(c)iStock.com/robuart

Semiconductor solutions provider Broadcom has introduced a new smartwatch platform that reduces power consumption for Android Wear devices.

Broadcom claims the platform reduces power usage by up to 40% by offering a smaller form factor, shrinking the circuit board size by a similar figure and reconfiguring certain features, such as offloading some tasks from the applications processor to less power-intensive parts of the system. With this, OEMs can also add features, or include a larger...

(c)iStock.com/buchachon

Analyst house Juniper Research has released a new paper asserting ‘invisible’ wearables – hardware which is indistinguishable from non-smart technology – will provide a key market opportunity by 2020.

In a report entitled ‘The World in 2020: A Technology Vision’, made available for free download here, the analysts argue many wearables companies are...

(Image Credit: Pebble)

Earlier this month, we reported Kickstarter-success Pebble is due a new software platform which its founder describes as "unlike anything before" it. A look at this new platform is expected at an event hosted by the company tomorrow, but an early leak has given us a peek at some new hardware on which to show it off...

Found on Pebble's servers, 

(c)iStock.com/RayTango

Analyst house CCS Insight has put out its latest global wearables forecast, and predicted that wearable shipments will jump to 75 million in 2015 – a 158% increase on last year.

Not surprisingly, a large amount of this number will be provided by the Apple Watch, due for release in April. CCS Insight expects Apple will account for 20 million of these, representing over a quarter of the market.

Yet the analyst firm sees this point as key – if the Apple Watch succeeds, then it...

(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/alexey_boldin

If you’ve got a smartphone and are looking to get fit, looking at the wearable devices on offer, then you might want to hold back on that purchase for now. A new research letter from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) argues smartphones apps are just as effective as wearable devices in tracking step counts.

JAMA’s paper, entitled ‘Accuracy of Smartphone Applications and Wearable...

Picture credit: HIRIS/YouTube

Meet HIRIS. HIRIS stands for Human Interactive Reliable Integrated System, and boldly claims to be the “first wearable computer for everyone.” It’s a big claim – but does it stack up?

The main reasoning behind this claim is because HIRIS can withstand any environment and be placed anywhere, from different body parts to on tennis rackets. This isn’t an entirely new idea; Misfit Wearables,

Picture credit: LeathermanMedia/YouTube

Here’s a novel approach to building a smartwatch. Leatherman is offering its well known multi-tool set as a bracelet which houses screwdrivers, cutting hooks and box wrenches with the Leatherman Tread.

The idea came to Leatherman president Ben Rivera on a family holiday trip, when he was unable to get past airport security. “I knew there had to be another way to carry my tools with me that would be accepted by security,” he explained. Rivera wore a...

(c)iStock.com/venimo

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said it will only monitor wearable devices that claim to help diagnose and treat major illnesses.

The majority of devices on the market, however, will be classified in the ‘general wellness’ category, which as the name suggests relates more to general wellbeing and can be associated with weight management, physical fitness, improving self-esteem, sleep management or sexual function.

The FDA notes it’s more the classification...

(c)iStock.com/namiroz

With the expected launch – and subsequent hype – of the Apple Watch, due out in the first quarter of this year, it’s not a huge surprise to see other tech giants chancing their arm in the space.

While wearable tech was a major factor at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) earlier this month, there seemed to be a communal lethargy towards another generation of fitness trackers and...

(c)iStock.com/ferrantraite

Google Glass is gone. Well, it has in its current form anyway, after the tech giant announced in an indirect way it was ceasing sales of Glass Explorer on January 19.

In a Google Plus post entitled “We’re graduating from Google[x] labs”, the company states it is closing its Explorer Program to “focus on what’s coming next.”

“Interest in wearables has exploded and today it’s one of the most exciting areas in technology,” the team...

(c)iStock.com/bekisha

We’ve got some bad news for you. That Fitbit, or Jawbone you got for Christmas isn’t going to magically make you a healthier person, or even really influence you to become healthier, just because of the technology involved.

That’s the key takeaway from a study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which argues that mobile health apps need to do better in utilising theories of health behaviour, rather than focus on the...

(c)iStock.com/krystiannawrocki

Apple has filed a patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a “digital camera system having remote control”, fuelling speculation that Cupertino is preparing a further push towards wearable tech in 2015.

The patent, viewable...

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...

Picture credit: Swarovski/YouTube

Misfit Wearables has launched two Swarovski Shine wearables at the Consumer Electronics Show in a partnership with the jewellery brand.

The wearables are available in a crystal and violet face, with the latter utilising a unique “energy crystal” technology which enables charging through exposure to light. Lest this innovation goes the way of the sundial, Misfit writes: “This is the world’s first wireless activity and sleep monitor that utilises an...

Japanese giant Sony might be facing serious financial woes at the moment, but it's not stopping them from trying to find their next "Walkman" product. The company has invented a wearable display which can turn your favourite pair of spectacles into a modern wonder next to the likes of Google Glass, maybe.

Sony intends to show-off their smart eyewear kit at the CES in January

An OLED microdisplay is attached to the user's glasses and will provide relevant...

Most devices on the market use Bluetooth to communicate, and therefore rely on a six-digit PIN code to authenticate between them. This represents approximately one million possible keys which with today's computing power is simple to crack and allow an attacker access to private data about the user without consent.

The researchers showed how information from the wearable device could be revealed in plain text

Other than just notifications, wearable devices are collecting data such as...

Picture credit: iStockPhoto

41% of respondents in a new Accellion and Vanson Bourne survey expect to see the Apple Watch in its organisation in the coming year, ahead of Google Glass and the Sony Smartwatch.

Apple’s smartwatch, which is still at a tentative early 2015 release date, is certainly getting a lot of consumer and enterprise buy in compared to Glass, the second generation of which will be powered by Intel chips

Picture credit: iStockPhoto

Reports have surfaced that the next generation of Google Glass wearables will feature an Intel chipset, having moved on from Texas Instruments.

The move pushes Intel further into the wearable tech space, and represents the search giant going back to the drawing board in terms of its design for the product, which has recently come in for criticism for its target towards the consumer space.

Picture credit: iStockPhoto

A study from Reportlinker on the wearable electronics and semiconductor market has agreed the current state of wearables for enterprise is far stronger than the consumer equivalent.

The report analyses the different industry sectors, market drivers, demographic factors and emerging markets, and notes the difficulty of sizing up a market which is so nascent and contains so many potential offshoots.

For the purposes of the report, Reportlinker classifies a wearable computing device...