Wearable Technology

For most of us with office jobs, we don’t get up out of our desks a lot. Worse yet, we experience a lot of stressful situations that can cause more harm than good to our bodies. Fortunately, there’s a new wearable upcoming that looks to provide all-natural stress relief through the simple act of better breathing. Meet Prana. It’s small, it’s new and it’s coming soon to Best Buy.

The 2016 Consumer Electronics Show—or CES as it’s more commonly known—is upon us, and poised to show off more cool technology to wow attendees. The show is largely an opportunity for vendors to introduce what’s possible, like proof of concepts, prototypes and ideas that may never be available to you, the consumers. Still, much of what is there does make it to retail, like Best Buy, and in 2015, that was certainly the case.

 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.

Discover amazing new virtual reality experiences with this breakdown of all the best resources geared toward finding content for your VR headset.

It’s going to be a long hard semester and getting fit and staying fit is going to help you stay focused, feel good and most importantly, avoid getting sick. So use this month before school to get fit and stay fit! 

Last night, the Best Buy event closed with a fashion show that focused on wearable tech. For those of you who don’t want to admit it, this phenomenon is here to stay! The beauty of these devices is that they help you monitor your health, fitness goals, calorie intake, etc. But while they may provide useful information, let’s be honest: you’ll attach a gadget to your body only if it’s fashionable. This year’s fashion show was even better than...

Virtual reality is a real thing now. Yes, it has existed for some time, but the concept of immersing yourself in it in a portable way at home and on the go is one major difference. As is the quality of content. Samsung’s Gear VR is a headset with the imprint of Oculus, arguably the most popular company in the VR space today. It’s not the Oculus Rift, of course, but the Gear VR can open up some new worlds with the right smartphone inside.

Apps are amazing on so many different levels. They keep you organized when you’re frantically sprinting through your day, they entertain you when you need some downtime, and they will even be your personal trainer when you want to get healthy or lose weight.   Personal fitness apps are where Garmin comes in, and although you may have only heard of Garmin for their GPS products, they’ve recently hit the sports market with a variety of fitness bands that track your exercise data via the Garmin Connect Mobile app.

2015 is living up to expectations as an exciting time for smartwatch fans. We’re seeing Android Wear smartwatches hit their stride, the Apple Watch is due out in a matter of weeks and now Pebble—the company that really helped kick off the whole thing—is back with an exciting new model. Pebble Time was just announced, offering everything we love about the original Pebble and Pebble Steel (including that amazing battery life), while adding a colour display!

Announced on October 6th during Microsoft’s Tech Briefing, the new Microsoft Band is the biggest wearable experience yet. Re-designed hardware is just the beginning. The Band takes the idea of the traditional wearable/smartwatch and turns it on its head, giving you access to industry exclusives like elevation tracking, oxygen usage monitoring and much more.