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energy harvesting
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energy storage
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discrete and overt wearables
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not just for sports and health
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eink smartwatch
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small jewellery for payment, id, authentication and keys
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password keepers
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Medical info, where emergency staff know what to look for
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Physical keys good for usability, but usb is clunky and requires ports, what about cross device usage
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personal data non-reliant on power source
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Short range access, always on you, not clunky
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there are companies that do medical+payment in ring form, but they’re proprietary/for profit/expensive
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sometimes in old age/residential care people are given free rfid fob to open doors, make payments, get emergency response faster, etc.
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all the really important part of how common smartphones are without the inessentials/leisure/computing possibilities - specific devices for safety essentials
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standalone music device - best so far is Yoto player, designed for kids
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Open hardware e-ink ereader/enotes
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dispersed 3d peripherals
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Current smartwatches overheat, have brightness issues, are clunky and heavy, expensive and valuable - a burden, more complex and powerful than many use cases need
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consider: standalone, no phone connection, low power, rechargeable, e-ink clock face, basic function for timekeeping and emergencies, lightweight and fully waterproof
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‘dumbphones’, designed to act like early mobiles with the power, convenience and design of later smartphones. Some designed with parental-restriction or cultural-restriction in mind, others stem from digital minimalism and design trends or privacy concerns, others are remakes of sturdy simple classics from the ‘feature phone’ era. With even the best experience within this category, it’ll cost high and there may not be much technical support, as ‘demand is too low’ - ie both the cultural and economic focus leans too heavily in favour of feature-rich, attention-grabbing smartphones from big tech, where the capital and influence sits.
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Links
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The Light Phone
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Smartwatches for kids, (security concerns)
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Prompt Anti-Watch
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Yoto Player (Mini)