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CES 2015: A Smartwatch Show

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CES 2015: A Smartwatch Show

If there's one product category that is more than well represented at CES 2015 that's the smartwatch, with offerings in all shapes and sizes launched by companies perhaps less known for dabbling in such technology.

One such example is Garmin, who revealed not one, not two, but three smartwatches. These are the Vivoactive (the company's first dedicated smartwatch), the rugged Fenix3 and the GLONASS-enabled Epix. All feature the usual email/text/social media notification features, as well as Garmin-powered navigation and a newly launched Connect IQ app store.

Meanwhile budget mobile maker Alcatel presents an affordable smartwatch-- the Onetouch Watch, a sub-€100 device previously known as the "Wave." Available in either plastic or all-metal versions, the Watch features a round 1.2-inch display and runs on proprietary software.

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Griffin Charging at CES 2015

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Griffin Charging at CES 2015

Griffin Technology releases four mobile device charging accessories at CES 2015-- the PowerDock Pro 5-slot charging slot, the 3-port PowerBlock 3 wall charger, the PowerBlock Wall Dock and the 12V PowerJolt Premium car charger.

The PowerDock Pro features 5 slots and ports for customers to store and charge multiple devices from a single power source, with 12W of power and what Griffin calls "ChargeSensor" circuitry to optimise charging for each device. The charging slots carry devices without need for removing from cases, and a built-in cord management system complete with hidden compartment takes care of cables.

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Sony Gives Smarts to Any Glasses

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Sony Gives Smarts to Any Glasses

Sony announces a means of turning any regular piece of eyewear into Google Glass-style "smart" glasses with the "Single-Lens Display Module", a device light enough for users to attach their glasses.

The module carries a colour 640x400 OLED microdisplay, an optical unit and a miniature control board complete with processor and sensor hub. Connectivity comes through wifi and Bluetooth.

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The Health-Tracking Gaming Mouse

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The Health-Tracking Gaming Mouse

MionixLabs suggests all high-end mice lack the one feature its NAOS Quantified Gaming mouse offers-- built-in sensors allowing gamers to gather and analyse health data, just like athletes do.

The sensors measure heart rate, galvanic skin response and actions per minute, and QG software plots gathered data in a series of graphs. Users can view the data as a transparent on-screen overlay during gameplay, one complete with real-time feedback such as threshold warnings. You know, in case one needs to be reminded to take a break from too much CounterStrike…

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Samsung's 2nd Gen Eye Mouse

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Samsung's 2nd Gen Eye Mouse

Samsung launches its 2nd generation "eye mouse"-- the EYECAN+, described by  as "a single-unit portable box" able to calibrate with the users' eye without need for their wearing glasses or similar devices.

The EYECAN+ unit sits underneath the monitor, and does not require the user to sit in any specific position. Designed for use by the disabled, it only requires calibration for first-time users, and features a 2-mode UI in the shape of a rectangular menu board or wheel, each with 18 pre-configurable commands.

Control comes solely through eye movement and blinking. Commands include “copy,” “paste” and “select all,” as well as “drag and drop,” “scroll” and “zoom in.” One can also create additional custom commands.

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The iPad as Kitchen Companion

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The iPad as Kitchen Companion

Drop announces the Connected Scale and companion recipe app, a combination of digital scale and interactive recipes allowing customers to turn their iPad into a kitchen companion of sorts.

The concept is simple enough. The Connected Scale displays the weight of ingredients on the the iPad display (following connection via Bluetooth LE), while the app provides step-by-step recipe instructions complete with videos and real-time monitoring of ingredient weights on the scale.

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Logitech Intros Keys-to-Go

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Logitech Intros Keys-to-Go

Logitech launches the Keys-To-Go-- a standalone portable Bluetooth keyboard for use with the all iPad generations, with keys offering tactile feedback even while fused into a water-repellant FabricSkin covering.

It is 6.1mm thick, weighs 180g and carries a rechargeable keyboard promising up to 3 months of use on a single charge.

Logitech also announces upgrades to its current keyboard-equipped iPad case linups-- meaning the Type+ and Ultrathin cases are now compatible with the iPad Air 2.

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16.8m Colours in Excalibur RGB Keyboard

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16.8m Colours in Excalibur RGB Keyboard

The Tesoro Excalibur RGB (G7NFL) is a gaming keyboard featuring mechanical keys and LED backlighting providing a palette of 16.8 million colours, with different lighting modes and 4 levels of LED backlight dimming.

Users can set the illumination to modes such as "breathing", "colour mode" and 2 gaming modes where only game-relevant keys are lit up.

It also features Full N-Key Rollover (NKRO) for full anti-ghosting functionality or USB NKRO, with a 1000Hz polling rate ensuring no keystroke is missed. Meanwhile 512KB of onboard memory allow users to record macros without need for external software, and each key is fully programmable. Tesoro says the keyboard stores 5 sets of profiles, 300 macro keys and 2000 macro key presses per profile.

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Microsoft Details Wearable Plans

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Microsoft Details Wearable Plans

Microsoft confirms its wearable device ambitions and announces Health, a health and fitness platform complete with cloud service, mobile device app and, of course, a fitness wearable dubbed "Band."

News on Microsoft's wearable device emerged last week via Forbes and The Verge, although rumours on the company working on such a device date as far back as May 2013.

The Microsoft Band, like its name, is a simple enough device. Described as a "smart band," it is designed for 24/7 use and features 10 sensors, including an optical heart rate monitor, 3-axis accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS, ambient light, UV light and more.

Battery life-- arguably the most important feature of any wearable device-- clocks at 48 hours of "normal use" via twin 100mAh batteries, although the GPS probably shortens it. Charging takes 1.5 hours via magnetically attached USB charger.

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