placed in the clasp of the watch band), it uses the Qualcomm® Charging Technology WiPower™ LE – Magnetic Resonance Charging – the device starts charging as soon as you drop it on the wireless charging dock. To aid battery life, the smartwatch is powered not by a high-end Snapdragon chip, but a 200MHz Cortex M3 processor. Mirasol, a direct competitor of e-ink, is based on MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), to produce the IMOD effect. This effect creates colors in a different way than LCDS or OLEDS – an air pocket between...

Ready for a tiny wearable phone? How about augmented reality glasses that feed you information about whatever catches your eye? We’re on the cusp of an era when wearables, like glasses and watches, will replace the functions of the world’s most popular gadget – your smartphone. Apple has been experimenting with the iWatch, a device made of curved glass that would work on iOS platform. What might once have been something out of a James Bond film or Inspector Gadget cartoon could be part of our everyday existence later this year. Our iPhones are already attached to our hands most of the time, so why shouldn’t we just strap them to our wrists? Less chance of a broken screen, coming right up! And Google co-founder Sergey Brin was spotted on the NYC subway testing the company’s latest project – the Google Glasses. That sighting, along with a recent leak from Apple about a 100-person design team working on a wristwatch-style project (Forbes), hint that the advent of this exciting new era is nigh. Google is close to sending its glasses prototype to development. The augmented reality glasses are said to transmit app information and data about the surroundings on a small display, directly into the wearer’s right eye. In terms of watches, Google built the Microsoft-Timex DataLink in 1995, a device that allowed users to load Outlook information onto the watch, thus having handy the personal phone book.  The SPOT watch (Smart Personal Objects Technology) is launched in 2004, taking a significant step in making personal objects more intelligent. It lasted on the market only until 2008, but it had its fans. Source: cdn.slashgear.com  on Pinterest The iWatch rumor has credibility because the maker of the ultra-tough Gorilla Glass that is used in most...