a daily assistant and work aid

Every few years, a technology comes along at industry trade shows and conferences that seeks to be the new goldmine for many companies that decide to sell software. Some of them, like Some cell phones were a success, others less so. For example, smart and large diagonal TVs were successful, while those focused on curved screens or 3D technology were a total failure. And they were counting on massive sporting events in countries like Europe, such as the Football World Cup.

The same thing happened a few years ago with virtual and augmented reality.niche technologies that are useful in some cases, but which they failed to be something massiveat least not in the way companies like Meta wanted. The same thing seems to be happening with generative artificial intelligence.

Many brands have launched into the creation of devices aimed at replacing the mobile phone or, at best, complementing it. Some have been appreciated, such as the Ray-Ban Meta, which have very well integrated the voice assistant into an accessory for everyday use. Others, such as the Humane Pin or the Rabbit R1, have been dismal failures, both due to hardware and software. This does not mean that there are no proposals that make sense, that seek to be useful in certain cases, in certain jobs and that may be in the future a type of device that many people use seamlessly

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An assistant on the neck

It was the proposal of a small company called Compass that created a pendant capable of recording our lifebut not because it stores video or audio, but because it transcribes sounds directly into text. This allows us to keep track of our daily lives or, sometimes, the meetings and appointments we have at work, depending on our needs.

One of the novelties of this pendant is that, unlike other proposals, It does not keep track of recordings, but only transcribes and stores the text.The positive side is that much less space is needed to store the data; the negative is that if it is transcribed incorrectly, there is no way to search for what was said at that time.

The compass pendant is a truncated triangle-shaped device that is worn around the neck with a strapfacing the microphone where we look. But the best part is that what the device stores is automatically translated into reminders, notes… Since you don’t need to carry it in your hand, it is very comfortable to use, more like smart speakers than mobile phones.

This feature is key to the Compass Pendant, as it will not only offer huge amounts of raw text that we need to organize, but it will be able to set reminders based on our conversations, as well as create notes depending on the subject discussed, etc.

Everything is recorded in the Compass app on our mobile phone from this device It pairs w ith our smartphone with Bluetooth

and is always connected to it. This way, it is possible to review in real time everything you have created from our conversations. By having an integrated AI assistant It is possible to ask certain questions in the application so as not to have to search for the information. For example, if we discussed a color palette for the design but we do not remember which one was finally chosen, it is possible to ask it directly in the application and the system will retrieve this information for us. Another really interesting use case is the student profile. If it is used in class, it is possible to obtain information and summaries on each of the subjects followed with the pendant. The same thing happens in meetings and even in everyday life, when we do not remember something we talked about with a person a few days ago, it is possible to ask the AI ​​what it was about.

The price of the device is not particularly high, because It costs $99. It can be used without paying any type of subscription, although in a limited way, since this option only allows record 10 hours per month. This can be useful for one-off use cases, such as a weekly meeting at work. However, in case it is necessary to use it at all times, there is a way to do so, by paying for the Compass Premium subscription, which costs $19 per month if paid every 30 days or $14 per month if purchased with annual payment.

This is perhaps the only problem with this device, requiring an additional monthly subscription that will have to be calculated if it is worth it for the benefits it will bring us on a daily basis. In addition, it is a striking device, and it seems to have a small microphone, so The people we are with must be warned that we transcribe everything we speak.

. This may be an additional problem in some countries, due to their legislation.

A friend to travel with

Another pendant that has become very popular in recent days is Friend. It is a very similar product to the previous one which has a different approach. In essence, it is the same, a smart device worn around the neck with a microphone to talk to him.

Friend, a pendant with AI

Alvarez del Vayo

In this case The idea of ​​its creator is to have a friend to talk to at all times.To do this, it relies on a large language model, and uses this model for a function that requires neither precision nor knowledge, but simply accompany people. He came up with the idea during a solo trip to Japan. And it seems to have been appreciated because he got tens of millions of dollars in funding.

It can be used as a pendant or added to clothes with a clip.but it is important to emphasize that, Although it has a microphone, it does not have a speaker.. Interaction with the AI ​​will be done through the mobile app, so it will be more like talking to a friend and having them respond to you via text messages.

In fact, the company It is very important that it is not about improving productivity or being able to do more things.. The idea of ​​Friend is simply to accompany people whenever they want. Always give the opportunity to talk even if we are not with anyone. Just press the pendant and talk and the AI ​​will respond with a text message.

Now, Friend is on sale for $99although shipments will take place in the first months of 2025. Of course, unlike the previous model, this one does not have an additional subscription, which can be a significant value in the long run.