Year 2014 seems to be a year of wearable devices especially smart watch. The CES 2014 has seen the announcement of a slew of new smart watches. In a market flooded with smart watch offerings, every company has made an attempt to distinguish its product from the masses, with some focusing on design while others add innovative features.Let’s take a look on the smart watches being displayed at CES.
Intel Smart Watch
Intel revealed its plans to focus heavily on wearables throughout 2014. The company showed off a prototype smart watch incorporating geofencing and location-based notifications designed to alert users when a child or family member has left a specific location. The watch was not an actual product, but the company has plans to release a similar device in 2014.
Pebble Steel
Pebble’s second-generation smart watch, called the Pebble Steel, retains the current Pebble functionality but features a new design with a stainless steel body and a leather or steel band. It is both slimmer and lighter than the original Pebble and also includes a face covered with Corning’s scratch resistant Gorilla Glass. The Pebble Steel lasts for 5 to 7 days on a single charge, is waterproof, and will begin shipping on January 28 for $249. Pebble has also announced an app store that will be available to users in January and introduced new partnerships to bring additional functionality to the device.[more…]
Razer Nabu
Designed by computer peripheral manufacturer Razer, the Nabu smart band is a fitness band/smart watch hybrid. The Nabu is slim like a standard fitness tracker, but it includes two small OLED screens at 32×32 and 128×32, which display information about activity levels and notifications about texts, phone calls, and other social networking alerts. It includes an accelerometer, an altimeter, and a cylindrical vibration motor and lasts up to 10 days on a single charge. Nabu, which ships in the spring, also interacts in unique ways with other Nabu bands. For example a handshake between two Nabu wearers could allow the two to automatically exchange contacts on social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn. Nabu will be available for under $100.
Metawatch META
Metawatch debut a new high-end smart watch called the META at CES. META is focused on design, with classic stainless steel faceplates and bands available in a variety of styles. While little information is available on the META, it may function like Metawatch’s previous offerings, providing users with customizable settings, notifications for calls and messages, music controls, and widgets displaying information like weather, time, and stocks. META is expected in the spring and pricing has yet to be announced.
Martian Notifier
From Martian Watches, the Martian Notifier looks like a classic wrist watch but is bundled with smart watch features, like notification alerts. The Notifier offers custom vibration patterns for different phone alerts including calls, messages, and social networking notifications. It also has a small OLED readout and works in conjunction with the Martian app, which is installed on a smartphone. The Martian Notifier will be available during the second quarter of 2014 for $129.
PHTL HOT
The HOT (Hands-On-Talk) smart watch comes in four different styles, from a basic rectangle to a slightly curved design, and sets itself apart from other smart watches by allowing voice calls to be placed directly from the device. HOT utilizes a directional speaker that is amplified by a cupped hand and it also incorporates an e-ink screen that responds to simple swipe gestures to bring up menu options. It also runs apps and boasts a 3 to 7 day battery life. HOT can be pre-ordered for $152 to $212 and will ship in March.
Archos SmartWatches
Archos has come out with a line of basic, affordable smart watches but little information is known on the watches, aside from the fact that they will sell for $80, much less than most smart watches. The watches appear to utilize a curved display with an e-ink screen and are “coming soon” according to the company.
Kreyos Meteor
The Meteor features a waterproof plastic body and bands in an array of colors, along with a speaker and a microphone that support voice and gesture commands. Four different wrist gestures can be used to activate customized actions and the watch display offers notification alerts. It also includes a built-in activity tracker to measure fitness levels and a removable face that can be placed in different bands, in a belt clip, or a neck lanyard. Priced at $169.95, the watch can be pre-ordered and will ship in March of 2014.
Sonostar
The Sonostar SmartWatch incorporates a 1.73-inch curved touch screen with an E-ink display. Like other watches on the market, it connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth and displays notifications from social networks, calls, messages, and emails. It also connects to sports-oriented apps developed by the company. Priced at $179, the Sonostar SmartWatch will be available for purchase during the first quarter of 2014.
Neptune Pine
Neptune’s Pine is a standalone device that makes phone calls and sends SMS messages. Running Android Jelly Bean, Neptune has a 2.4-inch touch screen, a full keyboard, cameras, a complete web browser, and it runs a full catalog of apps. It also includes several fitness-oriented add-ons, including GPS, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and more. Pine, which requires a SIM card, features eight hours of talk time and can be removed from the band and placed into other accessories. It can be pre-ordered for $335 and ships in March of 2014.
MyKronoz
MyKronoz has a range of Swiss-designed smart watches with varying price points and designs. Its newest and most advanced version, the ZeNano, pairs with an iPhone via Bluetooth and features a 1.54-inch full color LCD screen. ZeNano connects to a set of included earphones and can make phone calls, read texts, record voice memos, accept voice commands, and stream music. ZeNano will be available soon for $130.
Could any of these smart watches catch your fancy?
Read more:
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/08/ces-2014-smart-watches/
