Pebble's future seems uncertain - despite $18 million in the bank

Despite holding a fond place in my heart as one of the OG smartwatches, it seemed inevitable that Pebble would find itself struggling against the titans of the industry.

Sources close to the company report that employees are unhappy with Pebble's direction as it attempts to fight Apple and Google

With the launch of Google's Android Wear platform, came a serious competitor with far more resources. This is something which has heated-up even more since the Apple Watch launched out of the...

By Ryan Daws, 21 May 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Android, Devices, iOS, Smartwatches.

Gear SDK reveals features of Samsung's next smartwatch

Samsung was among the first to release an Android Wear smartwatch, but the Korean giant has been focusing its efforts on a Tizen-based watch called 'Project Orbis" which is due for release later this year.

Being based on Tizen, the firm would have more control over the experience than the limited changes which can be made to Google's smartwatch OS. The upcoming device has not yet been fully-revealed, but Samsung hasn't been shy about its existence with invites teasing "Get...

By Ryan Daws, 13 May 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Android, Devices, Ecosystems, Samsung, Smartwatches.

Addapp creates actionable insights from your health data

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/lzf)

Wearables are creating an exciting new era for the health industry, with more data about its users available to ensure our bodies remain in peak condition. The problem is that - aside from telling us to get off our rears or letting us know how far we've run - current devices are creating a whole bunch of data but without much context. 

Addapp wants to change this...

Android Wear lands Wi-Fi support, "Always-On" apps, and hands-free gestures

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/Graffizone)

Fans of the Apple Watch are just starting to get the company's debut into the wearable market, whilst Google has decided to treat customers who own one of the six available Android Wear devices to a tasty new update which brings some major new features to the platform.

Most of the smartwatches available on Android Wear ship with an "Always-On" display to ensure that the...

By Ryan Daws, 20 April 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Android, Applications, Apps, Google, Smartwatches.

Pebble wants help to strap-up for the future

Pebble helped to kick-off the rising smartwatch market after fans contributed over $10 million via crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter. Even today it still leads powerful competitors from both the Android and Apple camps in areas such as battery life and cross-platform compatibility. 

The team behind Pebble are clearly talented, and their innovation has helped them to stand-out against the goliaths of the industry. With their recently-announced Pebble Time,...

By Ryan Daws, 24 March 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Devices, Smartwatches.

Music is our medicine with 'The Sync Project'

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/AleksandarNakic)

Numerous studies have proven that the right kind of music can have significant benefits to our mental health, concentration, and our energy levels. Of course, music tastes are an individual thing and you'll probably find it difficult to get someone into grunge to admit enjoying some Katy Perry... 

This is where wearables...

By Ryan Daws, 20 March 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Health & Wellness, Performance Monitoring, Trackers.

Mango Health provides a digital nurse on your wrist

Wearables are taking off thanks to how they help to keep a track on our health and can offer small tips and prompts which can make a huge difference to our personal wellbeing. In fact, just yesterday we posted an article about how they are expected to help us predict major disease outbreaks.

Mango Health, which has executives from both the mobile and...

By Ryan Daws, 17 March 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Apps, Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness, Trackers.

SXSW: Predicting health crises through biometrics

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/Prykhodov)

Long-term readers of my articles will know I'm a fierce critic of Apple, but something happened during their last event and recent discussions at SXSW seem to confirm they’ve changed an industry in a way I don't think the Cupertino-based giant has since the debut of the original iPhone…

When ResearchKit was announced, I was...

By Ryan Daws, 16 March 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Data & Analytics, Devices, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness, Research, Trackers.

Research: Smartwatches affect drivers more than phones

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Tests conducted by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) in Wokingham have shown that reading a smartwatch whilst driving is more distracting than reading a smartphone and results in longer reaction time to perform an emergency manoeuvre.

A driver reading a message on a smartwatch took 2.52 seconds to react in an emergency, whilst using a handheld mobile caused a 1.85 second delay. The TRL also tested...

By Ryan Daws, 13 March 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Android, iOS, Regulation, Research, Smartwatches.

Security: Wearables will be the target of hackers

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/Yuri_Arcurs)

During yesterday's "Spring Forward" event from Apple, we saw for ourselves how our smartwatches will be remote controls for the smart home to open doors around the home. The question is, are you concerned this could be exploited by a hacker?

Apple's debut watch, as most current smartwatches, uses both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology. The capabilities of the watch and the information it holds...

By Ryan Daws, 10 March 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Bluetooth, Privacy, Security, Smartwatches.

MWC15: Round-up of Wearable World Congress

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Everyone was either showing off hardware, or discussing the future of wearable devices at Mobile World Congress this year. Smartwatches took most of the attention, but was stalked by some impressive VR headsets from a range of manufacturers...

Huawei

Huawei somewhat stole the show with their smartwatch unveil. The manufacturer is often known for great smartphones which often undercut the...

By Ryan Daws, 06 March 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Android, Devices, Eyewear, Fitness, Health & Wellness, Samsung, Smartwatches.

MWC15: Muse is a "fitness tracker for your brain"

The fitness industry is driving wearable adoption, as the success of devices such as Fitbit proves. In fact, on-stage at MWC we heard from Fitbit's Vice President, Gareth Jones, about how their range are breaking into a market which has been reserved to early-adopters through partnerships such as that with WeightWatchers.

So far, these trackers have focused on things like heart rate and perspiration. The most important part of a person's wellbeing, however, is their mental state. No-one wants to...

Colour-display Pebble with new UI leaks ahead of event

(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, 

By Ryan Daws, 23 February 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Devices, Smartwatches, UI.

Mattel's iconic View-Master is now a Google Cardboard

(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...

By Ryan Daws, 13 February 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Android, Devices, Google, Virtual Reality.

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.

AXA awards patient-led healthcare innovations

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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...

By Ryan Daws, 28 January 2015, 0 comments. Categories: Fitness, Health Monitoring, Health & Wellness, Performance Monitoring, Trackers.

Sony wants to make your glasses "Smart"

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...

By Ryan Daws, 17 December 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Devices, Enterprise, Eyewear, Health & Wellness, Virtual Reality.

Bitdefender proves Bluetooth wearables’ vulnerability

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...

By Ryan Daws, 15 December 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Bluetooth, Connectivity, Devices, Privacy, Research, Security.

Google's Wearable Wednesday - Cardboard SDK, Android Wear 5.0...

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...

By Ryan Daws, 11 December 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Android, Applications, Eyewear, Gaming, Smartwatches.

Wearable devices could put you behind bars

The wearable sector is seeing its growth fuelled by fitness devices which are able to track our location, heart rate, and even specific movements. This of course has led to security and privacy concerns, but what if your device could end up putting you away for some time in the slammer?

It’s not much of a surprise that law enforcement want access to the data from our devices and cloud services as we live increasingly digital lives.

A personal injury lawyer in Canada has used data from a Fitbit smartwatch to...

By Ryan Daws, 08 December 2014, 0 comments. Categories: Data & Analytics, Health Monitoring, IoT, Privacy, Security, Smartwatches, Trackers.