“Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory.” - Coco Chanel
Last night I attended a Mobile Monday event at the international mobile company: Orange. The event hosted a panel of companies and entrepreneurs who brought the latest in wearable technology.
Not wanting to overdo, the accessories I chose were my favorite black vintage Ray Ban frames, Cole Haan handbag, two misfit shines (one to match my lipstick, the other to track my steps around the event) and my new 'Cheezburger Cat Socks' with a play on Ms. Pacman pattern from Betabrand. I think it's events like these where it's ok to be just a little dorky.
I definitely embraced my dorky side, sporting the socks, playing endless rounds of old arcade games like Tetris and indulging on a little pizza and beer.
Was a little hard to get away once the panel started - 5 more minutes!
Not a bad view outside.
The highlight of the evening was bumping in to an old friend who told me about the event, and also her favorite wearable, more to come on that later...(check out that candy colored handbag in the meantime!)
The evening's panel was hosted by Mario Tapia who fired the questions. From the left, Bashir Ziadfy represented Basis, Mike Nabers representing Samsung, Darren Sabo from Orange, Deepa Sood with Cuff.io, and Eliane Fiolet from Ubergizmo (who won the prize for wearing the most wearables).
The panel discussed biological sensor systems, the 'back of the drawer' phenomena that happens with most wearables, and debated wether these devices are all just a fad that will fade away or if this is an industry ready to compete within the mobile industry.
I had to jump up and ask Mike Nabers to show us how the new Gear S mobile phone-watch from Samsung worked. "Give us a demo!" I asked, "Text and call someone". After the voice input failed, he hand-dialed up Mario over there on the podium.
"Mario, come in Mario...it's Mike, calling from the Gear".
Lol. It worked, and was highly entertaining to see the new device in action. It does not come equipped with an audio cable, and is much louder than you would think! Watch out for eavesdroppers if you decide to make a phone call on the new Samsung watch.
I tried it on for size.
A bit heavy and rather large for an everyday wearable... but I do appreciate the curved OLED screen and the massive potential for portability and easy access.
I was way more intrigued by Cuff's new line of 'smart jewelry'. Can't say the jewelry itself really struck me as something I'd wear everyday either, but it was inspiring! Here is a peek at a few of the goodies inside the jewelry box:
Similar to the Misfit Shine (see here in a previous post) is a replaceable insert (shown below) that fits within all of the different accessories and charges inside a small 'jewelry box'.
The piece inside includes a notification vibration that pairs with your phone, letting you know when someone is contacting you or if you forgot your phone. It also includes a pedometer for tracking steps. Those features are a little tired, but they've also (finally, I was getting impatient) put in a safety feature that can be activated by pressing on the cuff. The safety feature, when activated records sound as well as sending out a quick alert to whomever is in your emergency speed dial.
Some of the cuffs weren't so bad, others reminded me a bit of inspirations from the Roman Empire...
This textured gold cuff (shown below) was a hit amongst most of the women at the event. It felt light and feminine and was really a perfect fit on all of us!
Afterwards I put in a pre-order for a cuff and pulled on a vest for the walk home. Starting to get chilly here but California still seems to be fighting off any real winter weather.
Still on the lookout for my perfect wearable so I don't have to don too many at once, because of course,
“Less is always more.”- Coco Chanel
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