We're told that the snow is starting to fly (here at WTI's nerve center in Brooklyn, it's been 50 degrees in December, so we'll take people's word for that), and that means people's thoughts are turning to skiing and ski gear. Recon Instruments, the Intel company that makes heads-up displays for ski goggles, has a new app that lets you control your GoPro Hero camera -- … [Read more...]
About Dan Rosenbaum
Multi-sensor Tool Tracks Throwing and Batting Mechanics
Sports teams and athletes (and the considerable ecosystems around them) have been figuring out how best to take advantage of wearable tech. Motus Global has created a set of sensors that create real-time biomechanics reports about how a baseball player throws and bats. The MotusPro comprises five six-axis sensors that fit into custom-placed pockets on compression shirts, … [Read more...]
Samsung Drops Out of Top Five Fitness Tracker List, says IDC
IDC's 3Q15 wearables figures are out, and Fitbit is the big winner while Samsung the big loser. The market research firm says Fitbit sold 4.7 million devices in the third quarter, twice as many as it sold in the same period last year. It accounts for 22.2 percent of the global market. Apple, IDC said, sold 3.9 million Apple Watches, for 18.6 percent of the market. It was … [Read more...]
Why Some People Are Dissatisfied With The Apple Watch
Creative Strategies has long been a well-known market research company following technology, and their opinions sometimes feel like they tilt in Apple's direction. That makes a recent survey of people who bought and abandoned their Apple Watches particularly interesting. Researchers found 340 people in that boat and discovered that about half of them lasted two weeks or … [Read more...]
US Commerce Department to Host Smart Fabrics Summit This Spring
The US Commerce Department, in partnership with the Industrial Fabrics Association International, announced today that it will host a Smart Fabrics Summit on April 4, 2016 in Washington, DC. A release from the Commerce Department says that the day-long session will be designed to get fashion, technology, and policy players around the same table. Specific issues include … [Read more...]
[Updated] Omate Announces Carbon Fiber Rise LTE Smartwatch; Indiegogo Launches Dec 7
![[Updated] Omate Announces Carbon Fiber Rise LTE Smartwatch; Indiegogo Launches Dec 7](https://wearablesinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/12/3-150x150.jpg)
LG may have had some trouble getting its LTE smartwatch out the door, but that doesn't seem to have hindered pioneer Omate. The company today announced a 48-hour Indiegogo campaign to pre-sell its Omate Rise LTE watch. The Omate Rise will run Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with a user-facing interface designed by Omate; the watch will connect with both Android and iOS apps using … [Read more...]
Jabil Publishes Reference Platform for Connected Clothing
Jabil, the electronics manufacturing giant that bought connected fabric leader Clothing+ earlier this year, is starting to use its heft to establish itself in the smart clothing business. The company today published the Peak+ reference design for clothing, incorporating smart fabrics from Clothing+, transmitters and apps from Suunto, and analytics from Firstbeat. John … [Read more...]
Swatch to Sell NFC Watch Next Year
Swatch, the Swiss watchmaking giant, says it will sell an analog watch next year with an NFC payment chip linked to the Visa payment network. The Bellamy line of watches will be sold in the United States, Switzerland, and Brazil starting next year. The first two countries are pretty obvious; Brazil is the home of the 2016 Olympics, of which Visa is a global sponsor. The … [Read more...]
Google’s Flexible Glass Patent
Nearly every day brings another rumor of what the next Google Glass will look like. This one isn't really much more reliable than any of them, but it is at least a Google patent. The company got a patent last week (9,195,067) for a lightweight visor with a flexible headband that can articulate at the ear, the temple, and the back of the head for precise fit and positioning. … [Read more...]
Jawbone Lays Off 15 Pct of Staff, Closes NY Office, in “Streamlining”
Jawbone, the fitness tracer/speaker/headset company, has reportedly laid off 60 people -- 15 percent of its staff -- in a general "streamlining of its business. The cuts came across the entire company, Techcrunch reports, and were not aimed at any particular part of the company or product. As part of the cutbacks, Jawbone closed its New York office, which was devoted to … [Read more...]