China manufacturers have been quick to jump on to the smart watch bandwagon and now produce a range of Android-based intelligent watches, many of which are positioned as health and fitness devices. Products feature image and video recording, music playing capability, night vision and even smartphone compatibility.
At the recently concluded China Souring Fair in Hong Kong, smart watches were at the forefront of the wearable technology selection as suppliers step up to the manufacturing plate for the line while Apple iWatch rumors continue to swirl.
Another wearable tech the world has its eyes on is Google Glass. Strategy Analytics predicts half a million Google Glass units will be sold in 2014, and this figure will jump to 10 million in 2017.
But consumers are wary about the social implications of wearing a device such as Glass, and their high price and the limited number of apps is also prohibitive.
Meanwhile, more muted and less invasive gadgets such as jewelry USB drives, MP3 sunglasses and cap cameras continue to be popular. Piggybacking on all the hype generated by the new generation of wearables, sales of these traditional devices are getting a boost.
Manufacturers in China offer a huge variety of such devices. Examples of fashion electronics include USB bracelets and pendants, spy hats, and MP3 and camera sunglasses.
Here is a selection of made-in-China smart watches and other wearable tech.
ID incoming calls on your wrist
This bracelet from Shenzhen Xingjiexun uses Bluetooth 2.1 to pair up with various mobile phones. The IDMI model vibrates to indicate an incoming call and displays the caller’s number.
The model also supports headset and handsfree profiles. It runs on an Li-polymer battery with a charging time of 2 or 3 hours, and comes in black, pearl white and rose red.
Tell time, make calls, take photos and videos, and play music on this multilingual smart watch from Iexcellence. The IEWPA6 model adopts GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900MHz. It has a DVGA 262K color 1.54in LCD screen with a 240×240-pixel resolution.
The watch phone has a 1.3MP camera and supports Bluetooth 3.0 with EDR. Standby and talk time are 200 and 2.5 hours, respectively.
Watch your phone
This watch phone from Guangdong Appscom works on GPRS, GSM 850/900/1800 and PCS-1900. It also has Bluetooth and a USB port built into the watchband. The TFT touchscreen is 1.33in.
CE certified, the G10-Red model can play MP3 and MPEG-4 files and supports multiple languages. It also has a camera and a heart rate monitor.
Bracelet combines form, function
This fashionable women’s metal belt bracelet from Shenzhen Hyperdon supports Bluetooth 2.0. When paired with a mobile phone, the HH3110-BW10 model vibrates with an incoming call and displays the caller’s number.
The product also vibrates when the distance between it and the mobile phone goes beyond 5m and the Bluetooth pairing is dropped. The model has a charging and standby time of 30 minutes and 60 hours, respectively.
Hats not only protect from the sun, they take photos and record videos too.
The ID-828H-5 model conceals a 5MP HD CMOS camera. Videos have a resolution of 320×420, 640×400, 720×480 and 1280×720 pixels. The camera runs on a 1,600mAh lithium battery that lasts for 4 hours of continuous use. A gift boxed set includes the hat, wireless remote control, adapter, USB cable and CD driver.
Say goodbye to your wired earphones with the model FT-263 MP3 sunglasses from Shenzhen Fortune. The product also plays WAV files. It has earbuds that extend from the frame and rotatable 280 degrees.
It runs on a lithium battery and has 15 hours of continuous playback.
This polyester tie conceals a DVR with a pinhole camera that takes 640×480-pixel AVI files at 30fps. It also comes with a remote control.
The DVR can be used up to 3 hours straight. It measures 130x45x10mm, and is compatible with Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP and Vista, and Mac and Linux OS.
The buckle on Shenzhen Chuangbinhuang’s model CBH-082 belt conceals a mini camera. It records 1080-pixel videos via a pinhole at the buckle’s lower middle.
The camera belt also supports night vision via IR. It is bundled with a remote control.
With its hidden camera, this baseball cap from Shenzhen Podi completes any secret spy’s get-up. The 1/3in CMOS camera has a resolution of 320 TVL. Videos are 320×240 pixels at 25fps.
The model also comes with a recorder with a 2.5in TFT OLED display and a 512MB SD card. It supports ASF files, and folder management and view. Recording time is 2 hours on battery power.
The gift of time and file storage
This watch pendant from ATT features a USB flash drive with up to 64GB memory. The product uses USB 2.0 and works on a Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000 and XP, and Mac OS 8.6 and higher.
This necklace MP3 player from Shenzhen Chengyuanda features a stylish black-and-silver case with clear and pink rhinestones. It has 32ohm magnetic speakers and runs on a lithium battery that lasts 8 to 10 hours of continuous use when fully charged.
This fashion ring from Shenzhen Haotier makes a statement and more. The HJ1016 model features a USB 2.0 flash drive with 215MB to 32GB capacity. Concealed behind the rose accent, the flash drive is pre-loaded, password-protected and space-partitioned. The reading and writing speeds are 16.2 and 5.2Mbps.
Editor’s Note: This article is contributed by Global Sources.
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