Headworx

We've discussed this subject many times ( here , here , here and here ) and I have to say that FINALLY we start experiencing this approach on every day basis. It starts with simple things like a reminder muted on a watch is muted on the phone. But then it goes much deeper and it becomes such a natural joy to use. I have a dashboard - mounted Android tablet in my car (this BTW is the reason I'm not buying a new one, a new car that is!). It beats any factory option hands down. Of course Google Maps is the most used App there. So today after a go-kart racing event for the kids, we wanted to go for a lunch. I entered an address of a restaurant and the navigation kicked off. While driving there I realized I should call them and book a table. The dashboard tablet does not have a voice SIM, so I picked my phone and after clicking the Maps, the destination was already there - on the second device. A single click on a "call" icon and the connection was transferred to m...

We've just had a very successful launch of the Seed Rapid Prototyping Kit . This is a direct response to the overwhelming success of our Seed Smart Module, unveiled just a few weeks earlier. So what exactly is the essence of Seed? In a nutshell, it is a software stack built on top of Bluetooth Smart (BLE). We have always considered Bluetooth Smart a great candidate for IoT and especially for Home Automation. The reasons I have explained already in a series of posts ( here , here and here ). But when we started the Bluetooth Smart project at Seed, we learned the hard way, this technology was very difficult to use it for what we wanted. Bluetooth Smart has been designed for tiny sensors (peripherals) communicating with smartphones (central devices). So building an activity tracker or a bathroom scale that talks to a smartphone application is easy. The sensor wakes up, calls the phone, exchanges data, goes to sleep. The problem with home automation is that we have the event s...

In my last week's post on Google's Material Design and how it is the jewel crown of the mobile first strategy, I touched on the fact the laptop / desktop PC is becoming less and less productive (relatively to mobile). Looking for flights I first use Experia on my phone and sometimes I even do not bother to go to the desktop version. Same for browsing news, especially after the browser based Google Reader is gone now. Not to mention calendars, maps and navigation and continuously growing number of other mobile services. It seems humanity has only limited resources that can be allocated to driving the innovation and they all have gone to mobile. Here is the story that proves my point. I upgraded my desktop experience to 4k (Ultra-HDMI) displays . In my vacation home, in the office and in my winter apartment. Three 4k monitors from three different vendors (Samsung, Iiyama and Philips). Yes I love to experiment. They are all connected to my Lenovo OneLink docks (the greatest...

I'm calling Google's Material Design the most important development in the IT industry this year. It wasn't noticed when announced a few months ago and only now, when the first Android 5 devices start appearing, as well as the first wave of upgrades of the most popular Android applications is rolling out, the world starts realizing how big this change has been. Forbes has a very good article by Gordon Kelly, comparing iOS8 vs Android 5 . He writes: Comparing the iOS 8 and Android 5.0 Lollipop is a shock, because for the first time in Android history it has become more design focused than iOS. The ugly duckling is finally a swan. Its design is both visual, instructional and altogether more ambitious. Beating iOS was the bar set extremely high. But Google, with its perseverance, jumped it. With a style. Leaving the leader behind. But the two are still charging ahead with unparalleled investments in user experience. Desktops have started becoming less and less use...

The M&A activity in the "Smart" sector has definitely been hot this year. It all started with Google buying Nest for $3B and then we had several smaller acquisitions (Dropcam and Revolv ). There was Samsung buying SmartThings last Summer and recently Qualcomm surprised many paying $2.5B for the Bluetooth Smart pioneer, CSR . Qualcomm's move could have been anticipated by an earlier transaction when it acquired Stonestreet One , a Bluetooth software stack provider. It certainly looks like Qualcomm is moving beyond cellular communications further into the Smart Home area, placing a bet on Bluetooth as the underlying technology (in opposition to Google betting on 802.15.4 ). Now I wonder where this all leaves Intel and Apple? Will Intel buy Nordic Semiconductor ? Will Apple stay remain only the UI / Application layer player or will they bet on a particular IoT networking technology? With the increasing pace of the moves on the Smart arena, I think we will not have to...