Epson's Pulsesense wearables, hands-on and heart stopping

Epson has come to market with a new line of wearable technology. On the surface, they're your normal 'monitor the heart rate' wrist wear devices. Epson has surprised us with their forward thinking approach to wearables, though. We got the chance to check out their new wrist wear at CES 2014, and we were a bit surprised by what was on offer.

The first of the two new Pulsesense offerings we saw was their PS-500 watch, which is just as it sounds. A black and white display, it gives the pertinent information, while a heart rate monitor round back keep track of you. Retailing for $199.99, and shipping this summer, the PS-500 is a decent offering, but not the real story here.

What was really interesting was how Epson is working with third parties to make the wearables interact and inform. We caught wind of a 3D heart monitor that works with mobile devices, leading us to ask for a preview. There was a poster with a kind of heart map on it, and once the app "saw" the poster, it displayed a 3D heart. That heart, which read the monitor in real-time, was beating and giving up to date info. It even knew when it was off the wrist, and stopped beating appropriately. You can even choose which info is on display, and concentrate on certain parts of the heart.

If you like a simpler approach, the Epson devices work with an accompanying app for Android or iOS. the wrist wear can also store up to 480 hours of data before the need for transfer. If you'd prefer to check up on yourself via computer, Epson tells us that will be available as well.

If a full display isn't your speed, Epson also has their PS-100, which is much like other wearable monitors we have seen in regard to form factor. It has the same sensor as the PS-500, but skips out on the display. Both were comfortable, but for daily use, we'd probably choose the PS-100. If you're interested, Epson has made preorders available. Of all the fitness tracking devices we've seen, this is certainly the most interesting.