This Week In Wearables – Is the ‘Killer App for Wearables’ Finally Here?
This Week in Wearables is our weekly blog curating the best stories on wearables from around the web.
Owaves Launches ‘Killer App for Wearables’
via PR Newswire
At the end of a small gathering of entrepreneurs and technology innovators in San Diego, California early last year –Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone, made an impactful statement; “If this isn’t the killer app for wearables, I don’t know what is.” The statement, caught on video, pointed to a concept in private beta at the time called Wellness GPS™. Today Owaves, the company behind Wellness GPS – a small lifestyle medicine technology start-up based in Encinitas, California – announces official release of the system.
Global Smart Wearable Market to Surpass USD37 Billion by 2020 Says TechSci Research
via PR Newswire
According to TechSci Research report “Global Smart Wearable Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020”, the global market for smart wearables is projected to reach USD37 billion by 2020. Though the global smart wearables market is currently in its nascent stage, growing IT spending, rising health concerns and increasing number of smartphone users is projected to fuel demand for smart wearables over the next five years.
Wearables Market Still Expanding: IDC report
via The Economic Times
The global wearables market has recorded its eighth consecutive quarter of steady growth in the first quarter of 2015, according to an IDC report. The IDC worldwide quarterly Wearable device tracker report said vendors had shipped a total of 11.4 million wearables in this quarter, a 200 percent increase from the corresponding period last year when around 3.8 million wearables shipped.
Hand Data to Employees to Make Wearable Tech Bearable at Work
via Financial Times by Andrew Hill
The monitored workplace trend will inevitably spread beyond call centres but needs to benefit staff.
Wearables at Work: The New Frontier of Employee Surveillance
via Financial Times, by Sarah O’Connor
For 10 days, Profusion’s data scientists used Fitbits and other apps to track 171 personal metrics for 31 staff who volunteered (including the somewhat reluctant Mr Weston). Combing through the data, the analysts found they could group the staff into clusters, based on shared patterns of behaviour. They labelled one group “Busy and Coping”; another “Irritated and Unsettled”.
PayPal Wants to Talk Wearables as a ‘Payment Experience’
via paymentweek, by Steven Anderson
At first blush, it may sound like the kind of pomposity only a marketing department can dream up. But taking a closer look at the idea “payment experiences” as PayPal describes it is worth the second glance.
10 Way In Which Wearables Will Change Education
via WT Vox, by Amanda Smith
In addition to being able to track heart rates and count the number of steps of a user, wearables will revolutionise different aspects of everyday life, from sports to health, education to security.
Your Wearable’s Step Goal Isn’t Based on Science – It’s Based on Japanese Tradition and Marketing
via Quartz, by Mike Murphy
How many steps should you walk in a day? Most step-tracking wearables, like Fitbits and Jawbones, recommend you hit at least 10,000 steps. The American Heart Association also recommends that figure, and the US National Institutes for Health considers that an “active” goal to reach. But is it enough? Probably not. New York reports that the 10,000 step figure is actually based on Japanese traditions—and marketing—from the 1960s.
WWDC: Apple Expands Mobile Offerings in Wearables, mPayment, IOT
via MobileIDWorld by Alex Perala
Apple kicked off its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this week with a number of major announcements, including a new music streaming service and new operating systems for mobile and desktop.One of the major revelations liable to go overlooked, though, concerned third party app development for the newly released Apple Watch.