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...]
Lots of Talk and Action in NYC Wearables; Event Reports from Eyebeam and HUGE
WTI was out a lot last week, seeing a bunch of new wearable products here in New York City and listening to some interesting ideas. Not much trend or narrative emerged -- the wearbles business isn't quite mature enough to cohere that way -- but some patterns may be starting to peek out. Eyebeam, a gallery in the Chelsea section of New York, has an ongoing research initiative … [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...]
Samsung’s mobile chief is gone
The NYTimes apparently had the story first: Keith Packingham, Samsung's chief product office for mobile, has left. It's unclear whether he quit or was fired, where he's going or how long the change had been afoot. Forbes has some good background about the guy and his tenure. Besides being in charge of Samsung's phones and tablets, Packingham was in charge of the new Galaxy … [Read more...]