Just as Fitbit, leader in the fitness band market, is suiting up for its $100 million IPO, rival Jawbone has hit it with a particularly juicy lawsuit, claiming that Fitbit was systematically poaching its employees, who brought confidential information along with them. The complaint, filed in California Superior Court, claims that Fitbit contacted a third of Jawbone's … [Read more...]
Is Your Activity Tracker Tracking More Than Just Your Activity?
The security firm Context Information Security recently put up an extensive and interesting post that points out that gadgets that use Bluetooth Low Energy -- as most wearables do -- can be tracked, and could therefore be seen as a security or privacy risk. The report gives background on beacon technology, which uses wireless signals to serve up location-dependent content. … [Read more...]
A Wearable Tech Circus In Toronto
When technology and the arts meet, the result can be either disappointing or profound or someplace in between. A wearable tech-oriented performance at a circus arts festival in Toronto, reported in The Star, sounds like something we'd have liked to have been at. One performer used motion sensors to control lights and music as she danced. This act sounded interesting, … [Read more...]
DrumPants Comes Back For Round Two
One of the most popular stories ever on this site was about DrumPants, a set of lightweight MIDI triggers that fit either on or under your clothing, and which trigger drum sounds when you touch them. The concept was simple and the execution was too -- or, as simple as building hardware ever is. The first version was the result of a very successful crowd-funding campaign, and a … [Read more...]
Disney COO Touts More Wearables In Theme Parks
The Disney MagicBand is perhaps the most widely deployed commercial application of wearable tech, although its development and application did not come without considerable internal controversy. Disney's newly named chief operating officer, Tom Staggs, told Reuters recently that he expects the MagicBands will expand beyond DisneyWorld to other of the company's parks. Said … [Read more...]
CNET Says Apple Watch Step Counter Is Super Accurate, If…
The Apple Watch is a beautiful piece of kit with ground-breaking functionality and UI, but lost in all the shouting is a simple question: how is it as a fitness tracker, which is the core function of most smart watches? The answer is: pretty good, if you take some care. CNET took that care and documented it. Out of the box, reporter Dan Graziano found, step counter … [Read more...]
New Canalys Figures Show Fitbit Leading Wearables Market — For Now
Canalys, which has a better-than-most handle on the size and shape of the consumer wearables market, is out with its 1Q15 numbers, and they show Fitbit maintaining its lead in a growing market. Overall, the research company said the wearable band market grew 150 percent year over year, with more than 7 million units shipped in the first quarter. The company did not publicly … [Read more...]
Flextronics Exec to Entrepreneurs: Be Realistic
No matter whose name is on the label, Flextronics actually builds most of the electronic stuff in your life -- most famously for Apple, but also for Lenovo, HP, Cisco, and on and on. One of its execs spoke at the Wearable World Congress this week and told product designers in the crowd that they should be conservative about what they try to build. Jeannine Sargent runs … [Read more...]
Is Pebble Doing OK? Probably.
There are starting to be rumors -- most prominently picked up by TechCrunch -- that Pebble is having some problems. Despite a phenomenally successful $20 million Kickstarter round for its upcoming Pebble Time smartwatch, TechCrunch is citing "sources close to the company" as saying attempts to raise venture money are not going well, and that the company took out a $5 million … [Read more...]
Google’s Fadell Says Glass Isn’t Dead, But Don’t Count On It Soon
Google put its retail products guy, Tony Fadell, in charge of Glass earlier this year, then went largely silent about the previously wildly over-hyped project. For the first time, Fadell talked about Glass this week at a Google Zeitgeist conference in the UK -- and what he said didn't make it sound like we're going to see a product anytime soon. Fadell reportedly told the … [Read more...]