Wearable Technology

 Dads come in all shapes and sizes, and while it’s assumptive to say that every dad loves tech it’s true for the vast majority of ‘em. Finding the right gift for the techie dad in your life can be challenging; matching their personality to emerging technology can be tough! To help make your father’s day a little easier this year I’ve got a whole host of varied father’s day gifts that all have a techie angle. Let’s take a rip through together and see if we can find something that fits.

Being wrist computers, smartwatches inherit many features from PCs and smartphones. The ability to store and play back music wirelessly via a bluetooth headset is one of these features that makes sense for active people or those who want to have their favourite tunes handy.

 The Merge VR is virtual reality with an openness that is easy to appreciate, yet with limitations that keep it well within the entry-level realm. Compatible with a number of different iOS and Android smartphones, this is a headset that doesn’t require much to get involved, nor any real past experience to enjoy some of what it has to offer.

 Smartwatches and fitness wearables offer many cool features and benefits including the ability to track our health, heart rate and activity which can help anyone get a grip on their progress. Sleep tracking, or the ability to measure the amount and quality of sleep is equally as important since it focuses on how our body recovers and repairs itself.

 Interchangeable bands are one of the most desired features for smartwatches.Which smartwatches make it easy to mix up style and function?

The ASUS ZenWatch 2 is a smartwatch that doesn't push the envelope against competitors; it keeps things simple which for some people is just what they want.

 2016 is going to be the most exciting year for the wearable yet. We’ve already seen brands like Fitbit improving their brand by putting all of their new features forward. We’re going to have wearables that help us de-stress by encouraging better breathing and then there’s Microsoft Band 2. The Microsoft Band 2 looks to go above and beyond its competition by offering features that nobody else does. In addition to the usual run of notifications and trackers, Band 2 is the first wearable that flexes to offer help with your sleep, on the golf course and in the gym in the same package. Find out more about my experiences with Band by reading onward.

Fitness trackers come in all shapes and sizes, but for the most part they all feel very familiar: weird connected to charge them, big bulky shapes for heart rate monitoring, and a sporty, plastic look. There’s one brand that’s gone in a different direction, however: Misfit. Focusing on attractive, fashionable hardware with smart fitness and sleep tracking, Misfit has brought a number of products to market. The latest, the Misfit Ray, wound up on my doorstep a few weeks ago. I took it for a test run (and lift, and nap). Here’s what I found out about the Misfit Ray Fitness and Sleep tracker.

It took me ten seconds to open my Misfit Shine 2, ten minutes to set it up and fully customize it, and ten hours to fall completely, utterly in love with it.  

Besides looking like a million bucks on your wrist, the Fitbit Alta is one of the easiest-to-use fitness trackers I’ve ever tried. If you’re in the market for a new fitness tracker, here’s why you should take a look the Fitbit Alta.