smartwatch

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!

Right out of the gate, there are 3 things to really like about the LifeTrak Zone C410 fitness tracker – it tracks your activity level and gives you detailed and useful fitness information, it measures your heart rate just by touching it, and it’s one of the easiest to use fitness trackers I’ve ever tried. It does what it sets out to do and it does it so simply that anyone, even people who find fitness watches and fitness trackers complicated, can pick up and use the device within minutes. 

It's hard to know how to step up your workout. Luckily, a great smart watch can help you meet new goals.

IFA 2014 was the location for yet more high tech announcements as Sony got in the game. Among the new products from Sony are the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact (billed as the world’s slimmest and lightest compact tablet), new smartphones led by the new Xperia Z3 flagship, a new Android Wear-powered Smartwatch 3 and the SmartBand Talk fitness tracker.

If there was any doubt that this would be the year that smartwatches and other wearable technology hits the mainstream, look no further than Best Buy, where you’ll find best-sellers like the Pebble smartwatch alongside the latest generation of Samsung’s wearable tech –the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo. Soon some new entries will be joining these: the Cookoo and Cogito. Choice is good and these new models offer a new take on the traditional smartwatch form factor as well as a more affordable option for those who want to take the plunge into wearable technology without a large investment. I just spent a week with a Cookoo smartwatch and you can read my review here.  

Yesterday, Google held a three hour-long keynote at its I/O 2014 developer conference. We posted the run-down so you wouldn’t have to watch the entire thing. While some of the presentation like Cloud Debugging was a little dry (unless you happen to be a developer in the cloud app business), one section stood out: Android Wear. We’ve heard about this Android for smartwatches before of course, but at Google I/O 2014 we saw the system in action and even better, saw some of those amazing Android Wear devices that have been hinted at. The LG G watch in particular got substantial stage time. Android Wear is real, it looks fantastic and it’s coming soon!

Samsung doesn’t give up easily, it seems. The company has repeatedly tried and tried again to create a winner in the wearables category, only to achieve mixed results. The Gear Fit2 isn’t a smartwatch, but rather a fitness band that can sort of act like a smartwatch because of its large screen and litany of features.

What is all the fuss about Spritz? If you were using a Spritz-enabled app, you would already have read to the end of this post and could tell us. But given that Spritz-enabled tech isn’t out there yet (it’s coming soon, though), here’s the scoop. Spritz is new speed reading technology that’s based on the theory that much of our time spent reading is wasted as our eyes move side to side. Display a word in one place, flash one word at a time and suddenly reading becomes much more efficient. Not only that, but by displaying just one word at a time, reading is suddenly possible on compact displays, like a smartphone or smartwatch. Being able to quickly (and painlessly) read e-mail, reports or even books on your Gear2 or Gear Neo suddenly makes the idea of wearable technology even more appealing.

Back to school is right around the corner, so if you are one of the many students heading back to campus this year, I can imagine you are busy loading up on supplies like notepads, textbooks, pens, highlighters, and perhaps even a new laptop or tablet. While these are all essential for a productive school year, another item you may want to consider adding to your shopping list is a smartwatch. Not only are they stylish and trendy, but they will help you stay organized and on top of your studies.

 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.