watch News - Page 3 of 5 - CNX Software

October 21, 2015December 2, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Bluboo Xwatch is an Android Wear Smartwatch Powered by Mediatek MT2601 SoC

So far, we’ve only seen Android Wear devices by large companies such as Motorola, LG, or Huawei, simply because you have to sign an agreement with Google in order to be allowed to load Android Wear on your device. Last year, a startup launched their own “Android Wear” watch on Indiegogo, but when Google found out the campaign got pull out since it was not going to happen. But the situation may have changed since then, as I’ve been contacted by Bluboo, which should be brand from Shenzhen Huihua Exploit Technology Co., Ltd, about their upcoming Bluboo Xwatch sports smartwatch running Android Wear, and the company confirmed they were “working with a third-party company to help them get this agreement”. I’m guessing/hoping the third party company might be Mediatek themselves. Bluboo Xwatch preliminary specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT2601 dual core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.2GHz with ARM Mali-400 MP GPU […]

October 5, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

AMS AS7000 Biosensor is Designed for Strapless Optical Heart Rate Monitors

Heart rate monitors (HRM) with chest straps are now being replaced by more comfortable strapless HRM, such as UWatch UX. These products are enabled by photoelectric sensors that sample light modulated by blood vessels, which expand and contract as blood pulses through them. One of such solutions is the recently introduced AMS AS7000 including a Cortex M0 core, and a DSP implementing algorithm to process raw photoplethysmography (PPG) readings from the sensors to convert them into digital HRM and HRV (Heart Rate Variability) values. Highlights of AS7000 Biosensor: MCU – ARM Cortex M0 with 4KB RAM, 32 KB EEPROM I/Os – 9 GPIOs, UART, SPI, I2C Analog electrical and optical Frontends Hardware sequencer Synchronous detector Integrated LEd driver with current control Optical filters Supply Voltage – 2.6 – 3.6V Temperature Range –30 to 70°C Package – 18 pins AS7000 can deliver greater accuracy when it is paired with an external […]

September 24, 2015September 24, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Pebble Time Round is Thinner, Features a Circular Display, But Lasts Only 2 Days on a Charge

Pebble introduced Pebble Time smartwatch with an always-on color e-Paper display, voice recognition, and 7 days of battery life early this year, and the company has now unveiled a thinner version with a circular display, that’s still always-on, but unfortunately only lasts 2 days on a charge like most of other smartwatches on the market. The Pebble Time Round shares the same “Timeline” user interface as the Pebble Time (Steel), and most of the hardware features: Display – Always-on, color e-paper display with LED backlight, 2.5D gorilla glass display Connectivity – Bluetooth Audio – Built-in microphone for voice reply Battery / Power Up to 2 days of battery life A 15 minutes charge gives you a day of use. Magnetic charging with cable working in any USB port Misc – 3x tactile buttons, vibrating motor for discreet alerts and alarms IP Rating – Splash resistant to IPX7 standard (Not waterproof […]

September 22, 2015September 22, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Link Dream i-Watch BT is a Both a Bluetooth Headset and a Watch

If you don’t like wearing your Bluetooth headset all the time, but also find it inconvenient to take it out of your pocket and/or bag once you do get call, Link Dream i-Watch BT might offer a solution. It’s a basic watch that carries a Bluetooth 3.0 headset, so you can easily use it as needed. Key features and specifications: Connectivity – Bluetooth V3.0 (CSR) with Headset, HFP, and A2DP profiles. Range: Up to 10 meters Display – Shows time and battery level Audio – Microphone USB – (micro?) USB port for charging Misc – Vibrator, LED, multi-function button, and time adjustment button Battery 180mAh Li-ion battery Talking time: Up to 1.5 – 2 hours; Standby time: Up to 200 hours (or 6 to 10 days depending where you read) Charging time: About 2 hours Charger – 5V @ 300 – 500mA Dimensions – 25.5 x 2.8 x 1.8 cm […]

July 27, 2015July 27, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

$55 UWatch UX Strapless Heart Rate Monitor Watch Syncs with iOS and Android Devices

Last time I checked about heart rate monitor, they required a chest strap to monitor ones heart rate, which I found cumbersome. It’s been while though, and I’ve now been informed that a low cost Bluetooth strapless heart rate monitor watch was available for $59.99 on GeekBuying. This type of product should provide a much more accurate evaluation of your daily calories burn rate than typical fitness bands based on an accelerometer and gyro sensor, but I’m not quite sure how they compare to the old models with a chest strap. Uwatch UX specifications and features: SoC – Mediatek Aster MT2501 ARM7 processor @ 108 MHz (A lower end version of MT2502 used in LinkIt One Devkit) System Memory – 32MB RAM Storage – 24MB NOR flash Heart rate monitor – Built-in photoelectric heart rate sensor Other sensors – magnetometer, 3-axis gravity and acceleration sensor Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 and […]

February 25, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Pebble Time is the Color Version of the Pebble SmartWatch (Crowdfunding)

The original Pebble Watch launched on Kickstarter about 3 years ago, and after selling over 1 million watches, the company is back on Kickstarter with Pebble Time, a thinner version of the watch with an always-on color e-Paper display, a new “timeline” user interface, a microphone for voice recognition, and 7 days of battery life. The complete Pebble Time specifications are not available, but the company still listed some key features: MCU – Cortex M4 Always-on, daylight readable 64 colors e-Paper display with backlight (no touchscreen) Six-axis gyrosope Microphone for dictation 3x tactile buttons Bluetooth for connectivity with mobile devices Up to 7 day battery life Compatible with any standard 22mm watch band Water resistant and durable Silent vibrating alarms Language and international character support (Chinese coming soon) The new Timeline interface focuses on past, present and future events such as basketball score, current steps, and weather forecast, and the […]

January 29, 2015May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

FOSDEM 2015 Schedule – January 31 – February 1 2015

FOSDEM (Free and Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting) takes place every year during the first week-end of February. This year the developer-oriented event expects to bring over 5000 geeks to share ideas and collaborate on open source projects. Contrary to most other events, it’s free to attend, and you don’t even need to register, just show up. FOSDEM 2015 will take place on January 31- February 1 in Brussels. There will be 551 sessions divided into 5 keynotes, 40 lightning talks, 6 certification exams, and with the bulk being developer rooms and main tracks, divided into 7 main tracks this year: Languages, Performance, Time, Typesetting, Hardware, Security and Miscellaneous. I’m not going to attend, but it’s still interested to see what will be talked about, and I’ve concocted my own little virtual program out of the main tracks and developers’ rooms. There’s a few minutes overlap between some talks […]

March 25, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Rufus Cuff Wrist Communicator is the Smart Watch Equivalent of Phablets (Crowdfunding)

A few years ago, smartphone with a 5″ display were also laughed at, before phablet basically became the norm. Now most smartwatches feature a screen between 1.5″ to 1.8″, but Rufus Cuff goes big with a 3″ screen, that you can strap to your wrist and be used a as watch, a web browser, music player, as well as send SMS and make calls via your smartphone, or if you don’t have one via VoIP thanks to the Wi-Fi connection. Here are the technical specifications: Processor – Texas Instruments Cortex A8 Processor (OMAP3 or Sitara) System Memory – N/A Storage – 16GB Storage Display – 3.0″ TFT Capacitive Touchscreen, 400 x 240 QVGA Resolution Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS Camera – Front-facing Video Camera Audio – Speaker, and microphone Sensors – Accelerometer, 6-Axis Gyroscope. Misc – Vibration Alert, Alerts & Flashlight LEDs Battery – ~1000 mAh […]