Five things brands must do to prevent wearables becoming an unquantifiable nightmare

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Wearable tech and the quantified self clearly provides a huge opportunity for the hardware vendors and digital brands involved; giving them greater insight into the lives, behaviours and tastes of consumers than ever before. But as we learnt in Spiderman, "with great power comes great responsibility" - although a responsibility that I feel many organisations are not taking seriously enough.

Google is currently in the British high court accused of bypassing security settings...

By Gawain Morrison, 06 February 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Brands, Ecosystems, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness.

Pebble promises new software "unlike anything before"

(Image Credit: Pebble)

Kickstarter success story, Pebble, has seen incredible growth since its release in 2013. Despite being one of the first to market, it is still one of the most capable and beloved devices. Even in the face of powerful new platforms - such as Android Wear - it manages to stand above the competition in important areas to users such as battery life and waterproof rating.

There is no denying that Pebble’s software and hardware will need to evolve with the times, or...

By Ryan Daws, 04 February 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Apps, Developers, Ecosystems, Smartwatches.

£210k up for grabs for startups in wearable tech competition

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IC Tomorrow, a UK-based programme for growth in the digital sector, has announced the launch of a £210,000 innovation prize for startups and small businesses based around wearable devices and smart fashion.

The contest offers £35,000 in funding and the opportunity to trial a product with a big name in the industry. Sponsors include Disney, who heads up the ‘wearables for kids’ category; McLaren, who along with Loughborough University is marshalling the...

By James Bourne, 13 January 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Ecosystems, Fashion, Health & Wellness.

What were the best wearables on show at CES 2015?

Picture credit: JINS MEME/YouTube

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a hub for all types of technology, from smartphones to washing machines. Yet, alongside connected cars, there was a clear appetite for wearable technology at this year’s event.

Recent research from Accenture found that over the next 12 months 12% of consumers plan to buy a wearable fitness monitor, with the same number expected to buy a smartwatch in the same time frame. Within five years, 40% and 41% respectively expect to...

By James Bourne, 09 January 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Bluetooth, Connectivity, Devices, Ecosystems.

Getting started: How to get set up to build an Android Wear app

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In this blog we’ll get you ready to develop your first Android Wear app.

How does it work?

Basically, your Android Wear app will work by generating Cards and inserting them into the Context stream at the point they become most useful. A user will then glance at the stream on their watch and see your app’s timely and relevant update.

Your app can also have action buttons that allow a user to perform an action which may occur on their Android Wear device or on the paired handheld...

By Strap, 02 January 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Android, Ecosystems.