smartwatch News - Page 8 of 13 - CNX Software

March 28, 2016March 28, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Learn How to Build Your Own Open Source Hardware ESP8266 Smartwatch

ESP8266 might be the cheapest WiFi SoC for IoT application available, but it’s not really renowned for its power efficiency, and is often not considered the best choice for battery powered applications. This has not stopped Jeifa from developing a WiFi smartwatch based on the chip, and the 250 mAh battery used in the design is said to be good enough for 1 or 2 days of operation on a charge. Main components of Jeija’s ESP8266 smartwatch: SoC – Espressif ESP8266 with 32Mbit of flash memory Display – SSD1306 OLED Display, 128×64 resolution Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (via ESP8266) Sensor – Invensense MPU-9250 gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass Debugging / Programming – FT232RQ for USB communication Misc RV-3029-C2 Real Time Clock with alarm function, and temperature sensor 3x user buttons Vibration Motor Power 250mAh LiPo battery MCP73831 LiPo charger Dimensions – 35 x 39 x 11mm (board) He designed the […]

February 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Hexiwear is an Open Source Wearable Development Kit Expandable with Add-on Boards (Crowdfunding)

MikroElektronika has designed Hexiwear, a wearable development kit that you can wear and hack as a smartwatch thanks to an (optionally) included wristband, or use a an IoT development kit thanks to its docking station taking up to three “Click” boards among a choice of over 180 modules. . Hexiwear hardware specifications: MCU – NXP Kinetis K64x ARM Cortex-M4 MCU @ 120 MHz with 1MB Flash and 256KB SRAM Storage – 8 MB Flash memory Display – 1.1” full color OLED display with capacitive touch Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE and 802.15.4 via NXP Kinetis KW4x Cortex-M0+ wireless MCU Sensors -3D accelerometer and magnetometer (NXP FXOS8700CQ), 3-Axis gyroscope (NXP FXAS21002), pressure sensor (NXP MPL3115A2R1), light-to-digital converter, humidity and temperature sensor, heart-rate sensor (HRM) USB – micro USB cable for power and charging Misc – RGB LED, haptic feedback engine, docking connector Battery – 190 mAh 2C Li-Po battery; 600 mA […]

February 23, 2016February 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Makibes F69 IP68 Smartwatch & Fitness Tracker is Designed for Swimming

The market is flooded with wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers that all track activities (walking/running) with more or less accuracy, and while some offer good IP67 or IP68 ingress protection rating, or even better 5ATM rating, allowing them to be used in water, I have not found many that can actually track swimming patterns, especially among the cheaper ones. But that’s exactly what Makibes F69 sports smartwatch promises. Makibes F69 specifications: MCU/Memory/Storage – TBD Display – 1″ round capacity touchscreen display, 128×128 resolution, always on Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE Sensors – 3-axis accelerometer and gyroscope, heart rate monitor Battery – 180 mAh charged via magnetic dock good for 6 days in power saving mode, 4 days in “healthy” hear rate mode, and 30 hours using the HRM in sports mode. Dimensions – 38 x38 x 10 mm (stainless steel case, silicon band) Weight – 34 grams IP […]

February 19, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Samsung Gear S2 Classic 3G Smartwatch Features an eSIM for Cellular Connectivity, Runs Tizen

Samsung has announced that Gear S2 classic 3G smartwatch would be first device in the market to be equipped with a GSMA compliant eSIM (Embedded SIM) The round watch is also powered by a dual core processor coupled with 512MB RAM and 4GB flash to run Tizen based wearable platform. Galaxy Gear S2 Classic 3G specifications: SoC – Dual core processor @ 1.0 GHz System Memory – 512MB Storage – 4GB RAM Display – 1.2” circular super AMOLED display, 360×360 resolution, 302ppi Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n/e, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, 3G/4G (HSPA+ voice and data networks) Audio Codec – MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ Audio Format – MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG Sensors – Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Heart Rate, Ambient Light, Barometer Dimension – 44.0 x 46.9 x 13.4 (54g) Battery – 300mAh Li-ion; Wireless Charging; 2~3days on a charge IP Rating – IP68 Certified Dust and Water Resistant The watch will run Tizen, and include a […]

February 12, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon Wear 2100 for Smartwatches, 3 New Cortex A53 Mobile SoCs

Qualcomm has unveiled four new Snapdragon processors with three quad and octa core Cortex A53 processors for smartphones with 4G LTE connectivity, and a new wearables SoC with lower power and, area compared to Snapdragon 400 series processor often used in smartwatches. Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC is the first processor part of Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear, of new platform targeting wearable devices, with the company listing the following highlights: Quad core Cortex A7 processor @ up to 800 MHz or 1.2 GHz Adreno 304 GPU 30% smaller than Snapdragon 400 25% percent lower power than Snapdragon 400 Integrated, ultra-low power sensor hub Available in both tethered (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi) and connected (4G/LTE and 3G via X5 LTE modem) pin-to-pin compatible versions The SoC supports Android Wear, and Android, and should be found in smart watches, smart bands, smart eyewear and smart headsets. Snapdragon Wear 2100 and other Snapdragon Wear products are […]

January 13, 2016January 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Bluboo Xwatch Android Wear Smart Watch is Now Pre-selling for $99

Bluboo Xwatch is a smartwatch based on Mediatek MT2601 SoC that runs Android Wear. So far, we only knew the factory price would be around $80, but the watch has now showed up on several website such as GearBest and GeekBuying and is pre-selling for as low as $99.99 according to Bluboo, which would likely make it the cheapest Android Wear watch on the market today. The specifications have not changed much since the first announcement, but there are lots of differing specs across the sites: SoC – Mediatek MT2601 dual core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.2GHz with ARM Mali-400 MP GPU System Memory – 512MB RAM Storage – 4GB flash Display – 1.3″ round muti-touch display with 360×360 resolution Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0, GPS Sensors – Gyroscope, barometer, heart rate monitor, altimeter, compass Battery – 400 to 480mAh polymer battery (80 hours standby time) Dimensions – 5.4 x 4.5 x […]

January 6, 2016January 6, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Omron Project Zero BP6000 is Both a Blood Pressure Monitor and a Smartwatch

Many smartwaches or fitness trackers include an heart rate monitor, but instead many people need to monitor their blood pressure to make sure it’s not too high (hypertension) or low (hypotension). Usually this involves either going to the doctor, or doing measurements at home with a blood pressure monitor by placing a cuff on the upper arm, and in this should take a short time, but many people may still not want to bother with the procedure. So Omron has designed a new blood pressure monitor that looks like a large smartwatch, and includes the same function as fitness monitors, in order to simply the process further, and have more people regularly measure their blood pressure. Technical details about Project Zero wrist blood pressure monitor (BPM) are not fully available yet, but we do now the company is going through FDA approval, so contrary to gadgets with heat rate monitors […]

January 5, 2016May 10, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Mediatek Unveils MT2523 SiP for GPS Enabled, Bluetooth LE Wearables

Silicon manufacturers are starting to launch ever more integrated solutions specifically designed for wearables, and after Samsung S3FBP5A bio-processor unveiled a few days ago, MediaTek has launched MT2623 ARM Cortex M4 System-in-Package (SiP) with GPS, Bluetooth LE, and a MIPI DSI interface. Other details are sparse but here’s what the company disclosed for MT2523: MCU core – ARM Cortex M4 GPU – 2D accelerator supporting true colors, per-pixel alpha channel, anti-aliasing fonts, and 1-bit index color to save memory. Connectivity – Dual-mode Bluetooth Low Energy and GPS Display – MIPI DSI and serial interfaces Integrated PMU Battery Life – More than a week (typical) The SiP’s printed circuit board area is said to be 41% percent smaller than competitors’ solutions. MT2523 will be available to manufacturers in H1 2016, and found in active and fitness smartwatches a little later. Thanks to Nanik for the tip. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software […]