Tag: wearables

Wearable technology to be incorporated into bicycles in Samsung partnership

| July 9, 2014

The electronics giant is working with Trek bicycle to bring the tech into cutting edge bikes.

Samsung Electronics has now entered into a partnership with Trek Bicycle, a bike manufacturer, with the intention of bringing its wearable technology devices into these high quality vehicles.

The goal is to bring the mobile devices into the training available to the company’s racing team.

Now that the Tour de France is underway, it is likely that this partnership will have Samsung offering the various coaches, support staff, and the cyclists, themselves, with Samsung mobile, tablet, and wearable technology devices, including the Galaxy Gear. The purpose will be to help the athletes to be able to enhance their overall training and cycling experiences.

These two companies will be using the wearable technology to spot improvement areas for the Trek Factory Racing Team.

Wearable Technology - Samsung SmartbikeThey will be using the Samsung Gear devices so that the athletes will be better able to monitor their health. At the same time, the tablets will be used by the teams as a whole in order to be able to develop enhanced communication, strategies, and plans for routes within the races. According to the Samsung executive vice president of global marketing at the IT and mobile communication division, Younghee Lee, “Fitness and wellness are such an important part of people’s lives, and Samsung is continuously focused on integrating meaningful features into our smart mobile devices.”

Lee also explained that through the partnership between Samsung and Trek, it will make it possible for the electronics company to be able to better comprehend the requirements that are specific to cyclists so that the interaction between them and their mobile devices can be enhanced, giving both fans and athletes the opportunity to remain connected and active throughout their everyday lives.

According to Samsung, this is merely the latest step in a greater overall effort to “constantly exploring various opportunities” for bringing its various forms of mobile and wearable technology to individuals who enjoy an active lifestyle and who take part in various forms of sport every day. The move aligns very well with the image that the company is currently working to maintain.

Wearable technology could be a $50 billion industry by 2018

| July 8, 2014

A new report from ON World has predicted that these mobile devices will become explosively popular.

A new report has now been released by ON World, a research firm, which has forecasted that wearable technology devices – which include everything from smartwatches to smart clothing and from fitness bands to augmented reality glasses – will make up an industry worth $50 billion by the year 2018.

It expects that by the end of that time period, 700 million of these mobile devices will have been shipped.

The wearable technology report also projected that by the year 2018, there will be 330 million shipments around the world of smartwatches, alone. When this is compared to the 3 million that were shipped on a global scale, last year, it is clear that this represents a staggering growth. The vast majority of the revenue in this area is expected to be from hardware, within that time span. That said, apps and monitoring services – among other subscriptions – should also be taking of throughout that time.

Wearable technology will also experience a shift in the dominant types of device during that time.

Wearable Technology - 50 billion dollar industry by 2018The research firm feels that by 2018, the current leaders in the market, which are health and fitness focused mobile devices, will be replaced by smart gadgets such as smartwatches, augmented reality glasses, and wearable sensors in many different forms. The smartwatch, says ON World, is going to be a highly disruptive force within the current tech market. The company believes that these devices will replace a number of the app needs currently experienced by many owners of smartphones.

To support the predictions that it has made, the firm went on to survey 1,000 consumers and determined that among all of the various forms of wearables currently available, 55 percent preferred a device in wristwatch form. Another 38 percent said that they had an interest in the health applications that are offered by these types of gadgets.

The consumer survey also found that the rumored wearable technology from Apple, dubbed the iWatch, is the most preferred, despite the fact that it hasn’t even been unveiled, yet. Price is also an important deciding factor that determines a consumer’s final choice, as 40 percent were willing to pay over $99, but only 8 percent were willing to go above $299.