This Week In Wearables – Wearables Bulk Up with Triple-Digit Gains
This Week in Wearables is our weekly blog curating the best stories on wearables from around the web.
Wearables Bulk Up with Triple-Digit Gains
via The Journal by Dian Schaffhauser
Wearables have seen their eighth consecutive quarter of growth, with first quarter shipments of 11.4 million, according to IT analyst firm International Data Corp. (IDC). The company’s recent report, Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, said that was a 200 percent increase over the same quarter in 2014, when 3.8 million wearables were shipped.
Fitbit is Finally Bringing its Fitness Wearables to India
via Quartz by Kunal Sehgal & Maria Thomas
The world’s largest wearables company is coming to India. San Francisco-headquartered Fitbit will partner with e-commerce firm Amazon to offer four types of wearable bands to help Indian consumers track their fitness, the Indian Express newspaper reported. These devices will be available through a Fitbit store on Amazon’s India website from July 1.
Wearables in the Workplace: the Next Big Thing?
via Forbes by John Rampton
Although the marketplace has settled a bit since Apple’s big release of its first smart watch a few weeks ago, the future is as bright as ever. Every major tech company is working on some kind of wearable device, and it will be a race to see who can overcome the barriers to broad adoption by the mainstream. The race is how to market those product to people as well as the device.
IDC: Wearable Sales to Hit 72m Units This Year as Apple Watch, Smartwatches Close Gap on ‘Basic Wearables’
via 9to5Mac by Jordan Kahn
Following the launch of the Apple Watch in April, IDC’s latest estimates for wearables shows the market is set to grow approximately 173% this year as shipments increase from 26.4 million in 2014 to an estimated 72.1 million worldwide for 2015.
Intel Continues its Wearables Push
via Wall Street Journal, by Don Clark
Intel INTC -0.93% isn’t slowing its investments in wearable technology, despite mixed signs about how quickly that market is growing. The chip giant on Wednesday said it purchased Recon, a Canadian company that has created a line of high-tech eyewear for sports enthusiasts. Recon’s Jet glasses, which start at $699, project information like the time and distance of a run or bike ride on the inside of the lens. It also comes with a video camera.
U.S. Women’s National Team Training with Polar Wearables
via SportTechie, by Alex Stanley
As the United States women’s national team advances further into the playoffs with last night’s win against Columbia, the U.S. must cope with the grueling World Cup process of having games every few days. This time around, the team has three days rest before their quarterfinal matchup against No. 16 China PR. Wired’s Megan Logan interviewed the team’s strength and fitness coach Dawn Scott to learn about one of her tricks of the trade—wearables.
The Struggle for Accurate Measurements on Your Wrist
via MIT Technology Review, by Rachel Metz
Until recently, I didn’t know a thing about how my roughly 25-minute bike commute across San Francisco—or any other part of my day, really—affects my body, other than that I inevitably arrive at work sweaty and a bit out of breath when I’m in a big rush. How high is my heart rate? Do my sleep habits affect it? How many calories do I burn?
Could Fitbit’s Wearables Transform Healthcare?
via SFGate, by Cheryl Swanson
Remember when wearing a fitness tracker labeled you a geek or a nerd? Well, don’t tell anyone, but we’re now living in the age of the nerd. According to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, over 20% percent of Americans own a fitness tracker. And another 80 percent are familiar with at least one wearable health device on the market.