28 August,2016 12:04 PM IST | | Gaurav Sarkar
We got a smart shirt for a review, but turns out not just is it limited in its functions, but it is barely compatible with today's smart phones
Taking evolution a step further from sports trackers and smart watches, humanity finds itself on the brink of another wearable smart technology - smart shirts. Arrow's latest collection of such apparel offers its wearers the ability to share their Facebook profile, favourite song or simply launch their favourite app, all with a single tap on the cuff of your sleeve.
The shirts have a chip built into the cuff of the left sleeve. After loading your details (Facebook profile, app, song, business card) on to the Arrow mobile phone app, the wearer needs to sync it with the shirt, by tapping the phone to the cuff.
This itself might take some time, as the gesture is not so much of a tap as it is of circling the cuff with your phone, waiting for a "beep" sound confirming the sync. Once done, the receiver (or the person who you want to send your information to) must tap their smart phone on your sleeve to receive said information.
A screenshot of the app
But here's the rather big catch: Getting your phone synced with the shirt is the most problematic part. The shirt works on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, a feature that was gripping the smart phone market in 2013, when a majority of devices being launched had this in-built feature primarily meant for "contact-less payments", through the likes of Google Wallet. Today, most phones don't come with a built-in NFC - mobile users generally download an external NFC app to transfer files without establishing physical contact.
In such cases, the smart phone will not connect with the shirt; it requires NFC to be in-built. Furthermore, the Smart Shirts are so far compatible only with Android devices - not iOS and other platforms - thereby drastically limiting its connectivity.
We had to finally call in for a synced phone from the makers to overcome the shirt's connectivity obstacles. Then, we figured the functionality isn't really through the roof either; you can launch only one app or share one song.
Priced at Rs 2,999 the shirt seemed like a good idea that needed more work. But, hey, the chip is washable and the shirt comes in several colours and patterns.
