Picture credit: Steven Depolo/Flickr

Guest post - by Tom Emrich

Wearable technology is changing every facet of our lives including how we make and experience sports and entertainment. Professional athletes are using wearables to better their performance, devices like Google Glass are giving fans a whole new perspective of the game and technology like virtual reality, sensors and haptics are redefining movies and music. Adidas is working with professional teams like the

Picture credit: IBM/YouTube

There are two main challenges with developing for wearable devices; creating a seamless user experience, and getting enough processing power to enable the seamless user experience you’ve created.

Cortus, a French company which creates low-power IP cores, has announced the first in a new family of products based on its v2 instruction set, specifically targeting sensors, wearables, and other Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

The first release is the APS23, which has a...

Picture credit: JDHancock

If you're a bit of a geek like me, then ever since seeing the holodeck in Star Trek you will have dreamed of a room you can walk in and be virtually transported anywhere without the hassle and cost of flights and/or public transport.

Microsoft Research revealed its 'IllumiRoom' project last year and provided us with an exciting look at the future of gaming. Now IllumiRoom is back with a spiritual successor under the new name of...

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...

Picture credit: Garmin

GPS provider Garmin has launched Connect IQ, a platform for developers to build apps which connect with Garmin’s wearable devices.

It’s an interesting move for the firm whose series of wearable devices, outside of fitness trackers, struggles compared to other vendors. As a result, the fact they’re looking for third party developers to beef up their offering is an understandable one.

“As an early mover in the wearables market, we are excited to open up the Garmin...

With over 10 million wearable devices sold in 2014 alone – should brands start paying more attention to the wearables space?

Based on a recent Forrester report – 25% of American Adults plan on buying a wearable within the next year. If Forrester’s data holds true that would be an estimated 79 Million+ wearables sold within the next year. To put this in perspective only 64 million Smartphones were...

By Adam Spearing, VP Platform EMEA, salesforce.com

While the market for wearable devices is arguably just getting started, few would contend that there’s plenty of time for enterprise development teams to get a grip on the wave of new devices heading into their organisations. Consider this: The analyst firm IHS estimates that more than 180 million wearable devices are likely to be sold in 2018, up from 50 million anticipated to sell this year.

And it’s certainly not just...

My cake day is coming up and in pre-celebration I would love to share what I find particularly interesting on reddit, regarding wearables of course. And so after digging through all the memes, gifs, ELI5′s, and other wonderful surprises I discovered, I have compiled a list of five reddit wearable tech posts found in various subreddits that caught my eye.

1. Minuum AMA

Featured in our previous blog about wearables in the...

Yesterday, the world finally got to see the much-hyped and highly anticipated Apple Watch. Live stream woes notwithstanding, the event was very well done in my opinion. The fact that Apple has been able to keep all of this under wraps for so long is even more impressive. The event rivaled the original iPhone launch. After our “watch” party at the Brandery, the...

In case you missed it last night, Apple launched a wearable device – the Apple Watch, not the iWatch – as part of its latest product developments. But what sort of market is Cupertino heading towards?

According to the latest survey results from law firm Osborne Clarke, less than one in 10 UK consumers are expecting to buy wearable technology in the next year, with the share among 18-24 and 25-34 year olds not exactly skyrocketing at 10% and 14% uptake respectively.

It’s worth noting at this...

Apple design chief, Jony Ive, recently made a comment that Switzerland's economy is "in trouble" which was undoubtedly in reference to his confidence that Swiss watch manufacturers should be scared of his renowned designs. The company has also, for the first time, invited press from the fashion industry along to their coveted event scheduled for tomorrow.

If these two revelations weren't big enough signs that Apple is at least ready to show their move into the wearable market; maybe the...

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...

Adam Spearing, VP platform EMEA at Salesforce, has told WearableTech that he believes the uptake of wearable technology will be so rapid it will ‘make the smartphone revolution seem like the Tolpuddle Martyrs.’

Spearing was commenting as Salesforce announced a raft of updates to its Salesforce Wear platform, including a series of new hardware partners including Oculus, Jawbone and Epson, as well as new enterprise applications from ISVs.

“We see this as a big space,” he tells WearableTech. “We think...

Salesforce has announced a bunch of new stuff on its Salesforce Wear wearable tech platform, with an array of new hardware manufacturers on board alongside more ISVs and partnerships aiming to create killer enterprise applications.

Five new device manufacturers – Epson, Jawbone, Meta, Oculus and Vuzix – have lent their support to building apps on the platform, joining the likes of Google Glass, Samsung Gear and Pebble.

"The explosive growth of Salesforce Wear has validated the need for a...

The wearables market is now hitting the streets, literally! New creative devices are being constructed to help people move around the city easier than before. Here, we’re going to tackle two new devices that I find pretty interesting and that just might help you with your commute to work, errand-running, or exercising on the go.

Happy Feet

Pulling your phone out from your waistband or pocket be quite the hassle while running or biking, especially as it’s jumping and jostling around in your shorts....

By Jeff Kaplan, managing director, THINKstrategies

The hottest topic in the tech industry is the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) – the idea that nearly every object and device will be connected via high speed networks in the not too distant future. These connected things will produce valuable information which will enable companies to better understand how their products and services are being used so they can better serve their customers, and be in a better position to gain a competitive...

Steve Wozniak’s always good for an opinion or two – and the Apple co-founder’s been at it again, this time saying that Apple is poised to take the smartwatch and wearables market up a notch.

As reported by CNET, Woz told their reporters in an email exchange that even though wearables were “a hard sell,” Apple has “a chance to set the direction and make the product...

Wearable tech startup Wearable Intelligence has shovelled $8m in the direction of bringing Google Glass to the enterprise after the latest round of venture funding.

The latest round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, has been documented in this filing to the US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).

The California-based company, led by CEO Yan-David Erlich and president Ryan Junee, is squarely focused on utilising...

SMS Audio LLC has announced a collaboration with Intel to deliver biometric headphones, aiming to combine optimum sound quality with a custom heart rate monitor to give users fitness data.

The product, given the exalted moniker of SMS Audio BioSport In-Ear Headphones powered by Intel, is part of the SMS Audio Sport Collection, and offers a variety of services, including compatibility with fitness app RunKeeper, as well as a 3.5mm gold-plated audio jack which claims to eliminate the need for regular...