Google I/O 2015: From Projects Vault and Brillo to smart jeans and cardboard virtual reality, the impossibly advanced technologies unveiled in San Francisco June 3, 2015 BRILLO Essentially an operating system for the Internet of Things (IoT), Google’s Project Brillo is an adapted version of Android designed to manage a number of connected devices from a central management console. It’s Google’s attempt at standardising the way we control devices, from household appliances like Nest (which, incidentally, Google owns) to wearables [...]
War of the wearables: Jawbone sues Fitbit ahead of IPO May 28, 2015 The war of the wearables has just been taken up a notch after two of the leading companies pioneering the technology have become involved in a legal dispute. Jawbone, the maker of the UP fitness tracker band, has filed a lawsuit in a California court alleging rival Fitbit, which also makes health tracking devices, stole [...]
Fitness Tracker: The best running apps to use with your Apple Watch May 20, 2015 It’s been almost two weeks since I decided to get fit again, using technology to help to keep me motivated. This week I’ve been trying out different running apps to see which ones are the most helpful, with a focus on those I can use with my Apple Watch. It’s worth pointing out that as [...]
Apple Watch review: It’s not perfect, but it’s still the best smartwatch out there May 14, 2015 The most hotly awaited device of the year bears all the hallmarks of the Cupertino company. Apple is the master of selling products that nobody knew they wanted. A phone with a computer in it? Yeah, you’re going to want that. A massive version of a phone that doesn’t make calls? Trust us. But a [...]
Fitness Tracker: How useful is technology in the quest to get healthy? May 13, 2015 Last year I underwent a 10-week fitness program with City gym No 1 Fitness. It involved four personal training sessions a week and eliminating carbs and sugar from my diet. Unsurprisingly, it worked; I ended up fitter than I’d ever been. But how easy is it to get to that level of fitness if you [...]
Why lonely Apple Watch owners are sharing their heartbeats with strangers May 6, 2015 If you share a heartbeat and there's no one at the other end to feel it, has that heartbeat been shared at all? Apple Watch users have clubbed together on Reddit to solve that very problem – by creating a board just for those feeling a bit isolated with their newly-acquired Apple Watches. Let's explain: [...]
Microsoft Band review: The ultimate fitness tracker or another “wearable” damp squib? April 29, 2015 Back in the dark ages of the mid 2000s, the “quantified self” movement barely existed. Disparate groups of fitness and data geeks had just begun to measure every aspect of their lives, entering the results into creaking spreadsheets in the hope of gleaning some insight into the mysteries of the human body and soul. [...]
Apple sales soar on back of China growth: Profits rise despite decline in iPad sales April 27, 2015 Apple has reported a 27 per cent increase in revenue to $58bn (£38bn) for the second quarter, boosted by strong demand in China. Sales in China alone rose 71 per cent to $16.8bn, helping the smartphone giant rake in profits of $13.6bn, up from $10.2bn last year. The firm sold 61.2m iPhones during the period, [...]
Apple earnings: Four things to expect after the iPhone 6 success and Apple Watch launch from the second quarter results April 27, 2015 Apple is expected to report another exceptional quarter, still riding high from the success of the iPhone 6. It's a tough act to follow after last quarter, its first since the new generation phone launched last year, when it sold a record 74.5m iPhone's and sales rose an astonishing 30 per cent to $74.6bn (yes, [...]
No clocking off in Apple Watch battle: Why Swiss watchmaker H. Moser & Cie boss Edouard Meylan is bullish about the future April 26, 2015 Even without the usual queues of devoted fans outside its stores, Apple created enough hype around its long-awaited watch that when it went on sale earlier this month, the limited first run sold out within hours. The £12,000 Watch Edition – made with gold – was one of the first of its 38 style options to [...]