Samsung, Sony, Huawei Bring Style to Wearable Gadgets at MWC

by Nathan Eddy

The Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch has a 2-megapixel camera and a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display capable of 320-by-320 resolution. It also has a 1.0GHz dual-core processor and supports microphone input. Built-in health sensors include a heart rate monitor, pedometer and sleep monitor. Arguably the most important thing about the Gear 2 watches is that Samsung has used them as its foray into Tizen, an open-source operating system born from MeeGo, the OS Intel developed with Nokia.

Billed as the world’s first wearable device with a curved AMOLED screen, the Gear Fit offers a 1.84-inch display with a resolution of 432 by 128, a battery that lasts two to three days, connectivity to other devices thanks to Bluetooth technology, and a weight of just 1 ounce. The dust- and water-resistant device keeps consumers up to date with instant notifications from Galaxy smartphones, such as incoming calls, emails, SMS, alarm and S-planner notifications. Changeable straps in Black, Orange and Mocha Grey let users express their style or daily mood.

This device’s 1.4-inch flexible OLED display hides a surprise feature—the display can be removed to transform the band into a sort of mobile phone supporting wireless calls. In addition to the typical fitness features like steps taken and calories burned, the Talk Band B1 will also monitor your sleep habits, and it boasts near-field communication (NFC) technology for smartphone pairing.

The Ibis is wearable jewelry, crafted in crystal and stainless steel. The design was inspired by a flying bird whose wing tips touch together while carrying a young bird on its back, in what the company says was an effort to symbolize the precious and personal current of information on the watch. Inside, the device runs on a low power-optimized Android platform with a custom user interface.

Interoperable with iOS and Android platforms, the device sports an OLED display with integrated touch capabilities; WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and USB connectivity; an accelerometer; an e-compass; an ambient light sensor; and remote control capability and notifications with the user’s smartphone. The killer app, of course, is the highly original and eye-catching design—a recent Gartner report on wearable technology suggested most smartwatches have not achieved mass-market appeal due to the lack of innovative design.

Arriving in March for around $100 and available only in black, the SWR10 is meant to be paired with the Lifelog application, a control center that collects daily stats, tracking sleep, logging places and storing other activity on an Android device. The band will also talk to your phone, storing GPS information, allowing you to make notes and monitoring social media activity. As an alerting device, the band will vibrate when important smartphone alerts occur, flash a series of LED nights to catch the eye and also function as a silent alarm.

While its products may be lacking a bit in the design panache of its wearable tech competitors, Vuzix, a supplier of video eyewear and smart glasses, brought its products to MWC, including the M100 smart glasses shown here. The Android-based wearable monocular display and computer boasts recording features and wireless connectivity capabilities and comes preinstalled with apps that can be used to record and play back still pictures and video, track timed events, manage your calendar and link to a phone.

Connectedevice’s Cogito smartwatch, which debuted at CES, looks like a conventional watch, complete with an analog face as well as hour and minute hands. But behind the face lies computing technology that links the watch to a smartphone and will set off alerts about emails, text messages, calls and calendar events. It can be preordered for $179.

Crafted with stainless steel and Corning Gorilla Glass, every Steel comes with metal and leather straps, is fully compatible with all Pebble apps and sports a new tricolor LED display. The waterproof device has a battery life capacity of between 5 and 7 days, and it works with both Android and iOS operating systems. The watch also comes with a magnetic cable for easy charging—and it looks sharp to boot.

The Lifeband Touch Activity Tracker merges fitness and connectivity, syncing wirelessly through Bluetooth with the LG Fitness App, a free download on an Android or iOS smartphone. The Lifeband Touch becomes a functioning fitness accessory, sending activity data to the touch-scroll OLED screen, as well as to the app. To share fitness achievements with like-minded friends, the Lifeband Touch interfaces with MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper and other popular fitness apps.