Nymi, which has been working for years to bring a heartbeat-driven identity band to market, has brought in a new CEO and board member to drive enterprise adoption of its product. John Haggard, the new CEO, comes from Yubico, which makes two-factor authentication keys and related software; Haggard was Chief Business Officer there. The new board member is Ram Varadarajan, who … [Read more...]
About Dan Rosenbaum
Microsoft Band 2 Incorporates Cortana
Microsoft tossed out a ton of new products today, including an updated Microsoft Band 2 fitness tracker. The new version includes a curved OLED screen, a barometer, and can track a VO2Max. It also will support third-party apps as well as Cortana, the voice recognition application that Microsoft is rolling out across its entire product line. The Band, available for preorder … [Read more...]
Swatch Joins Connected Watch World with Touch Zero One
We've beaten up Swatch a bit over the past couple of years for its stated rejection of the smartwatch business. The Swiss time giant is now taking a tentative step into that world with a connected activity watch built around (of all things) beach volleyball. There's a degree of method to that particular madness; Swatch is the lead sponsor of a global beach volleyball tour -- … [Read more...]
Samsung Great S2 Round Smartwatch Goes on Sale Friday
We've written before about the round Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch. The company announced today that the watch will go on sale October 2, but it may be a little hard to find. Although you'll be able to get it at Samsung's own site and Amazon, if you want to get hands on at launch, you'll have to make the a pilgrimage to your local Best Buy or to Macy's main store in Herald Square, … [Read more...]
Skype Enables Calls with Android Wear Watches
There are apparently people who like to manage phone calls with their watches -- beyond just seeing who's calling and rejecting them. Skype now makes that easier with Android Wear devices. With version 6.4 of Skype for Android, Android Wear users can accept or reject calls from their watches, and use voice-to-text to respond to chats. It's not clear whether you can initiate … [Read more...]
Ars Technica Reviews Moto360 Update; Faster, But No New Tech
Ars Technica weighs in on the newest iteration of the Moto360 smartwatch, which it correctly pegs as the most iconic hardware expression of Android Wear. The verdict: OK, but nothing to get all fussed about. The new Moto360 has a faster chip than the older one -- a Qualcomm Snapdragon rather than a TI OMAP. The crown was moved from 3 o'clock to 2 o'clock, as many other … [Read more...]
Pebble Debuts the Pebble Round Smartwatch
Punditry that suggested that Pebble would be roadkill in the face of the Apple Watch and Android Wear is turning out have been somewhat overheated. The smartwatch pioneer has announced the Pebble Round, a thin round watch that merrily goes its own way. What's remarkable about Pebble is that it succeeds by doing only a few things well. Its watches are essentially notification … [Read more...]
Omate Announces TrueSmart Standalone Smartwatch Update
Omate was one of the first smartwatch companies, and carved its own path with standalone devices that used SIM chips and didn't need to be tethered to a smart phone. The company today announced its latest update: the TrueSmart+, based on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) and a custom UI. Apps for the watch will be downloadable from Omate's "OStore." A 1.5-inch touch screen is the main … [Read more...]
Apple WatchOS 2.0 Released
It was supposed to hit the streets last week, but QA found a show-stopping bug. Things seem to have now been resolved, and Apple has released WatchOS 2.0 to the public. You can update over the air from your Apple Watch iPhone app. We haven't tried it yet, and we don't know what the bug was. We'll update as necessary. … [Read more...]
Fitbit’s B2B Business is now HIPAA Compliant
The big players in fitness trackers have long since figured out that the big money will be in business-to-business sales; one big corporate contract can make an entire quarter. Fitbit has announced that Fitbit Wellness, its corporate offering, is now HIPAA-compliant, meaning the information it gathers and shares meets the U.S.-mandated privacy standard. It's an important … [Read more...]