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Wearable Technology

Google Announces Android Wear Platform

March 18, 2014

Motorola Moto 360 Android Wear WatchToday smart watches and wearable devices made their first mainstream step forward.  Google announced the Android Wear platform and the release of the accompanying software development kit earlier today.  Based on Android Mobile OS, the new platform is designed to make it easier and less costly for hardware developers to launch wearable technology.  The software is designed to work with Android phones and allow app developers to push content to the device. It offers features such as always active voice recognition (“OK, Google.”) and Google Now’s preemptive search.

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by Doug Parker
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Wearable Technology

WIRED Explores The Secret To Making A Wearable That People Will Actually Want

March 4, 2014

Tory Burch Fitbit

It is no secret that while the designers at Nike, Fitbit, Pebble, Samsung, and Google are able to cram an impressive amount of technology into devices that are wearable, those devices are hardly aesthetically pleasing.  Up to this point, any mass market wearable technology more complex than a digital watch has been more utilitarian than fashionable.  In a WIRED article by Liz Stinson, she explores several possible downfalls.  One issue arises from the lack of fashion conscious, ground up design.

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by Doug Parker
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Retail

iBeacon Gains “Made For iPhone” Specifications As Rollout Continues

February 25, 2014

Estimote Beacons

 

Today Apple introduced specifications for Bluetooth LE devices that utilize the company’s iBeacon API.  iBeacon is a proximity based communication method between mobile devices and beacons; it allows for everything from alerts about sales when you enter a store to enabling transactions.  By applying to participate in Apple’s Made For iPhone (MFi) program, developers of beacons agree that their device conforms to Apple’s standards for the broadcast of necessary Bluetooth LE signals; in return developers are granted access to use the “iBeacon” trademark with their device.  The good news, according to Beekn.net, is that there doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary or proprietary about Apple’s specifications, presumably allowing Bluetooth LE Android and Windows phones and tablets to play nice.  iBeacon is currently deployed in a small number of stores and is about to launch in 20 Major League Baseball stadiums.

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by Doug Parker
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