The Wearable Technology Show is Europe’s biggest event for wearables, AR/VR, and the Internet of Things. According to the organisers around 6,000 people attended the fourth incarnation of this esteemed event. Leading names across almost every aspect of connected technology were present to show their wares and share their insights. The Wearable Technology Show was co-located with the "AR, VR & MXR Show", and "IOT Connect".
Posted By Simon Montford on May 18, 2016 I watched the two-hour Google I/O 2016 address so you don't have to. If you missed it and have two hours to spare feel free to click on the Youtube video (below). If you don't have time, or just can't be bothered, then here's an overview of everything that was announced, plus a bunch of screen shots as a picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say.
Posted By Simon Montford on March 8, 2016 Mobile World Congress took place in Barcelona from the 22nd-25th February 2016. It is the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry, and I was there to cover the show. In my opinion, the most significant trends this year were 5G, 2-in-1s, faster SOCs from Intel and Qualcomm, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Things. In addition to a more detailed explanation of these trends, as well as my other key takeaways, I'll also give you a few of my survival tips - particularly useful for the uninitiated!
Posted By Simon Montford on March 7, 2016
Mobile World Congress took place in Barcelona from the 22nd-25th February 2016. It is the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry. The reason why MWC is so important, in the context of the Internet of Things, is that the smartphone has become an integral part of the IoT ecosystem. In fact it is rapidly becoming the centre of it; a hub for all things connected. Everything we touch from televisions, wearables, and appcessories such as smart umbrellas, smart wallets, and smart luggage, to cars and domestic appliances will increasingly be controlled via smartphone apps.
Posted By Simon Montford on March 6, 2016
Mobile World Congress took place in Barcelona from the 22nd-25th February 2016. It is the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry, and I was there to cover the show. Here's a selection of photos and videos taken during my week in Spain. As it was my first time attending the conference, I found it overwhelming! Due to the bus and metro strike, getting around the city was a major challenge, but getting to and from the conference centre was a breeze compared to the real challenge of finding my way around the vast series of halls that played host to thousands of the world's leading mobile technology companies, with the exception of Apple.
Posted By Simon Montford on March 4, 2016 Mobile World Congress took place in Barcelona from the 22nd-25th February 2016, and remains the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry. Here are a few of my favourite products of the show. The reason why I was fortunate enough to be there, was that my business partner and I, together with some of the UK's most exciting technology companies, were selected to join a British delegation organised by Scottish Development International (SDI), and United Kingdom Trade & Industry (UKTI).
Posted By Simon Montford on Feb 25, 2016 Scottish tech startup Nautilus Beam Ltd (based in Edinburgh, United Kingdom) came second last night in the prestigious TechCrunch Pitch-Off that took place during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Co-founders Dr Tim Willis and Simon Montford pitched their smartwatch text app Tusi to a crowded room of tech startup entrepreneurs, and a panel of investors. In addition to winning tickets to TechCrunchDisrupt New York in May, the founders also won a 4G-enabled Panasonic Nubo camera. Immediately after their successful pitch, the company released a public beta of Tusi for Google Wear devices, which is available to download for free from Google Play.
Posted By Simon Montford on Jan 9, 2016 The International Consumer Electronics Show (International CES) is the world’s gathering place for the consumer technology industry. Held in Las Vegas every year (Jan 6-9), it has acted as a showcase for innovation and breakthrough technology for more than 40 years. Today it is one of the world's leading technology events.
Posted By Simon Montford on Dec 21, 2015 A UK registered company based in Bristol called OXY Technologies, has launched a campaign on Indiegogo for a smartwatch that will be able to connect with Android, iOS and Windows 10 smartphones. The makers are working with the open source community to accelerate development, and improve the product.
Posted By Simon Montford on Dec 4, 2015 Chronos turns a watch into a smartwatch. It lights up and vibrates when messages, calls, or notifications are received. The device will cost around $100 (£65) when it goes on sale next year, meaning that conventional watch owners will get all the benefits of owning a smartwatch without having to buy one. Obviously, the Chronos is more of a substitute for pseudo smartwatches like the Activite Pop, as it lacks many of the features offered by more sophisticated ones that run apps, and feature touchscreens.
Posted By Simon Montford on Dec 1, 2015 Omate announced today that they will be holding a flash sale of their new 3G enabled smartwatch, the Omate Rise, exclusively on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. The company will be accepting pre-orders from 3pm GMT / 10am EST on Monday December 7th, for a 48hr period. Backers will be the first in the World to wear the Rise when it becomes available to them in March 2016, instead of June.
Posted By Simon Montford on Oct 17 2015 Whenever I go out wearing my LG Watch Urbane during the day it receives very little attention, because it looks very much like a conventional horological watch. At night, however, it's a different story. The Urbane's illuminated P-OLED fascia looks so good it turns heads.
Posted By Simon Montford on May 20, 2015 An increasing number of people are concerned about the security of their private data. Most of us store our data on servers that are owned and operated by third parties, but is it 100% safe and secure? Last year hackers obtained highly sensitive images via a breach of Apple's cloud services suite iCloud, and posted them on the Internet. As a result "private cloud" hosting has become more popular.
Posted By Simon Montford on May 19, 2015 The term "smartwatch" is becoming increasingly confusing. A powerful touchscreen device that's capable of running apps, making and receiving calls, as well as texts is a very different beast to a Fitness Band that tracks activity, and tells the time. Both devices, however, are referred to as "Smartwatches", as are the three illustrated above, but they possess very different features, and capabilities.
Posted By Simon Montford on May 1, 2015 Pulse Play is a social scorekeeping, and ranking system for racket players. It is aimed at amateurs because they often don't have anyone impartial to keep score, which can result in disagreements, or even arguments during a friendly game of tennis, squash, badminton, or table tennis. If you're a fan of racket sports, then I'm sure you'll be able to relate.
Posted By Simon Montford on April 30, 2015 The much anticipated Apple Watch may not work as anticipated if the wearer has tattoos within the area of skin that the Apple watch is in contact with. This is because the sensors (light-sensitive photodiodes), that monitor heart rate, use a reflective light technology that penetrates skin in order to work. Tattoo ink, however, interferes with this process causing the sensors to deactivate.
Posted By Simon Montford on April 23, 2015 This device is clearly aimed at serious swimmers, however, I can also see it appealing to those that already own a fancy smartwatch, or intend to buy an Apple Watch, which is splash and water resistant, but not waterproof. Swimmo is, as you'd expect, waterproof and offers advanced functionality specifically for those who wish to improve their lap times. The device records number of laps, calories, distance, heart rate, and speed.
Posted By Simon Montford on April 1, 2015 As I've said previously, the fitness tracker's days are numbered. I just can't see why anyone would bother with a FitBit or a Jawbone once the smartwatch goes mainstream (which it will). Highly specialised devices, however, that are designed for elite athletes, and those with specific requirements such as swimmers (xmetrics), weightlifters, CrossFitters (Beast, PushStrength, GymWatch, Atlas, Moov), and yoga (Smartmat) will continue to thrive.
Posted By Simon Montford on March 21, 2015 According to BMWs blog, and as reported by TechDrive, owners of electric powered cars by the Bavarian behemoth will be able to run an app called the "i App" on the new Apple Watch. Initially the app will enable the wearer to find their car, and check the amount of charge remaining in their car's battery. Other features will be added soon. At CES this year, car-related technologies were all the rage. The same went for MWC, where almost every stand had at least one car on display, often for no good reason!
Posted By Simon Montford on March 6, 2015 I feel kinda bad for saying this but, FlyShark have produced one of the most bizarre Kickstarter videos I've seen in a while. I mean who goes for a 1.3 mile run wearing a suit? That's weird, but hold on the weirdness continues. The dude then prepares a "romantic" dinner for some poor unsuspecting girl, that consists of KFC, followed by what must surely be her most favorite thing in the world, ever - chocolate cake. This is because upon seeing the cake her pulse rockets to 180bpm!
Posted By Simon Montford on March 3, 2015 LG's new "Watch Urbane" and "Watch Urbane LTE" smartwatches are certainly a step forward compared to the previous model, the LG G Watch R. Although bulkier, the Urbane LTE comes with 4G and a new operating system, which means it can allow the wearer to make and answer calls, and send texts without a smartphone. There is no question that this is the future.
Posted By Simon Montford on Feb 24, 2015 Watching Pebble's live Kickstarter campaigns is becoming a bit like a spectator sport! I've been glued to the screen watching the pledges counter. As I write, Pebble's campaign total of $500,000 has been totally obliterated, and the total has now reached $6,576,994 (£4,256,485). With 31 days still remaining, how high can it go, and more importantly, can Pebble beat Exploding Kittens target of $8,782,571, which was set only a few days ago? Check out my Youtube video at the bottom of the page.
Posted By Simon Montford on Feb 21, 2015 A startup called Neptune has taken an entirely new approach to smartwatch design. It's founder, Simon Tian believes your smartwatch will take centre stage and your smartphone will become its trusty, but far less intelligent sidekick. The company recently announced the Neptune Duo, that'll not only be able to run Android Lollipop, but the device will also come with wi-fi, 4G, NFC, and GPS. In other words it will be capable of replacing your smartphone.
Posted By Simon Montford on Feb 10, 2015 Last year in a post titled "Who's Data Is It Anyway?" we shared our concerns that wearable owners were not being given access to their own personal data by OEMs. One example was the Basis Peak (acquired by Intel). Well it looks like the recent firmware upgrade has addressed this issue! The company's blog states "Our new data export feature lets you populate your own charts and graphs with your activity and fitness metrics, do customized analyses, in-depth comparisons and more". To learn more about their data export policy, you can visit their support section here.
Posted By Simon Montford on Jan 21, 2015 An increasingly popular way to operate wearable devices like the Moto 360, Sony SmartWatch 3, Martian, Omate, and the Apple Watch is via voice control. Devices powered by Android Wear are activated when the user says "Okay Google", and those that use their iPhone usually tap a “command” button which activates the familiar Siri chime. Both Google Now and Siri enable users to read and reply to emails directly on the wearable device as well as read and compose text messages, make calls, enter calendar appointments, and set reminders.
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AuthorsSOCIAL MEDIA© Simon Montford (WEB3IOT), 2014-2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Simon Montford and WEB3IOT with appropriate and specific direction to the original content at web3iot.com.
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