New Kickstarter project LunaR is a solar-powered smartwatch

If you’ve been wanting to get a smartwatch but the abysmal battery life of most of these wearables is putting you off, you might want to take a look at this new Kickstarter project. While it’s called LunaR, the smartwatch is actually solar-powered. While its 110mAh battery can be charged using a cable, the transparent solar panel built into the device will help keep it running as long as there is light around—whether that be solar or indoor lighting. According to the manufacturer, it can continue to run indefinitely even with just an hour of daily exposure.

On the smart device front, the LunaR comes with features like dual time zones, sunrise/sunset tracking, sleep monitoring, smartphone notifications, activity tracking, and alarms. This simple, elegant-looking watch also comes with 5 ATM waterproof construction. If you’re interested in backing the project, you can get one for as little as US$138 (around CA$170) and it’s expected to ship this December. Its retail price is estimated at US$239 (around CA$300).

Source: Android Authority

BlackBerry unveils all-touch Motion smartphone with IP67 rating

There’s a new BlackBerry device in town and this one is a product of the company’s licensing agreement with TCL. The all-touch BlackBerry Motion makes its appearance at GITEX 2017, an electronics trade show in Dubai. The Motion features a 5.5-in Full HD display, Android 7.1 (with Android 8.0 coming in 2018), 4GB of RAM, and the largest battery on a BlackBerry-branded handset at 4,000mAh. This sizable battery supports QuickCharge 3.0 support. But one of the more important features is that this is the first BlackBerry device with IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. It can be submerged in up to 3.3 feet for as long as 30 minutes.

We don’t have word yet what processor it uses but rumour has it that this is running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. The phone also comes with a fingerprint scanner on the home button in front and has a new Locker feature that will let you store documents and photos in an internal storage area and will need a PIN code or your fingerprint to access it. There are also four customizable Convenience Keys now including Home, Car, User, and Office. The device is coming to the UAE and Saudi Arabia this month with “select global markets” following. It’s priced at Dh1,699 in UAE, which is approximately CA$580.

Source: PhoneArena

Microsoft opens up Mixed Reality partnerships

Microsoft is on a mission to empower everyone to achieve more, and one of the ways we are doing that is through innovation with the most comprehensive approach to mixed reality- from handheld AR to immersive VR to the world’s first and still only self-contained holographic computer, HoloLens. At this event, we demonstrated how we are invested in mixed reality technology and are continuing the journey with our community of developers, commercial partners and consumers. 

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