Recent trends in the market hint that wearable technology will become the next “it” fashion item in the near future. Investors are pouring millions into gadgets—from Google Glass to phone-charging handbags—to ensure their functionality is complemented with chic looks.
Until recently, few consumer technologies were designed to be fashion-forward. Here’s a look at several innovative companies’ ambitious attempts to make their mark in this lucrative new niche.
Digital Fitness Assistant
We’ve seen countless smart fitness wearables that wrap around the wrist, waist, or finger, but innovative tech company OMsignal has taken smart monitoring to a new level. “We’ve been wearing clothes all our lives. It’s the most natural and therefore the ultimate ‘wearable’ medium,” says CEO and founder Stéphane Marceau. Yes, folks, shirts are the latest wearable items to incorporate advanced technology. Fitting seamlessly under your clothes and doubling as an excellent workout shirt, its fabric is treated with an anti-microbial, silver-based solution to destroy odor-causing bacteria. Strategically placed compression provides posture support around the shoulders, helping you stand straighter, taller, and encouraging better breathing while providing life-improving insights to help manage energy and physical stress levels. However, this tech-savvy shirt is not the best invention from OMsignal…it gets better
If you wish to use the OM Focus shirt’s potential as an exercise assistant to the fullest, this data module (sold separately) records and streams continuous, real-time biometric data wirelessly form your shirt to your phone. The module is compact, water-resistant, and can track heart rate, breathing rate and depth, exercise intensity, steps taken, burned calories, and heart rate variability. As seen in the picture, the module is attached neatly just above your ribcage on either side – or you will hardly feel it.
The perfect accessory to holster your smartphone on your arm to keep tabs on your performance while you work out, this smartphone sleeve is designed with flat seams and a seamless knit for extra comfort, with a unique blend of wicking fibers to keep it dry and sweat-proof.
Style with a Spec
While some might think Samsung’s NX mini mirrorless camera went a tad far in catering to the style-minded in that, while it’s eye-catching, that small sensor and reduced control won’t please demanding shooters. Appropriately, the company is bridging the gap between the mini and the bigger NX300 with the new NX3000. This mid-range camera even straddles the line when it comes to lenses, as one variant includes a 16 – 50mm stabilized power zoom lens that’s shorter than the 18 – 55mm kit optics from heftier NX models. The NX3000 carries the mini’s basic 480 x 320 flip-up display that would do the job for any selfie needs, and microSD storage. Note, however, that the shutter is fixed to speed of the current lineup at 1/4,000th of a second, so this may not be the best choice for action photography. Nevertheless, it is still the perfect choice if you’re cost-conscious. The NX3000 will start at $479 (with a regular 20-50mm lens) when it ships to the US on June 1, and the power zoom kit will cost only a bit more at $529.
Barely Weighty
The MSI Ghost Pro is a high-end gaming laptop that offers high mobility coupled with elite specifications to handle demanding games like the visually stunning Bioshock Infinite or Borderlands 2. Thanks to the built-in GeForce GTX 870Mm graphic card, this hardware can dish out stunning “3K” (2,880 x 1,620) resolution on its extra-sharp 15.6-inch screen. Powered by a quad-core 2.4GHz Core i7 processor, 16GB of memory, 128GB SSD and a 1TB conventional HDD, the Ghost Pro is extremely versatile at handling other resource-intensive tasks such as video rendering and image manipulating. And did we mention its highly mobile? At only 4.4 pounds and 0.8-inch thick body, the lightweight Ghost Pro enables you to bring your games, and your work, anywhere you go.
