2014 Smartwatch comparison guide

Wearable Electronics 2014 Smartwatch Comparison Guide Wearables still aren't quite mainstream products, but smartwatches did grow in popularity – not to mention quality – this year. Are you trying to pick one for the holidays? Join Gizmag, as we compare six of the best smartwatches you can buy today. read more Sports Internet-connected InPutter helps you work on your short game Though technology is now finding its way into sports of all kinds, none have proved the hotbed of innovation that the game of golf has. The InPutter is the latest piece of tech-enabled golf equipment to cross our desk, promising to lower your score by reshaping your short game. read more Motorcycles BikeHUD Adventure to include transparent display and front/rear HD cameras BikeHUD Adventure will have a transparent, high-definition display, front and rear facing 1080p cameras, and the ability to operate through a smartphone with no hardware installed on the bike. It's a significant upgrade to the only motorcycle HUD on the market. read more Science Metamaterials allow ultrasound to penetrate bone and metal A new technique involving complementary metamaterials allows high-frequency acoustic waves used in ultrasound to penetrate bone and metal by negating the properties of the so-called aberrating layers. read more Good Thinking Fugu Luggage expands travel options Fugu Luggage avoids the need to shell out for an extra suitcase to fit all that extra gear when returning from a trip by expanding from a maximum check-in size to maximum check-in size suitcase in under a minute. read more Wearable Electronics Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 provides window into a classic watch In the 21st century, a mechanical watch has to show off the gubbins inside to get any cred, so Girard-Perregaux is updating its Vintage 1945 model by adding a transparent sapphire dial to reveal the secrets behind the 69-year old classic. read more Space Elon Musk reveals SpaceX drone ships will retrieve reusable rockets SpaceX is banking on its plan to recycle rockets as a means of cutting the cost of space travel and transport. CEO Elon Musk revealed the latest part of this puzzle over the weekend: the autonomous spaceport drone ship. read more Good Thinking Google Contributor allows ad-free internet browsing for monthly fee The question of how to monetize content in an online media landscape has seen the emergence of some innovative business models. Google, whose AdWords service reaches most corners of the web, has unveiled scheme called Contributor that gives web users the option of eliminating ads for a monthly fee. read more Automotive Test drive: Behind the wheel of the BMW i3 After a long incubation period, the first cars released under BMW's sustainability-focused "i" sub-brand – the i3 city car and i8 sportscar – have been hitting roads around the globe throughout 2014. We climbed aboard the i3 to find out how it performs. read more Marine Video review: Sea-Doo Spark, a new direction for the PWC industry The Spark is by far the least powerful jet ski you can buy. It's also much, much lighter than its competition, giving it a competitive power to weight ratio and some unique handling abilities. And it burns just over a tenth of the fuel the big boys do. Loz Blain and Noel McKeegan take it for a spin. read more Bicycles Review: Togs handlebar thumb grip extensions Back in the 90s, a lot of mountain bikes sported handlebar end attachments. Now, a new product is attempting to bring back some of the attributes of bar ends, without their bulkiness or hooking hazards. They're called Togs, and we recently got to try a pair out. read more Automotive In Pictures: Cars of the 2014 LA Auto Show After grinding our soles around the floor of the LA Convention Center a few times, we bring you a bulging gallery of our favorite new, classic and future cars from the LA Auto Show. read more Space Lunar Mission One aims to take Moon exploration to new depths Another private space exploration venture is under way with the British-led Lunar Mission One announcing plans to send an unmanned robotic landing module to the South Pole of the Moon. read more Space Lockheed Martin begins Insight Mars lander final assembly At some point in every project, you stop unpacking the parts and start putting them together. What's true for flat-pack furniture is also true for spacecraft, so Lockheed Martin has begun the Assembly, Test and Launch Operations (ATLO) phase of NASA's InSight Mars lander project. read more Automotive VW premieres fuel cell-powered Golf SportWagen HyMotion at LA Auto Show Volkswagen has unveiled a new fuel cell vehicle – the Golf SportWagen HyMotion. According to VW, the demo car illustrates the automaker's strategy of implementing alternative drives into existing high-production vehicles, as opposed to starting from scratch by creating entirely new models. read more Wearable Electronics SMI announces eye-tracking upgrade for Oculus Rift The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset could soon be getting a boost in functionality. SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) is planning on adding eye tracking to the Oculus' recently-released Development Kit 2 (DK2). read more Electronics Philips introduces 75-watt equivalent flat LED light bulb The marketplace for LED light bulbs has become just a little more crowded, as Philips has announced the 75-watt equivalent version of its SlimStyle bulb. With an output of 1,100 lumens, it's a significant step up from the existing 60-watt equivalent model. read more Children Review: LeapFrog LeapTV educational games console The LeapFrog LeapTV games console, which combines Wii and Kinect-like active gameplay with educational content, is set to be a big hit this Christmas. Gizmag recently spent some time playing with the console to see if it deserves a place under your Christmas tree. read more Space VLT telescope reveals mysterious alignment of quasars with the Universe's large-scale structure Astronomers using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have discovered an alignment of supermassive black holes located billions of light-years apart. The team delved deeper, finding that the quasars aren't just linked to each other, but are also aligned with the large-scale structure of the Universe. read more Automotive Wearable mind-controlled flying racecar wins LA Auto Show Design Challenge If you were asked to design the perfect car, its attributes might include being fast, adaptable and controllable with your thoughts. And, needless to say, it would also be able to fly. All of these features are packed into the winning entry for this year's LA Auto Show Design Challenge. read more Home Entertainment HeadFoams Pro: Adults get nearly-indestructible headphones too HeadFoams Pro are an adult-sized follow-up to the nearly-indestructible child-centric HeadFoams headphones which we saw earlier this year. The new headphones retain the EVA foam design while gaining more grown-up features like in-cord controls and high-quality audio. read more Music Scottish company invites Skoogists to get their grooves on Skoogmusic has spent the last 4 years delivering its digital music-making instrument to schools around the world. Now the company has developed Skoog 2.0 for consumers, which benefits from a much-reduced cost of entry, new mobile companion apps, wireless capabilities and battery-powered portability. read more Automotive Mercedes revives Maybach name for long wheelbase S-Class Mercedes has used China's Auto Ghangzhou show to revive the Maybach name on an ultra high-end S-Class. The Mercedes-Maybach S600 is a long-wheelbase, V12-powered flagship for the Mercedes range, and aims to offer a level of exclusivity beyond that offered by the standard S-Class range. read more Robotics Behind the scenes at Quantum of the Seas' Two70 show Earlier this month, Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas cruise ship set sail on its maiden voyage. Gizmag chatted on the phone with one of the key people behind its interactive performance venue Two70, Tim Magill of 5+design, for a look behind the scenes of the space and its robotic performers. read more Good Thinking Touch-sensitive 3D maps guide the blind with spoken instructions Tactile graphics company Touch Graphics and the University of Buffalo's IDeA Center have collaborated to create multi-sensory 3D maps that give spoken directions and building information when touched, along with sound effects and overhead video projection related to a particular place. read more Sports ShotTracker keeps tabs on a basketballer's shooting success Shot statistics and analysis can reveal a treasure trove of useful information about a basketballer's game. The ShotTracker is a system that relies on wearable technology to track your shooting success, providing insights into your strengths and the areas in need of improvement. read more Special promotion for Gizmag readers The Skeye Nano Drone Meet the SKEYE Nano Drone, the shockingly agile, and tiny, flying machine. At just 4.0 × 4.0 centimers (or 1.57 × 1.57 inches) in size, this mini-quadcopter is perfect for airborne stunts (like figure 8s, banking turns, flips, etc) both indoors and outside. The SKEYE is high thrust, low weight, and has incredibly responsive controls are complimented by sophisticated circuitry, piezoelectric gyros, and accelerometers give the SKEYE Nano Drone outstanding stability and maneuverability. read more UNSUBSCRIBE You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at http://www.gizmag.com. Copyright Gizmag © 2014