Wearable Electronics

01:37 April 10, 2009 PDT

While laptops have ushered in the era of mobile computing, their form factor still dictates the need to use a desk, table, or at the very least, a lap. Other handheld units are easier to use on the move but would be even better if we had another appendage, given that one hand is rendered useless through the need to hold the device. The solution - wear your computer. This example for Glacier Computer - the new Ridgeline W200 wearable computer - combines the same features of a standard computer with a device that straps to the wrist to provide hands-free operation while retaining full access at all times. Read More

The watch of many faces

By Anne Hanrahan

06:07 April 7, 2009 PDT

While we've seen our share of obscure and unusual watch designs, we're always on the lookout for the next innovation that might catch on in the world of wrist worn timepieces. This example may not prove to be the next Swatch, but the customizable OLED "UNI watch" concept by Takemura Ori definitely caught our eye. Read More

Taser AXON wearable surveillance kit – to protect, serve and record

22:33 March 24, 2009 PDT

Dashboard cameras mounted on police vehicles have proven their worth in backing up courtroom testimony by providing a video record of incidents – as well as giving reality cop shows a veritable wealth of real life footage. Now a new product from Taser International, the company responsible for the electroshock weapon that bears that name, takes the idea one step further by capturing video and audio of incidents from the visual perspective of the responding officer. Read More

Apple's new talking iPod Shuffle

23:20 March 12, 2009 PDT

Call it anti-social if you like, but a lot of people listen to portable music players to avoid being spoken to. This hasn’t stopped Apple adding a new VoiceOver feature that speaks song titles, artists and playlist names to the latest iPod shuffle while also shrinking it to nearly half the size of its predecessor. The third generation Shuffle can store 4GB (around 1,000 songs) worth of music in a unit that is smaller than an AA battery. This reduction in size has seen the controls moved from the unit itself onto the included earphone cord - an immediate issue if you don’t happen to like Apple’s earphones. The featureless aluminum design includes the usual built-in stainless steel clip for wearability, but the feature sure to get the most interest is VoiceOver. Read More

The Blancpain 500 Fathoms watch

21:15 February 11, 2009 PST

Just a few weeks back, we wrote about an exhibition celebrating the Blancpain 50 fathoms watch, one of the most desirable technological boys' toys of the last half century. Now, on the eve of the Baselworld 2009 watch show, Blancpain has released details of the new 500 Fathoms watch. That's right, it's water-resistant to ten times the depth of the 50 fathoms and will now take you safely to 1000 metres depth and back. Quite appropriately, it comes equipped with a helium decompression valve which is vital when diving in a closed environment. Read More

Romain Jerome's Moon Dust-DNA watch collection (with real moon dust)

20:37 February 1, 2009 PST

Romain Jerome's Moon Dust-DNA watch collection (with real moon dust)

When Romain Jerome decided to differentiate itself from the other 600 Swiss watchmakers by creating a series of watches with "Titanic-DNA" containing steel from the Titanic, we speculated the undisclosed future "DNA of Famous Legends" series might contain inaccessible materials such as bits from the Space Shuttle, the Concorde, famous guns such as the AK-47 or perhaps famous warships.” Bingo! The second legend in the series will incorporate moon dust as well as fragments of the Apollo XI and Soyuz space shuttles and the International Space Station ISS. Read More

Bagtv: techno chic or fashion faux pas?

23:40 December 23, 2008 PST

It may not be the most logical example of a two-in-one product we've ever seen, but Bagtv will almost certainly score you some points in the novelty department. As the name suggests, this line of handbags incorporates a 7-inch LCD screen into the design so that you can watch DVDs, Mpegs and view photos while you're out and about in the urban jungle. Read More

Solar sunglasses: making the most out of the summer sun

21:05 December 18, 2008 PST

The Self-Energy Converting Sunglasses (SIG)

They may or may not set the fashion world alight, but these solar power-generating sunglasses designed by Hyun-Joong Kim and Kwang-Seok Jeong deserve top marks for ingenuity. As well as providing UV protection from the sun, the concept employs dye solar cells integrated into the lenses to power your portable electronic devices. Read More

Sony Ericsson's first collection of Bluetooth watches for women

01:32 October 27, 2008 PDT

Sony Ericsson's first collection of Bluetooth watches for women

Have you ever missed a call while frantically searching for your mobile in the bottom of your handbag? Sony Ericsson has followed on from the MBW-150 Bluetooth watch range with the announcement of the MBW-200 series, the first from the company designed specifically for female consumers. Read More

iBangle wearable design concept

19:57 October 26, 2008 PDT

Apple has a well deserved reputation for churning out slick designs and is equally adept at keeping us guessing as to what's around the corner. Designer Gopinath Prasana is one aficionado who has decided not to wait and see, instead coming up with his own take on what the iPod of the future might look like. Dubbed the iBangle, the concept design turns the iPod into a wrist worn, aluminum bracelet complete with an adjustable air chamber on the inner face that can be inflated to ensure a snug fit. Read More

Solar-powered G-Shock Rose Gold Series watches launched

23:29 October 22, 2008 PDT

Casio has added to its well-known G-Shock collection with the introduction of its premium Rose Gold series. The new line of watches combine shock-resistance characteristics with self-adjusting atomic timekeeping technology and a mini solar panel for extended battery life. Read More

Smart fabrics and the future of healthcare

By Kyle Sherer

22:56 October 22, 2008 PDT

Smart Fabrics: Context is developing wearable sensors that could detect RSI

You don’t often hear fashion mentioned in the same sentence as cutting edge medical technology (unless you watch Grey’s Anatomy), but shirts that double as health monitors are just one type of garment under consideration in the emerging smart fabrics industry, a market that is estimated to be worth over €300 million, with a growth rate of roughly 20% per year. Read More

GrandCliff Double Retrograde Skyscrapers wristwatch

02:49 October 14, 2008 PDT

GrandCliff Double Retrograde Skyscrapers wristwatch

Ultra-contemporary timepiece designs can sometimes let aesthetic considerations get in the way of actually being able to tell the time, but Swiss watchmaker Pierre DeRoche has struck a sophisticated balance with it's latest offering - the GrandCliff Double Retrograde Skyscrapers. Read More

Gresso's limited edition 192Gb USB pendant

22:40 September 24, 2008 PDT

Gresso's limited edition 192Gb USB pendant

The latest high-end tech offering from Gresso is a cleverly designed USB Flash drive pendant that incorporates three separate 64 Gb memory sticks into a single unit made from 200-year-old African Blackwood with diamond and gold trimmings. A limited run of 99 pieces has been announced for the ENIGMA collection, but prospective buyers will have to dig deep. Read More

Nooka adds to unconventional watch range

00:14 September 4, 2008 PDT

Nooka watches combine unusual form and function in order to tell time, where dots and bars fill space as the minutes and hours pass. Three new Nooka models have just been released designed suit a range of tastes from chic to utilitarian. Read More

Caterpillar, SRAM and Brembo brands interpreted as watches

By Loz Blain

22:49 July 12, 2008 PDT

July 10, 2008 Wrist watches long ago gave up any pretense of pure practicality, and for an accessory that's now primarily for style it's interesting to note how conservative their designs have remained. Design student Nicolas Lehotzky feels that there will soon be a shift in the market away from the more traditional look towards more creative watches - and he's put his money where his mouth is with three spectacularly bizarre prototype timepieces that he has built from the inside out to reflect the brand and product values of Caterpillar, Brembo and SRAM. Read More

eMagin's OLED Z800 3DVisor

By Kyle Sherer

19:50 May 25, 2008 PDT

eMagin's Z800 3DVisor uses two OLED microdisplays to provide wearers with the 3D equivalent of a 105-inch display viewed at 12 feet’s distance. Drawing its power entirely from a USB connection, the Z800 3DVisor integrates the SVGA 3D OLED microdisplays with stereo audio, a noise canceling microphone, and a high-speed headtracker that enables full 360-degree virtual-surround viewing. Read More

URWERK compressed-air powered wristwatch

By Kyle Sherer

17:22 April 15, 2008 PDT

April 16, 2008 URWERK has released the world’s first watch that uses compressed air to regulate the winding system. The UR-202 features a 3-position selector switch that controls the level of air compression generated by its miniature twin turbines, which in turn control the rate of automatic winding. Read More

Head-mounted camera for recording special moments

03:50 April 15, 2008 PDT

Head-mounted camera for recording special moments

We firmly believe that recording one’s life is a coming trend and will eventually become pervasive – it’s a big statement but recording digital video is now child’s play and storage is getting cheaper all the time and a 24-7 hi-res recording from your Point-Of-View (POV) sure beats snapshots in a shoebox under the bed. Microsoft is working towards providing wearable camera technology, and a recent concept we saw looks quite viable. If you can’t wait for those advanced concepts, there’s now a reasonably priced, high-resolution head-worn camera. Read More

The beat-box backpack

21:50 March 25, 2008 PDT

March 26, 2008 In the 80's it was the boombox on the shoulder, could the 21st century be the era of the stereo backpack? Not likely, but this hardshell "Boom Boom Backpack" featured by Yanko Design would be ahead of the pack style-wise if the idea ever caught on. Read More

Watch with “Titanic DNA”

18:35 March 23, 2008 PDT

March 24, 2008 We’re not exactly sure what’s being celebrated with Geneva-based Romain Jerome’s series of watches with "Titanic-DNA" – they’re all very high-end watches integrating real steel from the Titanic and the Harland and Wolff shipyard where it was built. After all, the Titanic’s sinking was one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history with 1500 lost souls. The Titanic was the largest passenger steamship in the world at the time of its launching and was touted as both high tech and unsinkable, so its demise caused a massive adjustment in the public’s previous blind faith in new technology. Geneva-based ROMAIN JEROME caused quite a stir last year with the Basel World release of the first Titanic-DNA watch and a year on, with its DNA range of watches established, there are new models, ranging from diamond-encrusted through pink gold and titanium, to our favourite which is appropriately rusted. Read More

Zenith Defy Xtreme wrist watch

22:53 March 9, 2008 PDT

March 10, 2008 Luxury Swiss watchmaker Zenith’s Defy Xtreme range features a multi-layered dial of Hesalite glass surrounded by a blackened titanium case that is waterproof at 1000 meters, a titanium bracelet with Kevlar inserts and high-temperature resistance, plus a position sensitive gyroscope cage Tourbillon designed to enhance accuracy. Read More

The Icelink Snow 6 Timezone Watch

20:10 March 2, 2008 PST

March 3, 2008 Watches with multiple time zones on display are becoming increasingly relevant as telecommunications is conquering the tyranny of distance, which makes Gemwatchmaker IceLink’s patent on watches displaying six time zones a valuable asset to the company. It began making its 6 Timezone watches some time back, but the latest release is special – instead of six time zones it features four plus power reserve plus a “snow zone” - dozens of floating diamonds are suspended in a special IceFuel liquid, so the precious stones swirl delicately with the movements of the wrist. Read More

The first commercial Brain Computer Interface