Pebble SmartWatch App Store heading your way early 2014

The Pebble Smartwatch has proven to be quite popular and has amassed a fair amount of developer support. Due to the lack of a consolidated place to get hold of these applications and watchfaces, users have to hunt through third party apps and websites to download them. Pebble aims to solve this problem with the launch of their app store early 2014.

 pebble-app-store

The new App Store will be a part of an updated application for both iOS and Android and will have subdivisions in seven categories. Continue reading “Pebble SmartWatch App Store heading your way early 2014”

Qualcomm Toq Smartwatch will be available for $349.99 starting December 2nd

qualcomm-toq-release-date-price-349-december-2

Qualcomm Toq, a proof of concept Smartwatch from Qualcomm has been given a price tag and an availability date. It is priced at 349.99 USD and is slated to be available for order, starting December 2nd. The smartwatch, which is meant to be a show and tell of Qualcomm tech in the upcoming wearable computing era, uses several of its technologies like Mirasol and WiPower LE. We had taken a hands on look at this device at IFA, Berlin, you can watch the video here –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhfcQKLuSQQ

Continue reading “Qualcomm Toq Smartwatch will be available for $349.99 starting December 2nd”

Qualcomm Toq Smartwatch with Mirasol Display Hands On

qualcomm-toq-handson

Qualcomm announced its own smartwatch known as the Toq at its annual developer conference UPLINQ 2013 in San Diego just before IFA 2013 in Berlin and we were lucky enough to meet folks from Qualcomm at IFA including Rob Chandok who is President of Qualcomm Internet Services and SVP of Qualcomm Technologies. We were indeed surprised that we could get our hands on the Toq Smartwatch. This Smartwatch seems pretty interesting compared to other similar products like the Samsung Galaxy Gear and Sony SmartWatch 2. Qualcomm has been working on the product for over 2 years and this is evident from the build quality and design of the product. Feels very premium and thought out. The best part is the Mirasol display which translates to great battery life and sun light visibility. Watch our hands on video below –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhfcQKLuSQQ

Continue reading “Qualcomm Toq Smartwatch with Mirasol Display Hands On”

Samsung Galaxy Gear Hands On

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Much has been leaked about Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch. Today at the Unpacked Event in Berlin, we finally got a chance to see for ourselves if the Korean giant’s first efforts to enter into the world of wearables would be something special and here are our first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy Gear. Shaped like a conventional watch, the Gear is chunky to say the least. It might not be the most visually appealing smartwatch but it’s not an eye sore either. The front is essentially a 1.63 inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 320 x 320. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Gear Hands On”

Qualcomm announces its own Smartwatch – the Toq, with a Mirasol display that can last for days

qualcomm-toq

You just witnessed the “Sixth Sense” guy Pranav Mistry reveal the latest Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch with much excitement, but Qualcomm had their own “Digital sixth sense” idea. The guys behind the Snapdragon processors have just announced their own implementation of a wearable computer – the Toq Smartwatch. Pronounced “Talk”, the smartwatch has been blessed with Qualcomm’s own technologies like the super low power reflective display tech – Mirasol, Qualcomm WiPower wireless charging and proprietary Qualcomm MEMS technology. Skip past the break for more details and watch this video now –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzTrqifCOhs#t=15

Continue reading “Qualcomm announces its own Smartwatch – the Toq, with a Mirasol display that can last for days”

Samsung Galaxy Gear with 1.63inch display announced at IFA

Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watch finally went official at the IFA 2013 event in Berlin, Germany. The Galaxy Gear was one of the most expected devices at the Samsung Unpacked 2. Galaxy Gear smart watch comes with a 1.63inch 320×320 pixels AMOLED display.

samsung-galaxy-gear

In terms of design, the front of the Galaxy Gear is dominated by the display and it is surrounded by metal frame (unusual for Samsung). The strap on the smart watch is made of rubber and as predicted by the rumors, there is a camera that is built onto the strap. The Galaxy Gear isn’t anything on its own and it mainly serves as a companion for your smartphone. The Galaxy Gear is connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth.

Since only the latest version of Android (4.3 Jellybean) supports Low energy bluetooth profile, the number of compatible devices is expected to be limited at launch.

When connected to a smartphone, the Galaxy Gear will have the ability to receive calls, take voice memos and it will display all the notifications from your smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watch Specifications

  • 800MHz Single core processor
  • 1.63inch 320×320 AMOLED display ( 277ppi)
  • 1.9MP AutoFocus camera with BSI sensor
  • 720p playback and recording
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • 4GB internal memory + 512MB RAM
  • 315mAh battery

The Galaxy Gear smart watch will be available in six different colors at launch – Jet Black, Mocha Gray, Wild Orange, Oatmeal Beige, Rose Gold, and Lime Green.

There is no word on pricing yet, but the Galaxy Gear will be launching along with Galaxy Note 3 on September 25th across 140 countries.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear launch event at IFA 2013 Live Blog

Samsung IFA 2013 Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear Live blog

FoneArena is at IFA in Berlin, Germany and we are going to be covering the Samsung and Sony press conferences which are set for today September 4th 2013.If you are looking forward to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 or the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch do stay tuned to FoneArena’s live coverage of the Samsung unpacked press conference from Berlin.Follow the live blog below for minute by minute updates from the launch event.The actual event is supposed to start at 7PM Germany time or about 10:30PM India time, so on your browser.

Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear launch event at IFA 2013 Live Blog”

Samsung Gear Manager screenshots leak ahead of Galaxy Gear smartwatch launch

It is no secret that Samsung plans to introduce a smartwatch at its upcoming event at IFA. Ahead of the launch, prolific leaker of upcoming devices ie evleaks has posted screenshots of the application that will interface with the watch.

Screen Shot 2013-08-30 at 2.45.37 AM

The images confirm that the watch will be using NFC for pairing with smartphones but will also employ regular bluetooth based connectivity. The watch that is named SM-V700 will have a variety of apps including clock faces and several Samsung specific applications. A My Apps section can also be seen in the software but it remains to be seen what is included here. A find my watch function will presumably trigger an alarm and/or vibration feedback to help you locate your watch. We’ll be reporting live from IFA next week where we’ll have the complete low down on the Samsung Galaxy Gear, the Note III and all other devices announced. Excited about Samsung’s smartwatch? Let us know why in the comments below!

[Via – Evleaks]

Sony unveils the SmartWatch 2 for Android with one touch NFC

sony-smartwatch-2

Smartwatches have always been a niche at best. Recently spurred into prominence by crowd funded hardware innovators like Pebble, amidst rumours of Apple being interested in a similar device, the smart watch is suddenly cool again, and Sony wants in on the market enthusiasm. While they pioneered a bluetooth watch since 2007, Sony has unveiled its latest iteration of the same – the Sony SmartWatch 2. Made for Android devices running on v4.0 ICS or later, the watch sports NFC one touch pairing and promises several utilitarian functionality to grace your wrist. This has been launched in conjunction with the massive 6.4 inch Sony Xperia Z Ultra, check that out. Watch this official promo to get an idea of what it is –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoUzM7WYlP0

Continue reading “Sony unveils the SmartWatch 2 for Android with one touch NFC”

Sony SmartWatch successor to be announced at Mobile Asia Expo next week?

Sony SmartWatch 2 MEA 2013

Tweets from the official Sony Xperia hints at the successor of the Sony SmartWatch that is expected to be unveiled at the Mobile Asia Expo 2013 in Shanghai next week. Sony unveiled the first SmartWatch back in January 2012 with a 1.3” (128×128 pixels) OLED touch display that can wirelessly and discreetly access calls, messages and applications. It uses Bluetooth to communicate with the phone, and its dust and splash proof. Continue reading “Sony SmartWatch successor to be announced at Mobile Asia Expo next week?”