smartwatch News - Page 10 of 13 - CNX Software

November 19, 2015November 20, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

NO.1 D3 Smartwatch Specs, Unboxing and Teardown

There are now many wearables, including fitness bands and smartwatches, on the market, but to me many fail on battery life, visibility, and price. The one that would match my requirements the best would be SMA-Q smartwatch, but in the meantime, I’m also interested in testing some more wearables at different price points. Tinydeal sent me NO.1 D3 smartwatch that sells for just $22.99 shipped. I’ll go first through the specifications, before checking of the watch more closely, and in a few days writing a review of the device. NO.1 D3 Smartwatch Specifications You should not expect much for this price, but the watch is surprisingly feature-packed (as taken from tinydeal website): SoC – Mediatek MT6261 processor with 32Mbit RAM, 32Mbit Flash Storage – Internal micro SD slot up to 16GB Display – 1.22″ capacitive touchscreen IPS display with 128×128 resolution Connectivity – Bluetooth 3.0 Cellular – 1x micro SIM […]

October 22, 2015December 3, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

SMA-Q Bluetooth Smartwatch Features a Color E-Paper Display, an Heart Rate Monitor… for $56 and Up

My Vidonn X5 activity tracker died on me a few weeks ago about over a year of service. While it was useful to keep me active thanks to its “steps” counter, I realized I was not a big fan of OLED displays as they aren’t turned on all the time in order to save power, and are hard to read when there’s a strong sunlight, the battery did not last that long (about 2 days), and using motion sensors to evaluate activity is not that accurate. So I’m interested in wearables with always-on displays, readable in sunlight, that don’t suck too much battery (e.g one charge per week), and with a strapless heart rate monitor. The first three are normally only achievable with E-Ink or E-Paper displays and the latter have become much more common thanks to electro-optical heart rate monitors. I’m also a budget conscious guy, so I’d like […]

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 15, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Rockchip RK6321 Dual Core Cortex A5 SoC Targets Wearables with WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G and GPS

Rockchip and Intel started to work on a platform called XMM6321 last year. It featured a dual Core Cortex A5 processor, 3G connectivity, WiFi, and GPS, which was aimed at entry level 3G smartphones and tablets. Fast forward to 2015, Rockchip showcased their RK6321 processor at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, with very similar specifications compared to XMM6321, but instead it targets wearables such as smartwatches, or children and elderly tracker. So I’ m not quite sure whether Intel XMM6321 and Rockchip RK6321 are the same processor with a different name, or Rochchip tweaked RK6321 specifically for wearables. Key features of Rockchip RK6321 processor: CPU – Two Cortex A5 cores up to 1GHz with 32KB L1 D-cache, 32KB L1 I-cache, and 512KB L2 cache GPU – Supports OpenGL ES 2.0 Memory and Storage I/F – 16-bit LP-DDR2 SDRAM, 8-bit eMMC, 16-bit NAND Display I/F – MIPI DSI up to FWVGA […]

October 14, 2015October 14, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

BLOCKS Modular Smartwatch Replaces the Watchband With Smart Modules (Crowdfunding)

While Project Ara aims to create a modular smartphone, the guys behind BLOCKS have designed a modular smartwatch with the Core (the main watch) and various hot swappable smart modules that clip together with a clasp make the watch band. BLOCKS’ Core specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor System Memory – 512 MB RAM Storage – 4GB flash (ePoP) Display – 1.36″ round display, resolution: 360 pixels diameter Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 Sensors – Accelerometer / Gyro Audio – Microphone Misc – Power button, vibration motor IP Rating – IP67 (but target is IP68) Battery – 400 mAh battery; good for ~1.5 days on a charge Dimensions – TBD Weight – TBD So the Core module is already a standalone smartwatch on its own, and they do provide one without module, but just a simple strap. The watch runs a modified version of Android Lollipop, and […]

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 […]

March 17, 2015March 17, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Neptune Suite Includes a Smartphone, Tablet, and HDMI Stick Powered by a Smartwatch (Crowdfunding)

The makers of Neptune Pine smartwatch have unsurprisingly decided to make another smartwatch which they called Neptune Hub. Why Hub? Because although this smartwatch can be used standalone, its quadcore processor can also control a smartphone, a tablet, and an HDMI stick, probably over Miracast. So they’ve taken the opposite view to other companies in the market which are using the smartphone as the brain of your smartwatch to some extends. Neptune Hub specifications: SoC – Quad-core processor @ 1.8GHz (probably Qualcomm) System Memory – N/A Storage – 64GB eMMC Display – 2.4″ capacitive touchscreen (36mm width) Cellular Connectivity – GSM/3G/LTE with nano SIM card slot Connectivity – 802.11 Wi-Fi, 60Hz WiGig 802.11ad, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS / A-GPS Audio – Microphone and speaker Sensors – Accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, digital compass, heart rate sensor, vibration motor Battery – 1,000 mAh Water resistant The watch will run Android 5.0 Lollipop, and […]

March 2, 2015March 2, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Huawei Watch May Be the Best Looking Android Wear Smartwatch So Far

If you think Motorola Moto 360 looks good, but find the black zone at the bottom of the display ruins it all, Huawei Watch may be what you’ve been looking for, with a similar rounded shape design, Android Wear, and when it is in watch mode it really looks like a standard watch without obstructions. Let’s go through the specifications first: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (APQ8026) quad core Cortex A7 @ 1.2GHz with Adreno 305 GPU System Memory – 512MB RAM Storage – 4GB ROM Display – 1.4″ full circle AMOLED display; 400×400, 286ppi; Sapphire crystal Audio – Built-in MIC Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0/4.1 Sensors – Gyroscope + Accelerometer, PPG (photoplethysmogram – for heart rate), Barometer, Vibration Motor Misc – Watch button at 2 o’clock Battery – 300mAh Material – Watch: 316L Stainless Steel; Watchband: stainless steel or leather Dimension – 42mm diameter by 11.3mm thickness Weight – […]