Now we know for sure: Google Glass was a toy. Google announced today its entry into the practical world of wearables, with Android Wear. This version of the Android operating system will essentially expand on notification devices like the Pebble watch or the Samsung Gear. Where those devices drive information from a phone to a wearable device like a wristwatch, Android Wear … [Read more...]
Google to Ship Wearables SDK Soon
At this past weekend's SXSW Interactive conference, Sundar Pichai, Google's senior VP of Android, apps, and Chrome, announced that his company will ship a wearables SDK within two weeks. Translation for those who don't speak Geek: Google is about to make available tools (an SDK is a "software development kit") that will make it easier for developers to build software that … [Read more...]
Moto Teases A Pretty Wearable, But Not Much Else
Motorola, in a state of continual change for the last few years, says it's going to ship a pretty wearable. We don't know anything else about it -- like what it might do. Or when it might ship. Or what it might cost. We just have a promise that it'll look nice. The device part of Moto, one of the great brands in technology since the first car radio, was sold to Google in … [Read more...]
Google Details How Not To Be A Glasshole
Google is often slow to understand that it has public relation problems, so it is just now dealing with the fact that not everyone is delighted with the people who own and wear Google Glass. The company has posted a Goofus and Gallant guide on how Glass Explorers ought to behave. It's easy to make fun of this, but it's really not a bad move. People using new technologies … [Read more...]
Basis Selling Itself to Whomever, says Techcrunch
Monday morning usually brings a spate of M&A news/leaks. Today, Techcrunch reports that Basis -- the heart monitor wristband company -- is either trying to sell itself or raise a Series C round. The acquisition candidates include Apple, Google, Samsung, or maybe Microsoft. The Basis tracker has the reputation for being one of the more accurate products on the market, but … [Read more...]
Will We See Samsung Glass This Year?
A lightly sourced (to be kind) article in Korea Times make some predictions about the facewear market in 2014. The reporter quotes an anonymous official at Samsung as saying that Samsung will introduce a smart glasses product at the upcoming IFA trade show in September in Berlin. He also cites "an executive at Google's local parts supplier" as confirming that Google Glass will … [Read more...]
Intel’s Edison Can Do Local Voice Processing, No Cloud Required
Though it's fun to play Stupid Siri Tricks on the iPhone (we had loads of laughs asking it about the movie "Her"), there's one bit problem with it: Siri needs a network connection. It calls home to process your questions. No connectivity, no Siri. Intel's Project Edison wearable platform apparently has no such limitation. Quartz, the excellent news site from The Atlantic, … [Read more...]
Google Contact Lenses to Fight Diabetes
Contact lenses to help diagnose various medical conditions are uncommon but not unheard of. Google, though, is now talking about building contact lenses with wireless sensors that can track the chemical composition of tears. That's not some evil conspiracy to control all of the internet's endpoints. It turns out to be important in fighting diabetes. Sufferers need to track … [Read more...]
Glass: Product of the Year — Part 3
It's not actually shipping, except to some selected blessed few. It costs about as much as an annual gym membership. It makes you look like a dork, and it doesn't actually do very much. So how can Google Glass be called a Product of the Year? Because in many ways to many people, fairly or unfairly, Glass defines wearable technology in 2013. From most companies, something … [Read more...]
Bloomberg: Foxconn Starting Wearables Incubator
Bloomberg News is reporting that Foxconn -- the Taiwanese electronics company that builds Apple's iPhones, among many other products -- is starting an incubator for wearable products. Reporter Tim Culpan reminds viewers that Foxconn is a 40-year-old company that needs to look at the next horizon of tech, and that it needs to build its internal expertise for when clients … [Read more...]