Concept Sunday: Raymarine Crew Band

Raymarine Crew Band concept

At its pinnacle, yacht racing is a highly technical and very expensive sport. Research and development runs in the tens of millions, all to shave mere seconds from a race. Just ass important are the skilled crews that execute the complex maneuvers to keep the boat running at peak efficiency. Communication and access to information are key and this is where the Raymarine Crew […]

New ARM Cortex-A35 processor geared at wearables

ARM Cortex-A35 processor

ARM this week announced the ARM Cortex-A35 processor, the first in a new family of ultra-high-efficiency 64-bit ARMv8-A processors. It promises to bring 64-bit computing to wearables for the first time, something that was not possible before due to the size and energy use of available processors. “Cortex-A35 is the natural successor to the compact-footprint Cortex-A7, the leading energy-efficient processor, which has powered […]

Samsung Gear S2 iOS compatibility could come as soon as end of year

Samsung Gear S2

The Samsung Gear S2 is the first Gear smartwatch to be compatible with smartphones other than Samsung’s own. It currently works with a range of smartphones running Android 4.4 or higher and with at least 1.5GB of RAM. A report in September suggested that Samsung was also looking at expanding compatibility to the Apple iPhone. It now appears that Samsung has been able […]

Fossil to acquire Misfit for US$260 million

Fossil Q wearables

Texas-based Fossil recently unveiled its line of Fossil Q wearables. Its parent company, Fossil Group, today announced that it will acquire Misfit, the company behind the Misfit Shine and Shine 2 activity trackers and other fashionable wearables, for US$260 million (about CA$345 million). The acquisition provides Fossil not only with Misfit’s current products but also those currently in development along with a scalable cloud and app […]

Cellular support comes to Android Wear

LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition

When Android Wear first launched, it relied exclusively on a Bluetooth connection to stay connected to a smartphone for its data connectivity. It later gained Wi-Fi connectivity for a greater degree of independence. Google yesterday announced that Android Wear now offers cellular support, giving the smartwatch even more freedom. Needless to say, your smartwatch also needs to have the right […]

New Xiaomi Mi Band Pulse adds heart rate monitor

Xiaomi Mi Band Pulse

Xiaomi launched its Mi Band fitness tracker last year. According to Canalys, more than 10 million have shipped since then. Just in time for China’s Singles Day, a shopping day even bigger than Black Friday, Xiaomi announced the Xiaomi Mi Band Pulse. As rumours suggested earlier this summer, the successor to the original Mi Band adds a heart rate monitor to the mix. […]

Tag Heuer unveils Tag Heuer Connected Watch

Tag Heuer Carrera Connected

Right on cue, Tag Heuer today unveiled its first smartwatch, the Tag Heuer Connected Watch. As CEO Jean-Claude Biver explained, “Today is the marriage of watch valley and silicon valley” as Tag Heuer partnered with Google and Intel to develop its first smartwatch. It combines traditional watch looks and Tag Heuer’s famous build quality with the capabilities of an Android Wear […]