Fingerprint and iris scanners might soon be old hat in the recognition game. Samsung’s recently published patent “Wearable Device and of Operating the Same” is for a wearable device that can identify a user by an image of her veins. The device takes a picture of your veins via a camera/infrared combination and compares it to a stored image. If they match, the device could be … [Read more...]
Samsung BioProcessor Sensor Promises More Advanced Wearables
Those of us obsessed with finished goods can forget that Samsung is one of the world's powers in microprocessors. The Korean giant announced this week a new sensor chip, the BioProcessor (part number S3FBP5A, for those of you keeping score at home), that promises to measure heart rate and rhythm, skin temperature, body fat, and stress level. Samsung says the chip is in … [Read more...]
Samsung Drops Out of Top Five Fitness Tracker List, says IDC
IDC's 3Q15 wearables figures are out, and Fitbit is the big winner while Samsung the big loser. The market research firm says Fitbit sold 4.7 million devices in the third quarter, twice as many as it sold in the same period last year. It accounts for 22.2 percent of the global market. Apple, IDC said, sold 3.9 million Apple Watches, for 18.6 percent of the market. It was … [Read more...]
Why Wearables Makers Should Get Into The Content Business Today
You may not see the intersection of ESPN and fitness trackers, but it's there -- and if you make trackers, there's an opportunity to be had RIGHT NOW. There's a guy named Joe Pulizzi who runs something called the Content Marketing Institute. If you want to tell your brand story with content -- and not only should you, you have to -- Joe's pretty much the world's living … [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...]
Samsung Gear S2 Smartwatch Will Reportedly Work with iPhones
A company the size and scale of Samsung does not likely enjoy being a runner-up, even in a market as small as smartwatches. That makes Digital Spy's scoop all the more interesting: the upcoming Gear S2 smartwatch -- the round one with the rotating control bezel -- will work with iOS phones. For the last year or so, Samsung has turned its back on Android Wear, favoring the … [Read more...]
Samsung Announces Gear S2 Round Tizen Watch
As expected, Samsung has announced a new round-faced smartwatch, the Gear S2. Continuing Samsung's embrace of the open-source Tizen operating system and rejection of Android Wear, the Gear S2 introduces a new interface element: a rotating bezel that would allow users to literally "dial-in" their inputs. The watches are nearly 12 mm thick and faces are 1.2 inches in diameter, … [Read more...]
Apple Watch a Close Number 2 Behind Fitbit, Says IDC
We've been saying for months that we won't judge the Apple Watch a success or failure until we see hard numbers from a company like IDC. Now, the market intelligence company says Apple shipped 3.4 million units in 2Q15 -- the first quarter of its availability -- compared to Fitbit's 4.4 million. The wearables industry as a whole shipped 18.1 million units, up 223 percent from … [Read more...]
Samsung Sneaks Next Gear Smartwatch
Samsung held a press shindig today to show off its latest cellphone and phablet (a word that our spell-checker seems to think is OK), and used the occasion to give a quick look at the Gear S2 smartwatch, which it won't formally introduce until next month. The round-faced S2, like most Samsung smartwatches, looks like it will be based on the Tizen operating system. Nice watch … [Read more...]
IDC Puts Fitbit Number 1 in Trackers, with Xiaomi in Second
IDC says Fitbit is the world's top vendor of fitness trackers for the first quarter of 2015, with Chinese Xiaomi in a strong second thanks to its $15 Mi Band. Overall, the world market for trackers was 11.4 million, up 200 percent from the year previous. IDC analysts say that 40 percent of trackers sold in the first quarter sold for under $100 -- not surprising given the … [Read more...]