Ralph Lauren biometric smart shirt debuts at US Open

The Polo Tech has sensors that fit next to the skin. Ralph Lauren

The tennis courts at the US Open this year will be hosting more than just competitors lofting high-tech rackets. Ralph Lauren is using the event to debut the Polo Tech, a compression shirt with biometric sensors that acts like an extremely sophisticated fitness band without having anything around your wrist.

Sensors are knitted into the core of the shirt and include an accelerometer, gyroscope, and heartbeat monitor. The information is collected by a data module and fed into an iOS app that monitors stress levels, calories burned, respiration, heartbeat, and energy output. An athlete can adjust training by breathing more deeply, increasing exertion to hit a target heart rate, or focusing on reducing stress in competitive situations.

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The Polo Tech shirts won't make appearances on any tennis stars during the actual tournament play. Marcos Giron, currently ranked as the top singles player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, will test the shirt during practice rounds and will try making adjustments based on the information gleaned from the sensors.

Some of the ball boys (women's shirts are still under development) at the US Open will be sporting the shirts. Look for the ball collectors wearing the tight black shirts with a yellow polo horse, rather than the ones wearing the looser traditional polo-style shirts.

Ralph Lauren himself isn't sitting around coding software and designing sensors. The clothing company partnered with OMsignal, a biometrics clothing maker, for the shirt. OMsignal is currently offering its version of the shirt and black-box data collector for preorder at $199 (about

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LG debuts L Fino and L Bello for emerging markets

LG

LG's two latest handsets, the L Fino and L Bello, aren't exactly the top of the line products you'd expect the company to debut at the upcoming IFA tradeshow in Berlin. For one, it isn't a flagship device that will go head-to-head with the upcoming Galaxy Note 4.

Instead the L Fino and L Bello are "smartly-priced" (read: budget) 3G smartphones that share some of the software features that debuted in the LG G3, such as Knock Code and Touch and Shoot, which lets you take a picture by just tapping on the display.

Furthermore, LG has incorporated its rear button design into both phones, as well as an 8-megapixel rear shooter. Both Android KitKat-powered handsets will pack quad-core processors, with the L Fino clocked at 1.2GHz and the L Bello slightly faster at 1.3GHz.

The L Fino has a 4.5-inch WVGA 800x480-pixel display, 1GB RAM, and 4GB of onboard storage. The L Bello, on the other hand, is slightly larger with a 5-inch FWVGA 854x480-pixel screen, has 1GB RAM, and 8GB of onboard storage.

Pricing was not disclosed, but both handsets will launch first in Latin America, followed by countries in Europe, Asia, and the CIS.

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Simple.TV antenna DVR debuts ability to share recorded TV shows

Screenshot: Ty Pendlebury/CNET

Simple.TV is one of several new DVRs that allow cordcutters to record TV shows off broadcast TV and watch them on a variety of mobile devices and digital set-top boxes like Roku. But now Simple is upping the ante on its competition with a new feature that allows users share their recordings with others.

The new option will allow Simple.TV owners to send up to five invites to non-users via its website, who -- after creating a free account -- will be able to view recorded programs, though not watch live TV. The invited users will be able to access the programs via the Simple.TV website or via an Android, iOS, or Windows 8 app.

At first glance, that sounds like a mashup of Slingbox and Aereo. The latter company, of course, is near death after the Supreme Court ruled that it was a rebroadcaster and therefore liable for cable rebroadcast fees. (CNET's parent company, CBS, was one of broadcasters that sued Aereo.) However, Simple.TV says its service is different because it limits the way the content is distributed and to whom.

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HTC's mid-tier Desire family debuts in US

The HTC Desire 610. CNET

HTC is bringing the One M8's more affordable sibling, the Desire family of smartphones, to the US.

The HTC Desire 816 will debut on Virgin Mobile on Tuesday for $299 without a contract. HTC will sell the Desire 610 and Desire 816 on its own website. The company also teased more Desire smartphones to come to the US.

The move marks a reversal of HTC's recent strategy to narrow its focus and marketing efforts behind the flagship HTC One M8. HTC continues to struggle with eroding market share and 12 straight quarters of declining revenue. By launching the Desire family in the US, the company hopes to expand its reach to more cost-conscious consumers and people who opt to pay the full price of the smartphone upfront.

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Where the Galaxy S5 or iPhone 5S costs $650 without a two-year contract, there have been a number of companies that have sprung up that offer more affordable smartphones. LG, ZTE, and Motorola have in the last year been aggressive with rolling out reasonably priced smartphones without a contract. The prepaid market is considered one of the last growing parts of the traditional smartphone business.

HTC wants a chunk of that market. "We thought it was time that consumers had better smartphones to choose from across price points and payment options," said Erin McGee, vice president of marketing for HTC America, in a statement.

By selling its lower cost smartphones through its site, HTC is mimicking a similar strategy taken by Huawei, which struggled to get its higher end devices sold through a carrier, and opted to set up its own website for consumers. It sells the Ascend Mate 2 4G LTE on the site for $299.

HTC is hoping that the design of the Desire line, which shares similar visual cues as the HTC One M8, will attract consumers who can't afford its flagship smartphone. Rather than the metal construction of the M8, HTC opted to go with plastic for the Desire.

HTC is looking to expand its portfolio to go after even lower end customers, targeting a growing number of potential customers in the emerging markets.

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