Asus Vivowatch, LG G4, Huawei P8, Microsoft Band, Swimmo fitness band: Gadget Digest
Added: about 15 hours ago
From fitness bands capable of tracking your swimming progress, to a smartwatch that lasts all week and longer, it's been a great week for gadget lovers. And now we're reaching the weekend it's time to glance back at the biggest and best stories from the past few days. So read on as we take a look in our Gadget Digest.
Wearables galore
We've seen all sorts of wearables and fitness bands over the past couple of years, and now there's a smartwatch designed specifically for the swimming pool. Capable of tracking laps and swimming cadence, Swimmo could be the ideal wearable for fitness freaks, but could you imagine ditching the Apple Watch in favour of one?
If you're after a more conventional fitness band, there's always the Microsoft Band, which is finally touching down in the UK. You can order the Band now, and it costs a reasonable £169.99.
Asus hit the headlines this week, with its new VivoWatch. We already loved the look of the Asus ZenWatch, but the VivoWatch could be one of the best all-rounders yet, packing in a 10-day battery life that would put it in a direct head-to-head with the Pebble Time.
While it may not fall into the traditional wristband category when you think of 'wearables', the Panasonic HX-A1 wearable camera also popped up this week, and it looks more than capable of giving GoPro a run for its money.
Throw in a wearable for dogs, capable of tracking the fitness for your canine friend, and it's dfficult to ask for anything more!
Luxurious smartphones
There's been plenty going on in the past few days when it comes to smartwatches too, not least with leaks of the leather-clad LG G4. Whether the use of leather will be enough to make people want to go for the G4 over the gorgeous Samsung Galaxy S6 remains to be seen, but top marks to LG for trying something a little different - we’ll be finding out a bit more about LG’s flagship closer to its official launch.
We saw some smart additions on the software side of things this week too, and the next time you lose your phone, you'll now be able to Google it. With the ability to type
'find my phone' into Google, and have a web app launch to track down the Android blower logged into your Google account could be a life saver, and you can also make it ring in case it's simply lost somewhere down the back of your sofa.
Huawei made the news on Wednesday with its new P8 and P8 Max flagships, and the metal-clad wonders look ideal if you're a fan of big screens. There's a 5.2-inch panel on the P8, and the P8 Max gets a monster 6.8-inch display - a tad too big for most people, we'd imagine. Stay tuned for our full review of the P8.
And in other news...
It's also been a good week for more unconventional gadgets, such as the new Dyson Hot + Cool AM09 - a heater which, as the name cunningly hints, is capable of blowing both hot and cold air. We loved the Cirrus7 Nimbini micro PC, and the Xbox One has also received a promotional price cut - will you be jumping in?
