If you lived through the Google Glass launch and decided that smartglasses are not a device you would use every day, you might consider changing your mind. Intel’s development team has been busy and has something new to share. In an exclusive arrangement with The Verge, Intel showcased the new Vaunt gadget, a piece of tech that doesn’t scream at you ‘tech.’ They’re probably the closest thing to regular pair of eyeglasses and come in several styles, work with prescriptions and can be worn all day long without having your nose or ears get numb. Intel’s New Design Group (NDG) boast a simple interface, minimal design and a non-intrusive notification system, just the features to make the world have a second look and maybe bring the smart eyewear to the mainstream. Weighing almost 1.8 ounces (50 grams), the Vaunt glasses have plastic frames, which make lighter than most of the smart glasses and AR headsets out there, and most importantly, they feel like a regular pair of specs. At a first glance, nothing ‘smart’ really stands out—there are no visible camera, buttons or touch controls—which is ironically a plus. Intel learned from its predecessor (Google) that these elements are driving people away. The Vaunt’s technology is made by Intel, as are the chips and application processor. At the moment, the smartglasses are designed only to display notifications and basic information directly into the user’s eyes. Think text messages, recipes and directions, but following the launch, developers will come up with new apps serving various purposes. Let’s get back to the ‘directly into the user’s eyes’ part—Vaunt works by the means of a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VSCEL) to project information onto a reflector onto a reflector on the right lens, which in turn...

At the beginning there were fitness wearables. They slowly transgressed into fashionable wearables and now can be seen in many industries. These days, the tiny devices, once strapped around the wrist, can be found all over one’s body, including on your fingernails. “We’re seeing lots of not obvious usage scenarios, but once you start to really think about it, it makes perfect sense,” Brian Blau, research vice president for personal technologies at market research firm Gartner, said in an interview from CES. Here’s a list with some of the most interesting ones out there: L’Oréal UV Sense Among the smallest wearables out there, L’Oréal’s UV Sense is a UV sensor that sticks to your fingernail. It comes with replaceable adhesives, but one can easily stick it to other items, like your watch or sunglasses. Thanks to its NFC feature, in order to access the data it collects, scanning it with the phone is all that’s needed. As you probably guessed, it helps people track how much time people spend in the sun without being overbearing. UV Sense will determine how long you’ve been out in the sun and once synced with your app, displays a score that shows if you’ve spent too much time under the sun’s powerful rays. Because everyone can handle different amounts of sun, the app will ask some initial questions about your skintone to set a baseline. In addition, it can also recommend products based off your skin score. LIZN Hearpieces Another medical aid presented at CES comes from Danish company LIZN. By mixing advanced hearing aid technology and cell phone components, the company built a product worthy to be named a CES Innovation Awards Honoree this year in Las Vegas. The earbuds, equipped with Bluetooth compatibility (great for listening...

The wearables trend shows no signs of abating, and for older adults suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes, a simple “smart sock” could be a lifesaver. For sufferers of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, foot issues abound, from swelling to numbness and tingling in the toes. Unfortunately, because of the nerve damage triggered by the disease, some foot injuries go unchecked, leading to painful and dangerous complications, including infection and amputation. For older adults, these types of issues are all too common, which is why Siren Care’s Siren Smart Sock could be a game changer. “Diabetic foot ulcers are serious problem,” says Podiatric Surgeon Alexander M. Reyzelman, Co-Director for the UCSF Center for Limb Preservation, in a video about the Siren Sock. “1.5 million patients will develop foot ulcers in the United States, and 20% will develop amputations,” he warns, “and 50-70% will go on to lose their life within five years.” A Different Kind of Wearable While fitness trackers and smart watches grab the spotlight, a quiet revolution is afoot. The number of wearables designed for medical use is growing every day, especially in the senior care market. For the 11.8 million senior citizens suffering from diabetes, using test strips and blood pricks can be complicated. Because self-monitoring can be difficult for older adults, specially designed wearables can help with compliance and improve overall health by flagging small issues before they become a big crisis. Be it socks or wristbands, the simplicity of the system is one of the main advantages. “…it is simply not possible to design a device that meets the expectations of a millennial while being operable by an octogenarian,” explains Thor Schrock, developer of the Allen Band, a wristband that helps detects falls. “The most important thing to...

Looking back at the course of innovation in technology throughout 2014, it’s clear that wearables have gained a lot of traction. Watch after watch, bracelet after armband, the French are now introducing the wristband – Cicret. The first thing to know about this little wonder is that the prototype is still in the works and if you want to spend some money on it now, the only way to do it is to donate for the development of its first prototype on the Cicret website. Back to the description. The Cicret Bracelet is a small wristband that supposedly has the ability to turn the wearer’s arm into a touchscreen. It sounds pretty cool to be able to give up your smartphone in an era dominated by them. The device works through a tiny embedded pico projector and a row of 8 proximity sensors built into the bracelet that point towards the user’s forearm, reminding of the technology behind projected keyboards. These enable the Cicret system to detect the location and movement of the user’s fingers, turning the surface of the skin into a touchscreen. The regular gestures apply: tap, swipe, and pinch. Cicret will operate as a standalone device and, when activated with a twist of the wrist, projects an Android interface onto the arm. The proximity sensors detect where the user’s fingers are and allow them to interact with the interface as they would on any Android device. Furthermore, the device features an accelerometer and a vibration module, as well as an LED for notifications. Connectivity is provided by way of WiFi, Bluetooth and a Micro USB port. The bracelet will also have its own onboard storage of 16GB and 32GB. The bracelet will allow users to send and receive emails, browse the...

Berlin –  The recent Samsung Unpacked’ event showed the world the products that will drive sales through the holidays and into 2015. Was it enough to put an end to the three straight quarters of falling returns and regain some mobile technology traction? Here is a quick look at the new Samsung Lineup. Galaxy Note 4 The new Galaxy Note 4 is the big-screen flagship for Samsung. It didn’t grow in size (thankfully), remaining at 5.7 inches, but it retains the plastic faux-leather backing even though it shoots for a classier look by removing the fake stitching mold and by adding the metal frame to a higher-res display. If you haven’t been a fan of previous versions, this is not your next phone. The device has a heart-rate monitor and the S5’s fingerprint scanner integrated into the home button. The back cover is removable, allowing access to the battery and microSD card slot; a downside is its lack of water resistance feature existent in the Galaxy S5. The Galaxy Note 4 presents the Super AMOLED display with a “quad HD” resolution translated into 2,560 x 1,440 pixels; the pixel density reaches new heights through the boost from 1,080p to quad HD resolution. The S Pen became more sensitive, seeking to mimic natural handwriting, and was given some function inspired by the computer mouse: minimizing the app windows and dragging them around for multitasking, copy/paste, and define words that appear on the screen. Interestingly, and somewhat disconcerting, is the fact that the app windows were treated like standard PC windows – the fact that they don’t always scale in size can clutter space pretty fast.  The drag-and-drop window design demands some work until you get used to it. The Note 4 has with it the...

The world of wearable technology is still in its early stages. After wristbands, glasses, and watches, an Indian start-up firm, Ducere Technologies, has introduced the smartshoe. These Bluetooth enabled shoes called Lechal (‘take me there’ in Hindu) will sell for $100-$150 a pair, and are scheduled to hit the market next month. The product has already received 25,000 pre-orders, and the company expects to sell 100,000 by March 2015. Originally designed in 2011 with the goal of assisting the visually-impaired with directional cues, Krispian Lawrence, co-founder and chief executive of the company, then realized the product could be of interest to joggers, mountain bikers, and tourists as well. The Lechal smartshoe is designed in India but manufactured in China. The shoes are developed in two models: a complete pair of shoes with Lechal insoles or a package of two insoles that can be used in the customers’ own shoes. They are powered by removable and rechargeable lithium-polymer batteries that should be good for a few days of use. Lechal smartshoes have been designed to have the same weight, to be as comfortable as the typical running shoes, and able to support up to 500 kg per shoe. The smartshoe is designed to connect to the iOS, Android, or Windows Phone device via Bluetooth. The insole has the typical slew of sensors that you’d expect from a wearable, allowing the user to accurately track the numbers of steps taken, calories burnt, and distance traveled. What sets Lechal apart from a fitness band is that each insole can vibrate. When you first put on a pair of Lechal smartshoes, you pair it with a companion app on your smartphone. The app takes care of the health tracking part – calories burnt, setting targets, mapping the itinerary...