T3 India

Wearables

Sony releases premium range MDR-1000X headphones

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Sony has recently launched the new MDR-1000X active noise cancelling headphones in India targeting the higher end segment. The Bluetooth enabled headset can easily connect to a variety of devices like smartphones or music players and also includes NFC support.

With the use of Personal NC Optimiser, the headset can analyse the shape of a person’s head and the way they have worn it to apply appropriate noise cancellation. DSEE HX (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) upscales compressed music from any source to provide better sound output. Volume controls are also quite simple with a touch sensitive panel located on the ear casing.

Ambient sound mode helps users adjust sound levels based on the environment they are in. Coming to battery life, Sony claims it will have upto 20 hours of battery life when using Bluetooth and active noise cancellation. The headphones come with a leather case, airline adapter and an extra cable for wired connectivity.

The MDR-1000X are available in Black colour for a price of Rs.30,990. They will be sold across select Sony centres and major electronic stores in the country.

Track your waistline (and your steps) with this Samsung-powered smart belt

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Rising out of Samsung’s experimental Creative Lab (and shown off at CES earlier in the year), the design has now been picked up sports tech company Welt and its taken to Kickstarter to get the funding it needs to bring the design to the masses.

That design uses a magnetic sensor which tracks where on the belt your waist is currently sitting, with a size range from 28 to 44 supported as standard. Along with a step-monitoring pedometer, the data is fed directly into the official Welt app so you can track your decreasing tum with up-to-date measurements.

The belt itself uses Bluetooth 4.1 to keep that data fresh and offers over 20 hours of battery life per full charge. Welt says you can also use the belt to keep an eye on your eating habits, with warnings of over or under-eating built in to keep your diet safe and regular.

The design is selling like hot cakes on the crowdfunding site, too, having smashed its $30K goal in a matter of hours. If you’re quick you can grab an early-bird version of the belt for $99. Shipping is tentatively set for January 2017.

Via: Kickstarter

Fitbit unveils Charge 2, Flex 2 fitness bands

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Fitbit has expanded its range of fitness bands with the introduction of Charge 2 and Flex 2. Charge 2 takes over from its predecessor Charge HR and brings in a better, larger display and sleeker design. Just like the Charge HR, the Charge 2 comes with PurePulse that tracks heart rate continuously during a workout and even gives personalised cardio fitness level and score based on VO2 Max.

The Charge 2 also comes with guided deep-breathing sessions to lower blood pressure, which in effect will help to lower anxiety and stress levels. Additionally, it has multi-sport modes, connected GPS and interval workout mode.

The Fitbit Charge 2 will be available from late September for Rs. 14,999 at various stores and Amazon India if you’re looking to buy online. The classic fitness accessory bands for the Charge 2 are priced at Rs. 2,999, Luxe premium leather accessory bands for Rs. 6,999 and special edition series in gunmetal and rose gold colour at Rs. 16,999.

Fitbit-Flex-2_Family-1

As the name suggests, Flex 2 is an upgrade of its widely popular Flex wristband. The Flex 2 is ultra-slim and is now swim-proof with water resistance to up to 50 meters that automatically tracks pool swims including laps, duration, and calories burned and shows in the Fitbit app. Moreover, the Flex 2 has SmartTrack automatic exercise tracking that recognises workouts and offers reminders to move to reach mini hourly step goals.

The Flex 2 will be available from October at Rs. 9,499. Fitbit will also sell classic 3-pack fitness accessory band hues in Pink (blush pink, lavender and magenta) and Sport (gray, navy and yellow) for Rs. 2,999), bangle accessory in gold, rose gold for Rs. 9,999, silver stainless steel Rs. 8,999 and pendant accessory in gold for Rs. 9,999, silver stainless steel Rs. 7,999.

Goqii intros new fitness band and health ecosystem

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Fitness wearable manufacturers have been focusing on the hardware more than the software. However, with Goqii, a fitness startup based out of Mumbai, India, it’s the other way around. Yesterday, Goqii announced the second iteration of their fitness band and a suite of health-related services that aims to make the raw fitness data collected from the band useful.

Goqii provides personalised coaching service that based on your lifestyle and data, recommends and suggests health and nutrition advice. Although this has been the selling point for Goqii with the first-generation band as well, the ecosystem now enhances it further by offering medical consultation from doctors and syncing of diagnostic reports from Thyrocare. The Goqii app also supports Karma that allows to convert user’s daily steps into karma points that can be donated for social causes.

If we speak about the new band, it now integrates the USB charger and comes with NFC for contactless payments. Axis Bank is the exclusive partner for contactless payments that will allow users to pay directly through the fitness band to up to Rs. 10,000 everyday (five transactions a day not exceeding Rs. 2,000 each). The band also displays smart notifications from the connected device and boasts a 14-day battery life.

The Goqii personalised coaching service pricing starts from Rs. 1,999 for 3 months and goes up to Rs. 3,999 for a full year.

Goqii

Polar M600 smartwatch can now be preordered

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Fitness wearable maker Polar has announced the M600 smartwatch which is supposed to track all your activities 24/7. It is equipped with an integrated GPS and optical heart rate technology. It is available in a choice of black or white colour.

The Polar M600 is powered by a dual-core MediaTek MT2601 SoC clocked at 1.2GHz paired with 512GB RAM and 4GB internal storage. It features a 1.3″ display with 240x240p resolution protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It is equipped with Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, Gyroscope, Microphone sensor and Vibration Motor. The smartwatch is powered by a 500mAh battery and weighs 63 grams.

The M600 has been priced at 349 euros and is available for preorder directly from the Polar homepage although India has yet to be added to the list of countries where it can be shipped directly.