(c)iStock.com/kycstudio

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...

(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...

(c)iStock.com/plusphoto

Our data science intern, Heng Li, obliged our begging and wrote a blog post about what he’s been working on for us this winter. Here is what he told us:

This winter I have the pleasure of working on a data science internship project for Strap along with Qiyao Wang. Simply speaking, the goal of our...

(c)iStock.com/kevinjeon00

The first consumer-facing wearable devices launched in the late 1980s and mostly comprised of computers strapped to your head or wrist PDAs that weren’t quite as useful in real life as they were on paper.

However, one big shift that’s happening in the industry is that mobile manufacturers are embracing the wearables challenge, making much more exciting devices than we saw even three years ago.

With the launch of wearables...

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/svetikd)

Health insurance provider, AXA PPP, is hosting their first ever "Health Tech & You" awards at the Design Museum in London and will announce an overall winner during a ceremony on the 18th March 2015. Perhaps predictably, the shortlist is laden with wearable and connected devices which monitor health and performance to usher in a new-generation of patient-led...

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/BsWei)

Stop kidding yourself. Simply wearing a fitness tracker for a couple of months was never going to make you reach your health goals. In order for your new gadget to have any meaningful impact on your health, you need to know how to use it as effectively as possible.

1. Establish a Baseline

You might be raring to try out your new toy, but if you want to track your fitness level accurately you’ll need to establish a...

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/stokkete

A report published by A&D Medical of more than 2000 US adults has found more than half (56%) of respondents want to monitor their health with connected health devices that automatically send information to their doctors.

The potential of wearable technology, connected devices all powered by the Internet of Things (IoT) is here to stay – and according to A&D, consumers are increasingly looking for buy-in. Blood pressure (37%) was the most popular test respondents wanted to...

(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...

(c)iStock.com/aislan13

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...

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...

(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...

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...

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...