A GEEK’S ACCESSORY GUIDE

OM SHIRT

Here’s one way to literally work out smarter. The OM Shirt by OMsignal features health sensors embedded into the fabric that measure your activity, physiological stress, and fitness levels via your breathing and heart rate. Whichever style you choose - under-shirt, sleeveless shirt, casual T-shirt or long-sleeved shirt, all the magic works through a little black box that gathers the information from the shirt and sends it to the OMsignal app on your phone. The OM Shirt works in your everyday life too, tracking your time spend active or at rest. For example, it can send reminders to breathe deep when it detects that your breathing is shallow and can generate a Personal Analytics Report that is sent to you via email.

GOOGLE GLASS

In the past five years, no piece of technology has attracted as much interest, controversy, and speculation as Google Glass. Glass is essentially a pair of spectacles with a computer and a heads up display built in. It has a microphone for voice recognition and it touches the bones behind your ear, allowing you to hear sound through vibrations. Through a Bluetooth connection with your smartphone, you can call people without ever taking your phone out of your pocket; you can even make video calls. A built-in camera lets you record whatever you’re looking at as a picture or video, and share it straight away. If you ever need to research something, you can ask Google or open websites and browse the internet directly, all just by using your voice.

IBAG

This next generation tote, known as the iBag ( no association to Apple), is “designed to physically deter shoppers from accessing their credit cards when they’re at their most vulnerable”, according to its creators, Australia-based website creditcardfinder.com.au. The bag uses various sensors to help control your spending, including an RFID system that knows when you take out your wallet, a GPS chip to know where you are, and a GSM module to text you when you enter a place you determine as a ‘danger spending zone’. You can even program it to lock itself at certain times of the day. It is set to retail for AUD$199, an extreme option for those who have exhausted every single budgeting app out there.

NIKE+ IPOD SENSOR

With the unbundling of the Nike+ sensor from its shoes, you can now get the Nike+ iPod sensor separately and slip it into any Nike+ compatible shoe. Nike+ sensors measure a wide range of data, from movement type ( from walking to jogging), direction, speed, jump height, balance and stability and exertion, so it’s easy to get real performance tracking of your progress. You can monitor your growth using the app and even join challenges, map your runs and connect with your other Nike+ friends. The info is synced wirelessly to your device for real-time feedback while you train, so don’t worry about taking it out of your shoes.

CASIO G-SHOCK GW9400 RANGEMAN

Smart watches might be the hottest gadgets right now, but the truth is, many of them do not have compelling or useful standalone functions. For a truly intelligent watch that boasts of numerous standalone functions, look no further than Casio’s new Rangeman watch. As part of the G-Shock family, the Rangeman is tough, highly shock resistant and also water resistant to 200 meters. Beyond that, the Rangeman also features Casio’s new Shock Resistant Triple Sensor, which is capable measuring your altitude as well as providing barometric, temperature and compass readings. On top of that, the Rangeman also has Casio’s Multi-Band 6 technology, which allows it to receive radio signals from atomic timekeeping stations around the world, ensuring that you always have the correct time. Other notable functions include chronograph, world-time and alarm. Finally, the Rangeman can also be charged using solar power. This is probably the last watch you will ever need.

RING

Rings that notify you of smartphone alerts? That’s so passé. Created by Logbar, the Ring is a full- on Bluetooth control device with motion sensors that allow its wearers to control literally any device. By incorporating electronics that recognizes ultra-small finger movements, you can use the Ring to do amazing things by drawing letters and shapes in the air such as writing a text messages, start an app ( e.g., draw a music note for your music player) and control appliances ( e.g., draw a lamp to switch on the lights). Advanced functions include quick mobile payments using GPS or Apple’s iBeacons. Expectedly, the Ring pairs with your smartphone, and has built-in LEDs and a vibration motor to give you the usual notification alerts. The Ring’s Kickstarter campaign was a resounding success, and is projected to ship to backers in July.

GOPRO HERO 3+ BLACK

Still king of the hill, the GoPro Hero 3+ Black is the action camera you want. It’s small and light so you will barely notice it’s there. And when it comes to strapping it on, the GoPro Hero 3+ Black comes with a ridiculous number of straps and mounts ( including third-party accessories) like chest harnesses and helmet mounts. It shoots 4K video ( at a lower 15 frames per second), or up to 2.7K at 30fps. Image quality is top notch and you even get pretty good audio-recording quality. The GoPro mobile app lets you use your smartphone or tablet as a remote control, live previews and social network sharing.