Three quick items from around the web: Here's a roundup of interesting-ish wearable stuff from SXSW, none of which should be new to you. Reuters reports that an athletic wear company, Li-Ning, is partnering with Chinese giant Xiaomi to produce smart running shows. Li-Ning is apparently in some financial distress. And a Citrix exec lays out seven design principles for … [Read more...]
US Government Sets Wearables Accelerator for Responders
First responders are an obvious, if difficult, market for wearable tech. Technical demands for responders are difficult to fulfill, governments don't have a lot of money, and purchase cycles are long. But where government money does flow, products follow. And government money is starting to flow to wearables. The US Department of Homeland Security has launched EMERGE!, an … [Read more...]
FIFA To Consider Wearables for Soccer (a/k/a Football)
With the European football season beginning to reach its climax (you knew that, right?), we're hearing that FIFA -- the global organization that controls the game -- is starting to embrace wearable technology. A group called the International Football Association Board has approved the idea of using wearables in game situations, as long as the data isn't made available to … [Read more...]
Who Presented at the SXSW Wearables Accelerator
Much as we like Austin, we don't go down to SXSW because we can't really figure out what makes it worth that time. Nonetheless, there was a wearables accelerator competition there; this roundup may be worth checking out if you want to keep an eye on what's bubbling up. (Keep in mind: some of these businesses are "wearables" only if you have a particularly broad idea of what … [Read more...]
Re/Code Tries on Tech Clothing; Wishes It Were Better
A reporter for Re/code built a feature story out of trying tech workout clothing from Athos, OmSignal, and Sensoria. She basically acknowledged why someone would want it, but eventually came to the conclusion that it's a little early for general adoption. The drawbacks: none of it, she said, works all that well. Looking at a smartphone (which is how all these devices report … [Read more...]
Wired’s Deep Dive on the Disney MagicBands
If all there was to Disney's experiment with wearable tech was a wristband, it might have been just OK. But, as Wired beautifully reported in a post that went live this weekend, the MagicBand isn't just a piece of technology; it's a gateway into rethinking the theme park experience from long before arrival to long after departure. No one at Disney thought, "Hey! Let's build … [Read more...]
The End is Nigh, Says Swatch Co-Founder
The Swiss watch industry had a near-death experience when the Japanese started making electronic watches en masse. Now one of the saviors of the Swiss says that Apple, too, presents an existential threat. Elmar Mock, one of the founders of Swatch, told Bloomberg that he thinks Apple will soon sell as many watches as all of Switzerland, and that "[a]nything in the price range … [Read more...]
Apple Watch Wins Because Function Follows Form, Says Analyst
There's a very nicely reasoned piece on Ben Thompson's StraTechEry site this morning, arguing that Apple's emphasis on design in the Apple Watch is the very thing that will create demand for new types of interactions with devices. Essentially, Thompson argues, the function of wearables won't matter unless people are persuaded to wear them in the first place: There has been … [Read more...]
Android Wear Gets New Gestures; Details on Apple Watch
We're now into the war of public attrition between Google and Apple as details dribble out about Android Wear and the Apple Watch. None of it is worth a full article, but you may find it all worthwhile to know. (We suspect there's going to be a lot of this for the next month or so, by the way.) 9to5Mac is reporting breathlessly that the Apple Watch will contain 8GB of RAM, … [Read more...]
MWC Day 3: Flat Bendable Components from ST
We saw interesting stuff at Mobile World Congress ranging from as small as 1mm square to as big as minivan-sized power backups for cell sites. The small stuff held our interest better, particularly the components from STMicroelectronics. Unless you're in the business of putting together electronic systems, it's unlikely you know ST; if that's your line of work, you almost … [Read more...]