Versatile Amphibian

Wearables are one of the tech' trends of 2014, with the launch of Glass upon us and continued interest in life-logging activity bands . I've been messing around with this tech since early 2012, when I was one of the first UK buyers of the Nike FuelBand . That device had it's flaws, but certainly demonstrated the potential for gamifying the lifestyles of everyday consumers. More recently, I've switched to a second generation device, Jawbone's Up. It's lighter, more comfortable and has better software than the Nike effort, although it lacks wireless connectivity. The second recent development is me training for the London marathon, which gives me the chance to try out the Up in a pretty in depth way. 6 weeks and 220km in, here are some early takeaways: It's more accurate than you'd think: +/- 5% or better in terms of distance travelled... ...but it has it's flaws: the lack of waterproofing is annoying for my swimming training (I'm doing ...

I’m in the process of developing some predictions for what will happen in digital in 2014 and thought that I’d post them here to get some wisdom from my readers! Some of these will be positive, some might be busting some myths about categories that have captured the zeitgeist. Now, more than ever, comments will be greatly appreciated. First up: personal health monitoring My prediction: although they will be the subject of much media interest, personal health monitoring devices will remain niche in 2014, with sales in the category remaining below $250Mn globally. What am I talking about? Personal health monitors are wearable devices that measure the movement of the body in order to inform the user about their level of activity and its relation to their wellbeing. The most common type are bracelets that measure steps, for example Nike Fuel Band, Jawbone Up and FitBit, but there are more specialised devices such Spire, which measures breathing and Sensoria, a connected sock that s...

I recently acquired a Nike Fuel Band. Once I've used it for a bit, I'll post a full review, but in the interim, I thought it worth writing down why I spent £150 on what's ostensibly a gimmick. It's really all about gameification. Nike+ was the first truly mass market attempt at bringing elements of professional fitness monitoring to the mass market. Before Nike+, one had to shell out hundreds of pounds on a connected heart rate watch. This reduced the barrier to entry to a few pounds for a shoe sensor - all the processing is done in an iPod or iPhone. I've been using Nike+ for years and I really like it. The trouble is that it is 'project' based fitness. When you go for a run, you can log it. When you stop, it stops. Although it's motivational to see your progress (slow, in my case), it's easy to forget about it or make excuses not to go today because it's too cold/ too hot/ I'm too hungover etc... Hardly anyone has the commitment and ...