The musings of a startup in the wearable world: Respect the past and innovate

Picture credit: Omate

Today, the most important device in our connected life is our smartphone. It has totally changed the way we interact with each other. It is the first thing we check when we leave a place.

We may touch our pockets a few times a day just to feel safe – according to recent survey figures most US smartphone owners check their phones at...

By Laurent Le Pen, 16 September 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Case Studies, Devices, Fashion.

Opinion: HTC's upcoming 'Halfbeak' smartwatch could be the stand-out Android Wear device

(Image Credit: HTC)

Earlier in the week I posted my concern at the lack of Android Wear devices which could support mobile payments in the future – due to a lack of NFC – leaving an open goal for the Apple Watch and Samsung's upcoming Tizen-based Gear S2 smartwatch. 

One manufacturer which has been completely absent from the smartwatch race thus far is HTC; despite being named as an OEM for...

By Ryan Daws, 09 September 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Android, Devices, Google, Mobile Wallet, NFC, Payments, Smartwatches.

Opinion: Lack of NFC gives Android Wear a problem

NFC is a technology which Android users have bragged about having access to over iOS for years – but now some manufacturers of Google-based devices have abandoned it whilst Apple has embraced it with success for mobile payments. 

Google Wallet launched in May 2011 as a disjointed service which had little support due to a shaky relationship with retailers and banks after Google wanted details of transactions stored for its advertising business. Apple, meanwhile, as a hardware business...

By Ryan Daws, 07 September 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Android, Devices, Google, NFC, Payments, Smartwatches.

Opinion: Samsung's Gear S2 faces hurdles away from Android Wear

(Image Credit: Samsung Mobile)

When it comes to design - both hardware and software - there's little dispute that Samsung's Gear S2 has upped the game with its unique rotating bezel and UX. It's even attracted legendary Italian designer Alessandro Mendini. However, it's become clear the Korean giant has some hurdles to overcome when it comes to software and services. 

The issue lies...

By Ryan Daws, 04 September 2015, 2 comments. Categories: Android, Devices, Ecosystems, Opinion, Payments, Samsung, Smartwatches.

Future wearables use your body to communicate

(Image Credit: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering)

Most current wearable devices use Bluetooth to communicate, but this can be wasteful due to a how difficult it is for the signal to pass through a user's body. This causes an effect called "path loss" whereby a signal is weakened on the way to its destination, as well as causing security worries due to the distance the signal travels around the user being susceptible to eavesdropping. 

A team led by Professor...

By Ryan Daws, 03 September 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Bluetooth, Connectivity, Devices, Health Monitoring.

Apple rockets into second place in latest IDC wearable shipment figures

(c)iStock.com/pixedeli

Move over Xiaomi, there’s a new kid on the block. According to latest IDC industry figures, Apple had the second highest number of shipments of wearable devices in the second quarter of 2015, narrowly behind Fitbit.

The numbers, taken from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, saw Apple ship a total of 3.6 million units in Q215 representing almost 20% of shipments, while Fitbit shipped 4.4m at 24.3%. Xiaomi, which similarly announced itself in the first quarter,...

By James Bourne, 28 August 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Devices, Ecosystems, Smartwatches.

Wearable could save millions of infants each year

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/frankiefotografie)

A new wearable device for infants created by a Cambridge-California social enterprise could be the key to preventing fatal or crippling ailments such as diarrhoea & malnutrition, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and others. 

JustMilk is a device which attaches to a mother’s nipple when breastfeeding to deliver key antibiotics, antimalarials, antiretrovirals, vitamins, nutrients, and...

By Ryan Daws, 20 August 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Devices, Health & Wellness.

Microsoft has an ace up its sleeve to triple wearable battery life

(c)iStock.com/panorios

Let’s face it: we’ve all moaned about our smartphone’s lack of battery. Anyone who has ever gone away on a trip and forgotten their charger knows never to do it again.

For wearables, the equation has turned on its head, and it’s a problem which many companies are trying to solve. Microsoft, in a recent post on its TechNet blog, revealed it was going about it in an innovative way: by...

By James Bourne, 13 July 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Connectivity, Devices.

Research: Apple Watch sales have plunged 90%

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/Mutlu Kurtbas)

According to California-based Slice Intelligence, sales of the Apple Watch have plunged 90% since the opening week. Apple, who is also based in California, has been selling fewer than 20,000 watches a day in the U.S. since the initial surge in April, and on some days fewer than 10,000. 

This is a sharp contrast to the approximately 200,000 watches...

By Ryan Daws, 08 July 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Devices, iOS, Research, Smartwatches.