Wearable tech platform Strap locks in to $1.25m of seed investment

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Strap, the Cincinnati-based wearable technology software and analytics platform, has announced it has raised $1.25 million in seed investment.

The round of funding was led by CincyTech, with Mercury Fund, Vine Street Ventures, Danmar Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners and New Coast Ventures among others contributing.

With various hype around wearable technology focusing primarily on the devices, Strap focuses on a platform which developers can build upon. The main product is...

By James Bourne, 03 December 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Contextual Data, Data & Analytics, Developers.

Apple WatchKit tutorial - the first look

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Yesterday, Apple released WatchKit, the SDK that allows apps to be created for its upcoming Apple Watch. I grabbed Xcode 6.2 Beta (Apple Developer Program membership is required), and decided to give building something a go. Here’s what happened.

There are three types of Apple Watch experiences that can be built today: Watch Apps, Glances, and Notifications. With this...

By Strap, 24 November 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Developers.

BlackBerry awarded patents which suggest wearable device is on its way

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BlackBerry has been awarded a slew of patents, including a patent for technology which enables users to unlock their smartphone without a lock code when a wearable device is nearby.

According to a Bloomberg report, U.S. Patent 8,869,263 B2 details “how a small electronic device on a watch or lanyard could be used to grant access to a smartphone so users wouldn’t have to key...

By James Bourne, 27 October 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Developers, Enterprise, Smartwatches, Workplace.

Cortus unveils new low power 32-bit processor core for IoT and wearable devices

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There are two main challenges with developing for wearable devices; creating a seamless user experience, and getting enough processing power to enable the seamless user experience you’ve created.

Cortus, a French company which creates low-power IP cores, has announced the first in a new family of products based on its v2 instruction set, specifically targeting sensors, wearables, and other Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

The first release is the APS23, which has a...

By James Bourne, 07 October 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Bluetooth, Developers, IoT.

A deep dive into getting started with Android Wear

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A deep dive into getting started with Android Wear by Michael Hahn 

The easiest way to learn how Android Wear works is to install the Android Wear companion app on your handheld device, connect an Android watch or emulator and try it out. The new Android Wear companion app completely replaces the earlier Android Wear Preview app.

The Android Wear...

By Strap, 01 October 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Android, Developers.

A wearable tech app store? Garmin’s going for it with Connect IQ

Picture credit: Garmin

GPS provider Garmin has launched Connect IQ, a platform for developers to build apps which connect with Garmin’s wearable devices.

It’s an interesting move for the firm whose series of wearable devices, outside of fitness trackers, struggles compared to other vendors. As a result, the fact they’re looking for third party developers to beef up their offering is an understandable one.

“As an early mover in the wearables market, we are excited to open up the Garmin...

By James Bourne, 26 September 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Developers, Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness.

Getting a grip on enterprise wearable apps

By Adam Spearing, VP Platform EMEA, salesforce.com

While the market for wearable devices is arguably just getting started, few would contend that there’s plenty of time for enterprise development teams to get a grip on the wave of new devices heading into their organisations. Consider this: The analyst firm IHS estimates that more than 180 million wearable devices are likely to be sold in 2018, up from 50 million anticipated to sell this year.

And it’s certainly not just...

By Salesforce, 17 September 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Applications, Developers, Enterprise, Workplace.

Apple's wearable dev kit in-use ahead of tomorrow's event

Apple design chief, Jony Ive, recently made a comment that Switzerland's economy is "in trouble" which was undoubtedly in reference to his confidence that Swiss watch manufacturers should be scared of his renowned designs. The company has also, for the first time, invited press from the fashion industry along to their coveted event scheduled for tomorrow.

If these two revelations weren't big enough signs that Apple is at least ready to show their move into the wearable market; maybe the...

By Ryan Daws, 08 September 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Developers, Smartwatches.

Rip Curl partners up with Rackspace to deliver surfing wearable tech

This goes a bit beyond waterproof watches for deep sea divers: Aussie surf brand Rip Curl, in association with Rackspace, has created the first piece of surf-friendly wearable technology with the Rip Curl Search GPS Watch.

The watch captures data from a surfer’s session, gauging wave count, distances between rides and sessions, as well as top speed.

The technology which underpins Rip Curl Search GPS is Rackspace’s database as a service ObjectRocket, which utilises the power of the cloud as users...

By James Bourne, 08 August 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Applications, Developers.