Now that our handheld devices have reached a state that there are not many new developments to be seen, the wearables are picking up pace. Smartwatches and fitness bands are just the start and we will see much wider variety of wearables. These devices can also find some good use in travel. To showcase the new developments in wearable device industry, Reed Exhibitions Ltd. Japan is hosting the 2^nd Wearable Expo. We have picked some interesting wearable devices from the exhibitors at this upcoming event that will be useful to travellers:

Bioman by AiQ Smart Clothing

With the BioMan smart clothing, you can give your fitness band a pass. Made by Taiwan based AiQ, the MioMan smart shirt can keep track of your body vitals like heart rate, respiration rate and skin temperature and share the information with your smartphone via Bluetooth. This can be really useful for people who go for trekking and other adventure sports to keep an eye on their body vitals.

AiQ also makes other clothing items like touchscreen friendly gloves, heating garments and anti-radiation textile.

Head mounted display by Green Optics

Augmented reality is very intriguing as technology companies have shown us promising applications of the technology. The head mounted display by Green Optics is one such application. It has a micro display that is positioned in front of your eyes and it expands the image generated to give an illusion that you are looking at the image on a 50 inch display placed 2m away. It takes input signal through an HDMI port and can be used for multiple applications. Travellers can use it on the go for their personal entertainment or for easy navigation.

Silmee W20/21 by Toshiba

While there are plenty of health and fitness trackers available in the market, Toshiba has gone a step further and made a device for people who need an accurate tracker. The devices can measure skin temperature, meal time, pulse, UV level and more. The W21 has also got GPS so it can also track position outdoors. This is especially good for people who go out cycling or trekking as they don’t have to carry their mobile phones to keep a track of position. The device battery lasts for 2 weeks so one wont have to bother about charging while travelling.

Hotopia by Sankiconsys

This could be something of interest to people travelling to cold destinations. The Hotopia is a fabric heater which evenly heats up every single fabric element when supplied with power. Adding more smart technology to the equation is the Bluetooth controller which allows one to easily alter the temperature or switch it on or off. This is something that will be useful for all sorts of travellers.

Wearable Beacon by Innotech corporation

While this isn’t something that will be directly useful to the travellers, it can find applications in the travel industry. Beacons will find wide applications in the travel industry to personalise the experience. Wearable beacons can be used as an access control device or for tracking kids at a resort.

You can find more details about the event and the exhibitors here. We are proud to announce that TravHQ is media partner for Wearable Expo. Stay tuned for more updates from the event.

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There is no denying the fact that Apple Watch is a great accessory for travellers. Over time it has gained more features as more travel brands come up with their apps and find use of the tiny screen. While it is a very well designed product and less invasive than using a phone all the time, it has its own share of shortcomings. It will work only with an iPhone and the battery life is really nothing to talk about. The pricing isn’t its strong point either. There are many smartwatches available that make a strong case as an Apple Watch alternative. Here are some of them:

#1. LG Watch Urbane

The LG Watch Urbane looks like an expensive watch with its full metal casing and round face. The watch comes with leather straps that can be swapped out for any strap with 22 mm pins. It has IP67 rating making it waterproof upto 1 metre and 30 minutes.

(Image: LG Watch Urbane by janitors/CC BY 2.0)

It comes with a 1.3 inch 320 x 320 P-OLED display which is crisp and bright. Powering the device is a reasonably powerful Snapdragon 400 chipset and it comes with the usual sensors like heart rate monitor, barometer and compass. It also gets Wi-Fi which allows some features to be used without a mobile device. If you can do away without the metal, G Watch R offers similar features at a lower price. You can find more details here.

Price- INR 25,000 (Flipkart)

#2. Sony Smartwatch 3

The Smartwatch 3 is another impressive wearable running Android Wear. While it doesn’t look as stylish as a watch with circular face, it doesn’t disappoint either. It has a 1.6 inch display which is bigger compared to most watches in the market. Instead of the usual OLED or IPS displays, they have used transflective display which can be used without backlight if there is sufficient ambient light. It can help in saving battery as people spend most of the time outdoors while travelling.

(Image: Sony Smartwatch 3 by pestoverde/CC BY 2.0)

Another feature that makes it a good choice for travellers is the micro USB port. This allows for it to be charged using any charger saving the need to carry a dock. The hardware is similar to other android watches out there and it gets on-board GPS too, to log your hikes and runs. You can find more details here.

Price- INR 17,890 (Amazon)

#3. Moto 360 2

The first generation Moto 360 was a beautiful smartwatch and the second generation device is even better. Now it comes in two size options and more customisation options. Just like the previous version, it looks like a traditional watch with the stainless steel body and not a mini smartphone strapped to your wrist. It comes with Gorilla Glass display and IP 67 dust & water resistance.

(Image: Motorola Moto 360 by janitors/CC BY 2.0)

Similar to the Sony watch, it comes with Wi-Fi making it usable without the phone. It lacks GPS but soon there will be a Moto 360 Sport for the cycling and running enthusiasts among us. The battery life is pretty good and can last couple of days under light use. You can find out more about it here.

Price- INR 19,999 (Flipkart)

#4. Pebble Time

This smartwatch doesn’t look pretty by any standards and there is a possibility that it lacks some of the features you will find on other smartwatches but we have a very strong reason for putting it on the list. It offers a promise of 7 day battery life and delivers very close to that. This means you don’t have to worry about charging it and won’t have to carry the dock while travelling. It is also very light at just 42.5 Gms making it comfortable to wear for long.

(Image: Pebble Time by ravi-shah/CC BY 2.0)

It has a coloured e-ink display which makes it so power efficient. Sadly the display quality isn’t great to show graphics and it is more functional than fancy. Just like all the other smartwatches on this list, it is compatible with both iOS and Android. If you are willing to overlook some shortcomings, the Pebble Time is a good option. Find more details here.

Price- INR 9,950 (USD 149.99 Pebble)

#5. Tag Heuer Connected

If you have been staying away from the smartwatches until now because they aren’t as premium as your conventional watch, this is the watch for you. The Tag Heuer Connected looks very much like any other Tag Heuer and you don’t immediately notice that it is a smartwatch. This is the kind of watch you won’t mind wearing to your business meeting. It is big but light, thanks to the use of premium materials like titanium.

The display on Connected is transreflective so it is usable even in bright sunlight without burning power on battery. The watch faces are superb with great attention to detail. All the Android Wear features are present here but less intrusive as the focus is on displaying the time more than anything. It runs an Intel chipset unlike the Qualcomm on most other watches. This watch of course comes with a hefty price tag (USD 1500). You can find more details here.

Price- INR 99,500 (USD 1500) Unavailable online in India

What other smartwatches do you think work best? Would you pick any of these over an Apple Watch?

The post Planning to get a smartwatch? Here are 5 awesome alternatives to the Apple Watch appeared first on TravHQ.

With our gadgets shrinking in size everyday, a new category of devices is taking shape.  This new breed of devices is known as smartwatches. A lot of big names in the mobile industry (and a couple of unheard ones) joined the game and came up with their versions of smartwatches. The concept isn’t exactly very new but it has started to make sense only for the past couple of years. Before that, wearable devices were more like downsized PDAs with a band fixed onto them. Now however they look like a watch (well, if you look from a distance) and claim to handle lot more jobs in conjunction with your smartphone.

(Image: Apple- Watch Sport by clockmaker-jp/ CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Cupertino giant Apple announced its entry into the segment and is taking pre orders at the time of writing this post (and probably delivering by the time you read this). It is very likely that their entry into the segment would stir things up and increase the rate of adoption of wearables. Now just like with any other device, a whole new army of developers is rising to cater to the smartwatches. Brands have put on their thinking caps to figure out how they can make good use of what this new platform has to offer. Until now we have seen a large number of health and fitness apps make it to these devices but the travel industry is following closely. So if you haven’t done it yet, now is a good time to consider this new platform.

(Read: Experience of using Apple Watch while travelling)

If you have given it a thought and done some research already, you must have found a dozen reasons to make an early entry on the platform. We won’t deny the fact that it is tempting. People will be curious to see how they can use the watch to unlock their hotel room or check their flight status. Remember the bowling and dice rolling motion games we all used to have when the first iPhone came in? They were annoying and nobody would play them for more than a couple of minutes but still they were something new. You would keep them in your phone because there were very few apps (or games) making use of the motion sensor. The Apple watch could do something similar to your app but is it really worth making an immediate move? We tell you why you should slow down with your watch plans.

How are you going to use it?

Before you ask your team of developers if they can develop a watch app, ask yourself if you have a strong use case. You don’t just need to come up with a use of the application but also think about the user scenario. You have to keep in mind that the Apple watch (or any other smartwatch) has got limited screen space and suits jobs that involve less steps (exactly why the developer kit won’t allow you to add many features). You have to try and find entirely new applications as redesigning your existing app for the watch won’t exactly be the best course of action in most cases.

How many will use it?

Android wear devices have been around for a while now but the numbers haven’t been very impressive. This is expected to change with the Apple watch which, as experts suggest, is going to sell in big numbers. But the Apple Watch requires an iPhone to work and the number would still be a small fraction when compared to the number of iPhone that will be sold over the same period of time. On top of that, you can be very sure that not everyone with a smartwatch would download your app. So clearly you are catering to limited audience here for now. Try to weigh the effort against the reach you will get and then decide if you still want to do it.

Is your mobile app good?

See what people have to say about your app

How good is your mobile phone app? Is it working seamlessly across all devices? How do people rate your app on App Store and Google Play? If you are doubtful about any of these, you should probably focus on the mobile app first before you jump on a new platform. If your mobile app isn’t good, people might not even bother trying your watch app. Take the reviews seriously, respond to comments and use the feedback to build a better app if it isn’t good enough.

Who will bear the costs?

Just developing a watch app might not do the job. If you are an hotelier, you might be tempted to add keyless entry that can make use of Apple Watch. The idea is pretty good but the costs involved are a bit steep. Will the costs be transmitted to the customers? It makes perfect sense for high end luxury hotel chains like Hilton or Marriott where the cost of each room is very high and the setup cost would just be a fraction of it. The same number could make a huge difference in the cost of room of a budget hotel and there is a possibility that it might not even boost the number of incoming customers.

So before you jump on this bandwagon, take these factors into account. The wearables aren’t going out anytime soon and might make more sense sometime in future.

Update (Sept 18, 2015): Added link to our long term review of Apple Watch

The post Why your travel brand shouldn’t join the wearable race appeared first on TravHQ.

Apple recently introduced the Apple Watch and it has caused quite a stir in the market. The wearable hasn’t been made available in the Indian market yet. Many international travel brands have introduced apps for this new device and now Cleartrip has done the same. This makes them the first Indian travel brand to have an Apple Watch app.

The Apple Watch will be reaching customers’ hands (or wrists) soon and brands are working fast to make sure they use the newfound medium in best possible way. After the fitness apps, travel brands are the ones most eager to use this medium and many of the major players already have an Apple Watch app. Cleartrip has been quick in serving its offerings like Passbook support and iOS 7 tailored app to Apple users and now it is the first Indian OTA to have an app for Apple Watch.

The app will show you your upcoming trips

The objective of a watch app is to provide a simple interface and just the right amount of data that can be consumed using the small screen. Cleartrip has taken care of this very well and the app displays a concise list of your flight bookings. It also uses the glance feature and the Cleartrip glance would show you your next trip till 24 hours before departure. In the last 24 hours, it will add more details like the flight number and its status. The app also supports notifications so you can choose to be notified on your watch if your flight is rescheduled or cancelled.

You will get updates through notifications

Wearable devices like Pebble and Moto 360 haven’t seen much adoption until now but Apple’s entry in the segment will surely turn up the heat. Experts suggest that the Apple Watches will contribute to over half of the total sales of wearables. Apple Watch is not on sale in India and it is going to be a while (at least 2-3 months according to sources) before it arrives. So at this moment, this is more about making the PRs than serving an offering to users. Cleartrip says that with the watch app, they are preparing for the future and we agree. The app is surely going to be useful once the wearable is available in India.

Cleartrip is a major player in the scene and has taken a head start with this move. We still think that many brands need to get other things in order before they start with the wearables. (Read:Why your travel brand shouldn’t join the wearable race)

We are yet to try the Cleartrip Apple Watch app. If you have tried it already, please share your reviews with us.

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