CES 2015: There’s a wearable for everyone

Besides Christmas and my birthday, the time of the year I most look forward to is the Consumer Electronic Show. That’s when everyone, from tech giants to Kickstarter campaigners, display the best and brightest in the gadget and tech device world.

It’s the best place I know to do a little window shopping before they release the latest tech, and although it doesn’t officially kick off until Tuesday, word on the street is that the wearable category is red hot this year. Crystal encrusted fintess devices, new fitness watches, and a ring that you’ll swear is straight out of Harry Potter? You better believe it.

Following all the coverage can be a little overwhelming, so I’m going to give you a condensed version of the 6 of the coolest wearable tech devices on display at CES 2015 at right now.

GoBe by HealBe
One of the best parts of fitness wearables are the apps that come with them, and I love how so many of the newest wearables have food tracking built into the app so you have your exercise, foods you’ve consumed, and even bar code scanners available at the touch of a button. But some people don’t enjoy the process of food logging because it’s a bit on the tedious side, and that’s where the GoBe by Healbe comes in.

The GoBe is a wrist-mounted health tracker, and it counts your calories for you. Yes, you heard that right – it uses an impedance sensor that tracks your glucose levels after you eat. It works by sending out signals through your body tissue to measure the rise and drop in your fluids, then it uses an algorithm to analyze the readings and create an automatic calorie count for you.

The GoBe will work with an app to also give you data about your sleep patterns and even how much water you should be drinking. All in all, it’s a cool device that takes the food logging step right out of fitness tracking.

Withings Activité Pop
Everyone I know has a smartwatch now. Not only do these gadgets look great on your wrist, they keep you connected in ways you probably couldn’t have even imagined a few years ago.

But not everyone wants a smartwatch that looks like a smartwatch, so when the Withings Activité came out in December, it became a great option for serious watch collectors. It has a classic watch design with a hidden twist – it’s a full activity, step, and sleep tracker, all wrapped up in a Swiss-made stylish package that no one would ever know was a smartwatch.

For people who want a more colourful option, Withings announced the Withings Activité Pop at CES today. It’s a less expensive, ultra-styish smartwatch that sychs via Bluetooth to track steps, sleep, and will wake you up with a vibrating alarm. The only thing missing from this model is the Withings Activité leatherband and sapphire crystal.

Add some bling with the Misfit Shine
The Misfit Shine has always been one of my favourite activity trackers. I pop it in the necklace and it looks great while still keeping me up and off my couch. Now Misfit has taken that sense of fitness style one step further and teamed up with Swarovski for an entirely new, extremely sparkly, product line including bracelets, necklaces, and a custom-cut Swarovski Shine Activity Tracking Crystal that’s the crowning gem.

The Swarovski Shine Activity Tracking Crystal can do everything the original Misfit Shine can do including track you while you bike, hike, run, and swim. It will monitor how you sleep, and if you wear it with the included band, it’s waterproof up to 50m. Misfit announced two different Swarovski tracking crystals – one clear and one violet. The clear tracking crystal has a battery that will last up to six months, but the violet tracking crystal is solar powered, so you’ll never need to replace a battery. You don’t have to put it outside to charge either – it will do just fine charging inside via LED lights or filtered sunlight.

The Ring
I can think of about 10 grown adults who will love the idea behind the Ring, a ‘magic’ Bluetooth device that lets you use your finger like a magic wand.

You’ll be able to write text messages in the air, turn on music with a wave of your finger, and even open your email without actually touching your device. It works with infrared remote control, and although it sounds like a combo of high-tech meets Hogwarts, odds are there will be a line up for it when it’s available in March.

Melomind
A wearable helmet that helps you relax? That’s what the Melomind from myBrain does. Using electrodes to measure your brain waves and transmit your data to a connected app, Melomind takes your data and creates custom music tones that will help you relax. The app will keep track of all of your data so you can watch and see how you relax over time.

I don’t know about you, but I’d definitely like to try high-tech meditation, and I’m looking forward to when the Melomind will be available by the end of this year.

Belty
Out of everything I’ve seen come out of CES today, the most intriguing by far is Belty. This piece of wearable tech definitely has potential.

So imagine you’ve eaten a big meal like Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner and you’re completely stuffed. Normally you might loosen your belt a bit, just to get more comfortable, but if you had Belty on, you wouldn’t even have to lift a finger.

Belty is a smart belt that adjusts itself depending on how much you’ve eaten and how much exercise you’ve done during the day. It keeps track of everything using sensors, an accelerator, and a gyroscope, and it will even give you a nudge if you’ve been sitting on the couch for too long. Plus, it connects to an app so you can keep an eye on just how many times that belt has had to let out a rung or two.

Everyone at CES 2015 is talking about Belty, and although it’s in prototype-mode right right now, I’m sure it’s something you’ll be seeing in the near future.

Head over to wearable technology and check out everything Best Buy has on shelves right now, and be sure to keep your eyes on Plug In and watch for more coverage from CES 2015.