The Pebble Smartwatch is something most of you will have at least heard of, if not seen. Its presence on the wrist of a fellow commuter is usually a sign of an early adopter, someone willing to wear a plastic-based watch in order to be one of the first on board with the next generation of smartphone notifications.The problem is that badge of honour is as much curse as it is blessing – certainly most of the people who don’t really care about technology that I’ve met while wearing the Pebble ask questions such as ‘is that a child’s watch?’. A little unfair to the progressive tech, but not a point without a valid basis.So with that in mind, Pebble has brought out the Steel, a watch that removes the plastic and puts metal in its place. It also comes in two ‘grown up’ straps, leather and metal links (the latter in silver or black), meaning depending on the kind of watch face you’ve got on your device, it can pass as a ‘normal’ watch while still giving you reams of useful information from your smartphone.The design is definitely a big step towards enticing a new wave of customers – it looks a lot slicker and straight away has a much more premium feel in the hand. It’s still rather light, which many will find a little disconcerting at first. It almost feels like a dummy watch from the store – but that’s a minimal problem and actually makes it more comfortable to wear.The matte black steel, with its darker design and cool feel, was my favorite version of the three, closely followed by the leather. The buttons have been beefed up too – one […]

Garmin Vivofit is rerouting the incredible short battery life of wearable gadgets by launching an always-on fitness tracker that lasts more than a year on a single charge.We were able to wear the Vivofit fitness band without wearing down the battery at CES 2014 and quickly discovered that its secret is eschewing a backlight on its curved LCD screen and using some low-power efficiency tricks.That’s pretty amazing given the fact that leading fitness trackers, like the Fitbit Force and Nike FuelBand SE, require recharging every seven days if you’re lucky. They also require pushing a tiny button in order to read the time, daily step count, distance and calories. Vivofit displays all of this information without the need to press anything at all. Its single button is just used to cycle through the data. Even better, the Garmin Vivofit specs indicate that the battery is actually two user-replaceable CR1632 coin cells. Going down to the drugstore to buy these new batteries once a year would be an easier routine than constantly having to charge the device.Of course, the obvious downside to having an always-on display with no backlight is that it’s impossible to read the time and fitness metrics in the dark. So while it’s convenient to see the time and steps you’ve taken in a day just by simply looking down at your wrist, that’s only possible in lit environments.Metrics, inactivity barThe waterproof Vivofit calculates steps, goal countdown, distance traveled, calories burned and sleep quality and it displays the time of day. It’s also compatible with Garmin’s heart rate monitor to determine your heart rate and heart rate zone. The company plans on bundling the two for quantified self enthusiasts who want the full […]

News from CES that LG is making a play for the fitness tracker space is nothing new – it did just the same thing last year.But this time around, things have got smarter and more oddly designed, with the new LifeBand Touch offering functionality beyond just wandering around and seeing a number raise up.That’s obviously a large part of the raison d’être for the LifeBand, but there’s loads more functionality that makes it a more compelling (and sometimes cheaper) option for those looking to have something help explore the data in their life.The design of the LifeBand is definitely something that will take getting used to – it was almost repellent the first time I picked it up. Featuring a not insubstantial break in the ring to allow you to put it on, the design oddity is compounded by the fact the screen element is so much heavier.This meant that not only does it not connect all the way around your wrist, it will wobble about thanks to being top-heavy. This problem was relieved to some extent by moving to a smaller version, but the gap does split a little too easily, being flexible as it is to help you get it onto your arm.The screen, a small OLED affair, is monochrome and touchscreen and is the primary way you interact with the LifeBand, apart from the glowing button to the right.The display is fairly low resolution but is more than visible enough – and having it running this way allows for the band to have a five day battery life, which means you won’t need to pointlessly charge it over and over.Although not available on the stand, the LG LifeBand takes its power from […]