9 Best Wearable Tech Gadgets

Ever since Google showed off its Projects Glass, the tech world has been buzzing with the concept of wearable tech. No, it is hardly new – remember Casio’s ‘smart watch’ from the early 1980s, which was basically a calculator than could also show time and depending on the model, track a few notes too – but it has never really gone mainstream. However, with the likes of Google (and perhaps even Apple) showing interest in the field, it might not be long before you find yourself donning a cutting edge gadget instead of carrying it in your pocket or handbag. If that sounds a bit hard to digest, here’s a look at some gadgets and gizmos that you can actually wear right now.

Wrist bands have been associated with fashion statements rather than utility. But now wrist bands are all set to become the next frontier in the world of technology and will soon be called ‘smart bands’.

Jawbone Up is a wrist band that is making waves. It looks like a normal wrist band but can actually track pulse and sleep patterns. Broadly, it helps in tracking the wellness of a human being. And it does not look bad either!

Nike+Fuel is a light contraption worn like a wrist band. Just put it on and the band will track one’s daily activity including running, walking, playing, dancing, and a whole lot more, thanks to a sports-tested accelerometer. It has a quick look displays, allowing the user to see just how well they are doing.

It tracks each step taken and calorie burned and also tells the time taken for this. The generated data can be synced via a desktop app on a Mac or on iOS devices (no support for Android at the time of writing). It comes in three attractive colors.

This is a gaming shoe from Nike that has sensors in its soles to track every movement made on a basketball court and is synced directly to an iPhone, giving a player information on the length of a jump, speed of the player and intensity involved in an action during a basketball match.

And, with these insights, feedback and a community of elite players, players can improve their game every time they go out play. Nike Hyperdunk+ can be customized in different colors and patterns. Sole tech provider indeed.

When Google Glass started making news, people thought it was basically a set of Google with augmented reality. Today, it seems so much more than that. In simple terms, Google Glass is a pair of spectacles that serves as a head mounted display controlled by a small micro computer within.

It is furnished with a camera and a button on top for taking pictures, a touch pad, compass, a micro USB charger, a speaker and an accelerometer. According to Google, glass users can see texts, e-mails and can also check weather in real time. Users can navigate using voice activated commands and the augmented reality interface can serve up information about objects around you. Users can even record videos or snap few pictures and share them instantly. Just like in sci-fi!

These 3D glasses from Sony look straight out of the Hollywood blockbusters, Tron. They look stylish although they are definitely on the bulky side. This is basically a head mounted device with its own 3D display, and is a great tool for private entertainment. If featured an OLED screens and can create a 720p HD display with 3D, with 5.1 channel virtual surround sound. One can play games and watch 3D and HD movies on it as well. Heady stuff!

Circuit M dress looks just like any other silk dress for women. But it also accepts a standard SIM card and allows the person wearing it to receive and make calls without carrying a mobile phone in their pocket or purse.

Designed by Cutecircuit, it allows the user to insert their SIM card in the slot below the label, letting the dress function as a mobile phone. To receive calls, users have to lift an arm and use the embedded speaker near the wrist.

One limitation of the M Dress is that it does not have a display so you cannot know who is calling until you have received the call. Also, you can only call on one programmed number of your choice.

Fraunhofer has jumped into the wearable into the wearable tech sector and has introduced a FitnessSHIRT that can pick up electrical activity from the cardiac muscles as well as measure breathing through an elastic band around the chest. The result is a shirt that not only covers your body but also provides you information about it, thanks to an assortment of sensors. Staying in shape just got a whole new meaning. In fact, there are many experts who believe that the next big thing in wearable technology is not going to be spectacles, but garments.

Sony entered the wearable technology sector last year when it launched the Sony Smartwatch that could work with any Xperia device. The SmartWatch is a wrist-ready Android device that sports a 1.3-inch OLED screen with a screen resolution of 128X128 pixels. It is lightweight at just 40g with the wristband. The device can tell the time, and when paired over Bluetooth with an Android device, can also display text messages, call details, deliver weather information, and show social network notifications as well. The closest thing to a phone on your wrist right now.

Casio BT Watch

A Bluetooth 4.0 watch that can be used as an extension to the iPhone, the BT watch can be synced with the iPhone to receive incoming call alerts, mail alerts, and social networking alerts. And if you manage to misplace your iPhone, you can even make it issue a finding alarm from the watch. There is a built-in sensor in the watch, which puts it in hibernate mode to conserve battery when not in use. The watch can automatically adjust time by synchronizing to time data received from the iPhone.