(Image Credit: Mattel)

Remember the Mattel View-Master? Well after Google and Mattel started teasing an announcement for today, a whole bunch of folks guessed an updated version with support for Cardboard would make its way to faces everywhere (much like previous versions have thanks to Santa Claus' vast distribution network.)

The View-Master was first introduced in 1939, four years after the advent of Kodachrome color film made the use of small high-quality photographic color images...

(c)iStock.com/juniorbeep

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...

Cardboard is not an Oculus Rift, but Google’s 63p VR headset is accessible to just about anyone with a smartphone - in fact over 500,000 people are said to have adopted it. Developers have created over 24 apps which can be found in the newly-launched store to show-off the incredible feat the Google team has achieved with a piece of cardboard, two magnets, and a pair of...

Picture credit: iStockPhoto

New figures released by analyst house Canalys has found that of the nearly five million wearable bands shipped globally in the third quarter of 2014, Motorola’s Moto 360 was the most popular Android Wear choice.

Android Wear is still dwarfed overall by Samsung, the market leader, which comprised 52% of overall market share. Motorola took 15% of share globally, Pebble 12%, with other offerings comprising the remaining 21%.

Interestingly, Nike fell out of the top five...

Research firm GfK has revealed that over 420,000 wearables were sold in the UK from January through to September 2014. During this period, the total value of the smart devices sold is expected to be in excess of an eye-watering £51 million ($82 million.)

Despite this, the firm believes wearables are far from becoming mass market. Anne Giulianotti, GfK, says: “There’s no question wearable activity trackers have caught on – but with a small percentage of the population....

Musician and entrepreneur, Will.i.am, has long spoke of his intention to enter the smartwatch market. For perhaps the first time, it’s not just us wearable-enthusiasts who have been following developments, but also fans of fashion and his own unique-style.

Alongside the Puls, Will.i.am debuted a range of clothing which can act as a battery.

At Salesforce's Dreamforce event yesterday, Will.i.am took the wraps off of his 'Puls' smartwatch (although he prefers the term...

Picture credit: Corbin Davenport/YouTube

As hacks go, it’s a pretty useless one. But it’s an interesting look at what wearable devices are capable of. YouTube user Corbin Davenport has uploaded a video appearing to show a Samsung Gear Live smartwatch running Windows 95.

“Has science gone too far?” Davenport asks as he loads up a functioning Windows 95 on the Android Wear 4.4W system. It certainly plays into Android’s malleability as an operating system, and could be seen as a nod...

Picture credit: pestoverde/Flickr

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...

It's been a while since the launch of Android Wear at I/O on June 25th; but we wanted to wait until a few more devices were inevitably brought to the market before we felt we could make a fair comparison between them before - as rumours suggest - Android Wear 2.0 launches next month.

Design

A recent study, one which unfortunately I can't seem to re-locate, studied whether the public would pick-up the wearable eyewear, Google Glass. The outcome was a resounding no due to the device being seen as...

Meet Ringly. This startup’s piece of wearable technology keeps you up to date with notifications, but makes sure you’re not pulling your phone out of your pocket every few minutes.

Utilising Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the ring’s BLE-enabled circuit board makes the connection with the user’s phone, and is available on both iOS and Android platforms.

The ring lights up a specified colour and gives a different vibration pattern dependent on the type of notification received, be it a...