Category: Featured News

Wearable technology predictions show large growth ahead

| October 21, 2015

A new report has shown that the market for wearables isn’t anywhere near leveling off in its expansion.

A new report relased by IDTechEx Research has shown that the marketplace for wearable technology is going to continue to grow, and that it won’t be doing so at a slow pace.

This has been particularly true when it comes to applications in industry as well as in the military.

This year, it is estimated that the wearables global market value is $20.2 billion in the IDTechEx Research report that was recently issued by the firm and that was entitled “Wearable Technology 2015-2015: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts.” It pointed out that almost 75 percent of the market’s revenue is expected to be generated from categories that have had the chance to mature a little more than others, such as fitness trackers, smartwatches, and earphones. However, it also underscored the fact that it will be wearables in military, industrial and commercial markets that will see the greatest growth and that will represent the largest amount of revenue.

The report specifically pointed out that it will be in these industries where wearable technology will be allowed to shine.

Wearable Technology - GrowthAs wearables are incorporated into a larger number of sectors and settings, the report stated that it will lead to a notable growth in the existing systems of this tech. That said, it pointed specifically to healthcare applications as the largest market for these mobile devices. “Many of the companies looking to commercialize new wearable technology are searching for partners in the healthcare and medical industries,” stated the report.

Another market that was pointed out as one that should be seeing growth is that of infotainment, which should include products such as Oculus VR headsets, Google Glass and other types of smartglasses and augmented reality glasses.

The wearable camera market is another space that the IDTechEx said was up and coming. The release of this report comes on the heels of an announcement made in August by the Pentagon, which stated that a high-tech company and researcher consortium would be partnering to come up with wearable technology that would be appropriate for military applications.

Mobile wallet may be in the works at LG

| October 20, 2015

One of the major providers of Android based smartphones in the United States may be entering into mobile payments.

According to recent reports and rumors that are becoming increasingly widespread online, LG Electronics is in the midst of an effort to develop and launch its own native mobile wallet app.

These headlines have come into the spotlight after the company made a trademark filing for names suggesting payments.

The names that have caused speculation about a native mobile wallet from the company are “G Pay” and “LG G Pay”. These trademark filings were made both in South Korea and the United States, according to a number of reports including ETNews from South Korea. The trademark claims were apparently for functions that were “related to data transmission” with regards to both smartphones and smartwatches.

There have also been a number of others steps taken by LG that suggest a potential mobile wallet.

New Mobile Wallet App May LaunchAmong the moves that LG has taken that indicate that it is interested in stepping into mobile payments include the Watch Urbane LTE smartwatch from the company which includes NFC (near field communication) technology. This is the same tech used by a large number of the mobile payments platforms that are already in existence. This would make it possible for devices to complete transactions at a checkout counter.

Also a component of the speculations was the statement made by Kim Jong Hoon, the director of LG Electronics, when he said that the company had been considering an expansion into smartphone payments at a media conference this month for new hardware from the company.

This would make LG the fourth launch of a mobile wallet in the United States from a major company, since 2014. The primary competition that LG will be facing within this sector is likely from Google and its Android Pay. The reason is that because LG’s devices are Android based, it would give consumers the choice between the two apps. Moreover, it could even be that both of those mobile apps could come pre-installed on the devices. Therefore, consumers would be most likely to choose from between the two applications that are already there, as opposed to downloading an alternative.