Vodafone adds first wearable products to ‘V By Vodafone’ range

Vodafone Group is launching the first wearable products in its “V by Vodafone” Consumer Internet of Things (IoT) range: “V-SOS Band by Vodafone”, an emergency alert wrist band designed by Vodafone; and the “V-Kids Watch by Vodafone” smartwatch.

The “V by Vodafone” Consumer IoT range was launched in November 2017 to offer consumers a range of internet-connected devices to use while on the move and at home. Vodafone is the mobile provider in Enterprise IoT, with 68 million mobile IoT connections and an international network and services platform for a wide range of business-critical applications.

The features of the device include:

• SOS alert – pressing a button on the side of the “V-SOS Band by Vodafone” for three seconds will alert designated contacts. The wearer will see the band’s lens colour change from amber to red to green once one of the designated contacts is on their way to help. The wearer can re-press the button to cancel the emergency at any time.
• Care co-ordination – Contacts can call or message from within the “V-SOS Band by Vodafone” app to determine who will attend an emergency and to highlight when it is resolved.
• Fall detection – The band will automatically alert the designated contacts if it detects a fall by the wearer using an algorithm and the in-built accelerometer.
• User location – The location of the “V-SOS Band by Vodafone” can be identified when an emergency is ongoing using a combination of GPS and the mobile network for greater accuracy.
• Water resistant – The “V-SOS Band by Vodafone” is designed to be worn most of the time, including in the shower or bath as it is water resistant (IP67 certified).
• Inactivity alert –If the “V-SOS Band by Vodafone” does detect a period of inactivity, such as caused by the device having been removed and not put on again, an alert will be sent to the user’s designated contacts.

• Battery alerts – The 200 milliamp hour (mAh) battery will last for up to a month. The wearer can find out the level of charge by double tapping the band’s screen. If the band has less than 20% of charge the user’s designated contacts will also be notified.
• Design – “V-SOS Band by Vodafone” has a 2.4 x 3.8 cm lens and fits a wrist 14-17 cm in circumference. It was designed by Vodafone’s award-winning Design Studio and R&D laboratory in Düsseldorf, Germany.

“V-Kids Watch by Vodafone” is a smartwatch for children that is connected over Vodafone’s mobile network, enabling parents to stay in contact with their child when they start to give them more independence.