All things being equal, we're pretty much fans of Google around here, although we do wish they'd stop acting like villains out of James Bond movies. The latest: Google has apparently been building four-story structures on mysterious barges off the coasts of San Francisco and in New London, CT for reasons that have been heretofore obscure. In the last couple of days, though, … [Read more...]
Google ships Android 4.4 KitKat; Small Footprint Could Aid Wearables
Google has shipped version 4.4 of its Android operating system; it refers to it as KitKat. (Google names Android versions after sweets, in alphabetical order.) There's lots of discussion about what, exactly, this means for wearables. One stated goal of KitKat is to reduce the size of the OS so it will run on older Android devices. Fragmentation has become a big problem for … [Read more...]
USPTO Issues Wearable Tech Patent to Phillipe Kahn-led Fullpower
The Jawbone Up is based on technology called MotionX from a company called Fullpower. The US Patent Office has issued patent 8,568,310 to Fullpower. There are 22 claims to the patent; this is the first and most foundational: A method of monitoring human activity using multiple sensors comprising: monitoring accelerations using an inertial sensor; identifying a user activity … [Read more...]
Cute Circuit Animated Dresses About to Hit The Market
You probably missed Katy Perry's performance at this year's iTunes Festival. If you did, then you missed the animated dress she wore to close her set with the hit "Roar." Cue up the video at 37:00 and watch what she's wearing. Now that's cool. The dress is made by a company called Cute Circuit, and their computerized animated dresses go on sale next month. Fast … [Read more...]
Cisco starts Internet of Things Division
We've written before about Cisco's interest in wearables. Now they've gone and built it into their bureaucracy. Cisco announced the other day that it's launched a division devoted to the Internet of Things -- the idea that everything (everything) will be connected to the Net and will communicate with each other. Cisco, being a leading vendor of devices that route bits around … [Read more...]
WSJ: Google’s Getting Close to the Watch Business
The Wall Street Journal is citing sources that say that Google is in "late-stage talks" with suppliers to build a watch, and could begin production "within months." The watch would run Android (no surprise there) and be based around Google Now, the intelligent assistant that appears on some Android tablets. Reliance on Google Now would require access to things like a user's … [Read more...]
Airo Fitness Band To Track Nutrients?
We're hearing about the Airo fitness band, which claims to track activity, sleep, stress, and even what you eat by looking at your bloodstream. The plan is to build an aluminum band with some soft material on the skin side, and to sync through smartphones. From their FAQ: We've built proprietary technology that uses different wavelengths of light to look into the blood … [Read more...]
Open Source Wristwear: the Angel
Hardware is expensive to develop; software is cheap. That's why the Angel sensor, an open source fitness band, has the potential for being extremely important. The Angel is raising money on Indiegogo, and (as of this writing) has raised more than $200,000 of its original $100,000 goal, with 9 days to go. So the thing is a hit. Or, at least, there'll be enough money to get … [Read more...]
Samsung Gear To Play Well With More Tablets
One of the biggest raps, among the many, against the Samsung Gear smartwatch is that it's an add-on device that would only work with one Samsung tablet. Samsung's now fixing that -- a little -- by expanding the roster of devices. When the Samsung Galaxy S4,S III and Note II get their updates to Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean), the company says they'll be able to work with the Gear. … [Read more...]
Intuit’s Pay-by-Glass Prototype
Mobile payments are a pretty obvious application for Google Glass, although the only app that's close to being in the real world just works with BitCoin, so its utility is somewhat limited. But Intuit, maker of Quicken and QuickBooks, is now sniffing around. Investor Business Times reports that Quicken has adopted its GoPayment app to work with Glass. There's an Intuit video … [Read more...]