New Wearable Called The CuffLinc

CUFF is a brand of jewelry. Some tech news outlets have disclosed that CUFF is going to soon off for sale (ship this Fall) a little blue-tooth transmitter that you can hide inside existing (or newly designed) jewelry which works much like those life-line devices popularized by TV ads “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”.

The uniqueness of this new device is

1.    it doesn’t have to be charged

2.    it lasts one year, then you get a new one – a disposable device (but at $100 maybe not an inexpensive one, some versions will be much less, perhaps $25)

3.    it appears to transmit your touch, via blue tooth, to your smart phone, which then must be in range, that is, fairly close, probably in your pocket or purse

4.    the phone then kicks into action and sends a message to the persons you have designated to get the distress signal – your children (assuming you are an older person) or spouse , or friend, or maybe a baby sitter, or police.

5.    the uniqueness is this new device is that : if the designated helper has the App on their phone, it can vibrate, alerting them to a problem, and give the precise location (GPS) of the person in distress.

6.    This last feature greatly improves the mobility of an older person who might need help, since they don’t have to be near their in-home receiver, it works anywhere there is a call signal

https://cuff.io/products/lisa

one version goes around your neck

http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/18/cuff-blends-jewelry-with-a-wearable-alert-system/

I could see this device catching on if it works well. It would be less difficult to touch this button than it would be to find your phone, and find the correct app to push.  Especially if you are inside a home or office where your smart phone was in Bluetooth range.  And it would be more fashionable and easy to carry (perhaps) than the "fallen and can't get up" device.