Glance Turns Almost Any Wrist Gear Into a Smart Device

It's not a smartwatch, but it's pretty dang close.

Glance is a wristband prototype accessory that can effectively turn a regular watch into a smartwatch. Designed by Kiwi Wearables, a startup based out of Toronto, Canada, Glance can be tucked in behind a regular watch band and synced with a smartphone.

The device can alert the wearer to incoming calls or text messages, track movement and be used as a remote control for a smart TV, according to the device's Kickstarter page.

Unlike many smartphones, which can only survive a few hours of optimum use before needing juice, Glance's designers created it to last for a week without charging. When its power is low, the Glance's battery can easily be recharged via its USB port, just like any other mobile device.

Glance also uses a 3D motion detector to measure movement. For example, it can tell how many steps you've taken or how many miles you've biked. It also has the added benefit of being waterproof.

The team behind Glance is looking to raise $150,000 by July 3 to fund the project. So far, they have nearly 500 contributors who have collectively put up just over $41,000.

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Report: iWatch to Get LG-Made Flexible Display

The much-anticipated Apple iWatch may come with a flexible display manufactured by LG, a new report suggests.

According to Korean website Naver (and a translation via G for Games, LG will be the exclusive supplier for the iWatch's flexible display. This coincides with other reports that surfaced in January, indicating LG would be a major player in developing displays for the connected smartwatch.

Also in line with rumors, the sources said the iWatch will come in two sizes: 1.3 inches and 1.5 inches. We could also see the smartwatch debut with various material options, which could put some models into the thousands of dollars bracket.

LG is a longtime Apple supplier and provides many of the displays for the Cupertino giant's iPad tablets, iMac and Thunderbolt displays.

Although the launch date is still in question, September is still the month that's being tossed around.

The report also said Apple aims to sell about 9 million iWatch devices by the end of the year.

Image:  TODD HAMILTON

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Apple Prepping Sensors That Predict Heart Attacks, Report Says

We now know that Apple held closed-door talks with Tesla, a meeting of two innovative companies that hints at a number of possibilities. But buried in that same report from the San Francisco Chronicle is the news that Apple may also be preparing to release a heart-attack prediction device.

According to the report, Apple is developing sensor technology that would be able to predict heart attacks. The effort, led by audio expert Tomlinson Holman, the inventor of THX and 10.2 surround sound, will reportedly focus on the sound blood makes as it travels through a person's arteries.

However, in order for Apple's supposed sensor to monitor the sound of a person's blood, that device would likely have to be worn on a person's body. Therefore, this new information directly points to the continued rumors of an upcoming Apple wearable device, commonly referred to as the iWatch.

The iWatch implications of the San Francisco Chronicle report are further backed by last week's news that Apple hired medical-device expert Marcelo Malini Lamego. What's more, a report in January claimed that Apple is also working on new health-focused apps for iOS.

If this new report regarding Apple's heart sensor research pans out — barring a surprise move by the company to enter the medical scanner bed industry — Apple's rumored iWatch will turn out to be far more broadly impactful than anyone could have guessed.

Image : KIN CHEUNG/ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Animated iWatch Concept Is the Most Realistic You've Ever Seen

Although Apple remains tight-lipped about any plans to release a wearable device, the persistent rumors and concept mock-ups continue to stir excitement among fans and industry analysts alike.

The latest conceptual take on the rumored iWatch is a video animation that presents an extremely realistic look at how the device might work if it becomes a real product.

Created by San Francisco-based professional interface designer Todd Hamilton, this new iWatch concept fuses the sleek design of the Nike FuelBand with the minimalist interface treatments of Apple's iOS 7.

Hamilton says the initial inspiration for the concept came from a similar mock-up that cropped up late last year.

“It was an impressive concept that got a lot of people excited including myself,” Hamilton wrote in a blog post accompanying the video. “However, it had a major flaw: The orientation of the interface made it impossible to use…I wanted to retain a slim form factor like the FuelBand and incorporate familiar UI components from iOS 7."

The new concept not only makes the concept iWatch easier to use from a practical standpoint by giving the interface a vertical orientation, but also updates the operating system in order to give viewers a better vision of what the operation of the device might really look like.

While Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, wears a Nike FuelBand and has dropped hints about new product categories, for now, this is closest and most realistic take on a possible iWatch we’ve seen.

Image:  TODD HAMILTON

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Apple's iWatch coming in 2014

 Apple's iWatch

  

  

Wearable computing devices such as Google Glass eyewear are widely seen as the next frontier in consumer electronics, following the huge popularity of smartphones.

Competition in the "smartwatch" market is heating up, with Google, Microsoft and Samsung Electronics racing to develop their own watch-type computing devices.

California-based Apple last month filed a trademark application for an "iWatch" in Japan.
Apple chief Tim Cook earlier this year forecast that there will be "tons of companies playing" in the wearable computing sector.

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