Rumors about Sony making an e-paper watch are true, and not only that, the watch has been available on a Japanese crowd-funding website since September. The reason we never caught on before now is it was sold under a different name, due to Sony wanting to see how the device was received without a major company name attached. Very tricky, Sony…
It’s called the FES Watch, and it’s really unusual. The entire body and strap are covered in e-paper, just like the screen on your Kindle, and the design can be changed to match your mood or choice of fashion for the day. It’s not a smartwatch, so it won’t connect to your phone, but it does have a battery which will last for about 60 days.
How’d the crowd-funding go? The $170 FES Watch beat its target, and will be shipped out in May of next year to the lucky backers, but so far there’s no word on whether it’ll ever be a regular consumer product the rest of us can buy.
Reports of Google Glass’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Instead of being slowly phased out, the controversial smart eyewear may be about to undergo some changes.
According to the latest reports, Intel has signed a deal with Google to supply chips for the next version. Currently powered by a Texas Instruments processor, once Intel puts a chip inside, they will start to promote Glass more to businesses. Glass hasn’t found much love outside the geeky tech community, but with Intel’s backing and strong interest in wearable technology, it may start to find its natural home inside hospitals, and manufacturing plants.
This doesn’t mean Google has given up on Glass becoming a consumer device. Apparently, only a handful of the 300-strong Glass team at Google work on the “Glass At Work” program, and Intel’s involvement won’t change that situation. If the deal goes ahead, we could be looking through an Intel-powered version of Glass sometime in 2015.
It’s been almost a year since we first saw the Razer Nabu smart band, but finally, the gaming company has deemed the wearable device ready for sale. Keen buyers who haven’t given in to temptation and purchased one of the dozens of other similar products can buy the Nabu this week for $100. What makes the Nabu stand out? It’s packed with features, including a few cool gestures.
How does shaking hands – or giving a high-five if that’s your thing – to exchange social networking details sound? Fun, that’s what! Gestures aside, we also love that the screen faces downwards for a better viewing angle, and more privacy. The Nabu tracks your activity levels, and shows all the usual notifications and messages from your phone, plus it’ll connect to Android and iOS smartphones.
The band will be on sale December 2, through Razer’s website.
Your host today is Greg Nibler. Miss a day? Watch all the episodes of DT Daily right here. And be sure to catch our latest podcast.
