Motiv crammed a full fitness tracker into a ring

Fitness trackers are a dime a dozen at this point, with Fitbit dominating the market. But as long as wearable gadgets have been in vogue, the concept of a “smart ring” has made the rounds in various forms. Here at CES, it looks like Motiv is the closest yet to cracking the puzzle of building a ring that’s worth wearing. Motiv’s ring is basically a tiny Fitbit: it packs in a heart rate sensor and can track your steps, sleep and “active minutes” with a goal of getting its users to be active for at least 150 minutes per week. The ring itself is very light, fairly unobtrusive and comes in grey and rose gold. Motiv says its has an “ultralight titanium shell” that felt a little cheap to me — hopefully it’ll prove to be durable. The battery is charged with an included magnetic charging dock that plugs into any standard USB port; Motiv is actually including two so you can throw one on your keychain and forget about it. Naturally, the ring syncs to a smartphone app where you can get data on what it measures. The ring has heart rate tracking built-in; that’s how it knows when you’re working out hard enough to count minutes towards your daily activity goal. A Motiv spokesperson said that the ring uses active minutes because it’s a less abstract goal than 10, 000 steps or a certain amount of calories burned, and it does seem like something with the potential to encourage slightly more active exercise. But it also works as a pedometer if you’re used to tracking steps over other metrics. All this data is stored in the app, which uses a card interface to keep you updated on your goals, showing you high-level overviews of your day and week. If you want to dig down into the data, though, the app lets you scan minute by minute to see exactly what were you up to, whether you were awake or asleep. My big question about the Motiv is its manufacturing feasibility — we’ve been burned by smart rings before that just couldn’t figure out the battery tech necessary to work. Motiv’s spokesperson told me that the company designed its curved battery itself; he also said that the device is in production after a lengthy beta period. The model he was wearing appeared to be functional, so it seems like the ring should make it onto the market this spring as planned. If you’re interested and willing to take a bit of a gamble on an unproven company, pre-orders for the $199 Motiv started today. To get the sizing right, Motiv will send buyers a kit with fake rings in it so you can try them on and see what fits best. The Motiv may not do anything differently than the Fitbit, but if you’re interested in having an extremely low-profile device this may be worth a look. Of course, we’ll need to put one through a full review to really recommend it, but on the surface the Motiv is intriguing at the very least. Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.

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Motiv crammed a full fitness tracker into a ring

Fitbit trackers can be hacked in ’10 seconds’

Fitbit trackers have a whopper of a vulnerability that can let somebody within Bluetooth range quickly hack them, according to security company Fortinet . Worse yet, once the attackers are in, the device will infect any computer that tries to sync with the device. Via Twitter , Senior Fortinet researcher Axelle Apvrille told Engadget “you don’t need physical access (to the tracker), but you do need to be close (Bluetooth range). It does not matter if it is paired (to another device) or not.” When in range, a bad actor could infect the device in as little as 10 seconds. Apvrille informed Fitbit of the vulnerability back in March, but the wearable outfit has yet to fix the issue, according to the Register . In addition, the vulnerability remains in the wearable even after it’s reset. Once infected, the device can install a virus, trojan or other vulnerability on your computer, even days later. “An attacker sends an infected packet to a fitness tracker nearby at Bluetooth distance then the rest of the attack occurs by itself, without any special need for the attacker being near, ” Apvrille said . While the Fitbit uses encryption, the Bluetooth transmitter itself is apparently wide open, allowing attackers in. If you want to find out more, Apvrille will present her findings via a video demonstration at the 2015.Hack.lu conference tomorrow in Luxembourg. @AaronIsSocial you don’t need physical access, but you need to be close (bluetooth range). It does not matter if it is paired or not. — Axelle Ap. (@cryptax) October 21, 2015 Via: The Register Source: Axelle Apvrille (Twitter)

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Fitbit trackers can be hacked in ’10 seconds’

Tip of the Day: Don’t Commit a Crime While Wearing a Fitbit

I mean, if you want to get caught committing a crime, please do wear your Fitbit. That’s what a Florida woman learned when she told police she’d been assaulted in March — only to have them examine her Fitbit and discover that the truth was a lot uglier and more awkward. Read more…

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Tip of the Day: Don’t Commit a Crime While Wearing a Fitbit