Bluetooth Technology Expands Beyond Wireless Devices

As reported by NY1 News: If you thought Bluetooth was purely created as a wireless way to link your mobile device to a headset or speaker or your car, boy, were you off, and a $60 H2O-Pal water bottle is one example of just how far off you were.

Using weight sensors and an accelerometer, the water bottle helps make sure you're getting the proper amount of hydration each day.

"You can attach it to the base of your favorite water bottle. It tracks your movement, and it knows when the water bottle moved, so it waits for the water bottle to be put back on a surface, and it then takes a weight measurement," says Igor Marjanovic of Out of Galaxy.

The app it connects to then tells you when to drink and even adjusts so that you're drinking more the hotter it is outside.

There's also a new wave of products that seem like Bluetooth no-brainers - app-enabled hearing aids.

The bluetooth enabled Resound Linx, which will sell for a little more than $3,000, allows users to control the volume, send phone calls or music straight to the hearing aid, and even set up one-touch customization.

"So if you like certain settings for your home, certain settings for when you're at the ballpark, the app can automatically ensure that those are set for you depending on where you move around," says Morten Hansen from ReSound.

And finally, just in case the socks you're wearing right now aren't quite high-tech enough for you, here you go - Bluetooth-enabled socks.

Called Sensoria Fitness socks, you will also have to wear a Bluetooth anklet in order to pull the data from the socks and send it to your phone. The setup will cost around $200.

"Real fabric has been treated to detect pressure for getting real cadence, real step counts, how the foot lands on the ground while you're running, and this is important to hopefully avoid injuries and have a better running technique," says Maurizio Macagno from Heapsylon.

Sensoria Fitness is also getting set to offer, through similar technology, heart rate-sensing t-shirts and sports bras.