I don’t want to give away the ending of my ongoing testing of the spiffy new WIMM One, a classy and cool wearable module for leveraging the power of independent development. Micro tech not being a new field, nor even wearable electronic technology, what WIMM Labs is up to actually is quite new. I’m not going to give the final review away here, but it seems appropriate to shed some light on the coming storm of what I call “very smart devices” – maybe everyone will adopt VSDs from this post?
Agreeing on tech terms or no, my conversation with VP of Marketing Tim Twerdahl, opened the door for a fascinating introduction, of sorts. All anyone really has to do is visualize is entering a hotel room, tapping their beautiful Tag Heuer, and turning on the TV or opening the curtains. Are you interested yet?
It has been some time since I tested hardware, even software for that matter. We are in the PR business, consulting, news, social media, you understand. So you can imagine my little bit of eagerness, at the suggestion I wear one of these fanciful devices. For one thing, I haven’t the time to head off into consumerism at this stage, but who could argue with a cool company willing to show their wares so openly?
As an aside here, our own recent introductions into the unexpected led to one fashion legend, Olivier Lapidus, who’s wearable and intelligent tech goes far back to 1989 (Google Books). Lapidus, whom we have talked to several times now, is delighted his visions have come to fruition, even at a later date. More on this later, but I hope I have your curiosity and tech dream-state going on here. Leverage what’s possible via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi – as well as smart devices, you know this is the future without me spelling it out. Does WIMM ONE have a 3D audio and visual looped in? Not quite yet (at least I was not told about it), but integrating things like Unified Remote – even the hapless technically challenged out there can see value in a wearable remote control for everything! Okay, no more clues on features, do you own reading.
Fact is, any developer out there can buy the WIMM One cheaply, and then build a killer app that engages mobile mania. But more on my experience here. Stuff you don’t ask for can sometimes be fantastic, no?
Okay, Tim says he will send out a demo unit for me to give the once over. No biggie, it happens all the time. But, consider I am in a village in Germany. “Not significant”, you say? Well, it is if a cool black box arrives at your door early the next morning. WIMM Labs are in California, don’t forget, and my conversation with Twerdahl took place about his lunchtime the day before. Unless WIMM has employed Superman for their deliveries… Okay, you would have been impressed too, especially unzipping the FedEx pack and finding WIMM Labs packaging to be iPhone-ish, save in satin black. The image below shows off the actuality of user joy.
For you the reader, and the best preview of in depth testing of WIMM ONE, maybe the best window comes directly from the WIMM Labs website. In describing what these scientists are up to:
“The WIMM One keeps information available at a quick glance, so you can stay focused on the task at hand. Pair it to your smartphone and never miss important calls and text messages. Or use it as a fully-connected Wi-Fi enabled computer with a carousel of Android-based Micro Apps that keep critical information available on the go. The display is always on and readable whether you‘re indoors or out.”
Now, extrapolate. Project, if you will, the world of possibility for wearable helpmates like WIMM ONE (not the concept watch image top), even Sony’s SmartWatch (which does get the nod aesthetic wise so far). My conversation with Twerdahl confirmed several innovative things to look for from these micro wonders. First, and maybe foremost, the healthcare industry and associated applications for wrist or wearable micro tech are limitless. This says nothing for their being a gold mine (more like platinum) out there not only for WIMM (Sony, whoever), but for app creators. And users? Well, Sony hooks up with Google Play, as does WIMM with the developer kit smart device load below.
I will leave off here just being a tease. Sorry, I have to prompt Sony and others to enter the comparative fray (I want to see if their VP is as nice, and/or if their Smartwatch box is as nice). Seriously, all I can say for the “would be” WIMM ONE developer out there is, for now at least, get one of these. I’ll explain why in another post on another media outlet. As for how all this ties together, high class fashion, wearable smart devices, even smart fabrics? The really interesting thing about tech and innovation, maybe the most important things, cover how our ingenuity intersects our lives. Bye for now.