This Week in Wearables: We Have Not Yet Reached Peak Wearable
Tiny, Tattoo-Like Wearables Could Monitor Your Health
via Smithsonian.com by Heather Hansman
Patients in hospitals, elderly folks and people with heart problems might soon be wearing temporary tattoos instead of heart rate monitors or pulse oximeters. Professor Nanshu Lu and a team at the University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering have come up with a way to quickly print cheap, wearable biosensors. When the researchers were looking at building tattoo-like wearables, they knew there were plenty of smart, tiny, sensors on the market. The problem wasn’t with the technology, Lu says, it was with the manufacturing process, which was long, tedious and expensive. That made it nearly impossible to develop disposable sensors to temporarily monitor health outcomes.
Brits are coming round to wearable tech with 14% set to own wearables in 2016
via Wareable, by Sophie Charara
The UK has acted too cool for wearable tech for a while. Sales haven’t matched the enthusiasm seen in the US and China and at one point, we thought the Brit mentalities of eccentricity and privacy might get the better of the industry. A new study from London-based consultancy, Lansons, predicts that Brits are simply waiting until wearable tech matures into something useful and stylish without being flashy or too nerdy.
We Have Not Yet Reached Peak Wearable
via recode, by Lauren Goode
It’s hard to look at the current crop of wearable technology and not feel at least a little disappointed. But wearable tech, in my opinion, is still one of the most exciting areas of tech. I’ve been testing and writing about wearable tech since around the time the first Fitbit came out. (One of my Dow Jones colleagues at the time called the Fitbit the “iPod of pedometers.”) While the idea of keeping a daily log or journal to measure progress wasn’t a new one, Fitbit was at the forefront of a new wave of wireless activity trackers, and I was admittedly fascinated by the whole quantified self movement. There is a very human element to all of this wearable tech, and that is that people are always seeking out things that promise to make them better. No doubt Ben Franklin would be wearing one if the tech had been around then.
Meet Elvie, A New Breed Of Connected Tech For Women
via TechCrunch, by Natasha Lomas
The life of a technology journalist inexorably involves a lot of gadgetry. And while I can appreciate the sleek beauty of new Apple hardware as much as the next person, I don’t routinely get excited by the prospect of unboxing any other new gizmo just because. But when the courier handed over the small white bag containing Elvie I was uncharacteristically eager to open it up — because this is a rare beast indeed: a connected device designed by women, for women. It’s not hyperbole to say Elvie is a new breed of connected device. It’s indicative of the lack of smart technology specifically — and intelligently — addressing women. Given the male-dominated tech space that’s hardly a surprise. Let’s call it an ‘on-going disappointment’. But make no mistake, it’s also a missed opportunity.
What do you really think of wearables?
via TNW News, by Paige O’Neill
During Apple’s most recent event in early September, the world tuned in to hear about Apple Watch’s watchOS2, the updated technology designed to bring its wearable device to the next level. This was then followed by HTC’s anticipated announcement of its first Android Wear smartwatch Halfbeak. With the launch of new devices and enhancements to existing technologies, these companies have captured consumers’ attention, who are obsessed with wearables. And with IDC research finding that the global wearable market has grown 223.2 percent in 2Q 2015, there is no better time for brands to ensure they are capturing the hearts and wallets of current and future wearable device owners.
Forget Your Summer Camp Bling, This Is Friendship Jewelry Of The Future
via Refinery 29, by Ana Colon
Gone are the days of carefully braiding together pieces of thread (and getting immensely frustrated while trying to undo flawed knots) in the name of friendship. The next generation of tween BFFs will have a different way to commemorate their bonds: A smart bracelet that syncs up with your pals’ bracelets, and lights up when they’re nearby.