Microsoft boosts Internet of Things team with wearable tease

Microsoft is tooling up for a big push into the Internet of Things (IoT), a run on new hires to the team suggests, with hints that consumer tech like wearables … Continue reading

LG Heart Rate Earphones clear FCC on way to US release

LG’s Heart Rate Earphones, revealed as part of the company’s fitness wearable push back at CES 2014 last month, have hit the FCC, ahead of what we’d assume is a … Continue reading

Adidas sues Under Armour over fitness wearable tech

Adidas has accused Under Armour of wearable patent violation, filing a lawsuit in which it claims ten of its miCouch technologies have been infringed by its rival’s health and fitness … Continue reading

Beyond Glass: Inside Epson’s scheme to make the de-facto smart glasses

Epson can forgive you if your first thought when you hear augmented reality is Google Glass, even though you’re wrong. Google may never had actually described its wearable as an … Continue reading

Glass UI concept trades minimalism for wearable workability

Google’s Glass may be a self confessed work-in-progress for the company, but that hasn’t stopped early-adopters from coming up with their own alternative visions for how the wearable should work. … Continue reading

GoPro Files For IPO As The Action Camera Maker Prepares To Go Public

GoPro HD Hero2 with helmet mount

Action camera company GoPro has filed the initial documents for its initial public offering, according to a press release from the company this morning and confirmed by GoPro to TechCrunch. The announcement is brief, revealing only that the San Mateo company intends to go public as soon as the Securities and Exchange Commission completes its review process of the IPO submission draft filed today, February 7.

GoPro only just appointed a new Chief Financial Officer February 4, bringing former Qualcomm Atheros SVP Jack Lazar on board to occupy the spot. Lazar has occupied high-ranking financial roles at a number of companies both public and private over the years, and began his career as an auditor at Price Waterhouse. At Atheros, he helped the company IPO back in 2004, a year into his tenure. In hindsight, it seems likely Lazar was brought on to help prepare for this transition.

The camera maker was originally planning an IPO back in 2012 before its $200 million private investment round, but CEO Nicholas Woodman confirmed to TechCrunch back in September that one was still in the works. When the company raised its $200 million round from strategic partner Foxconn, it was valued at around $2.25 billion.

In an interview at Disrupt SF 2013, Woodman discussed the challenges of fundraising for a hardware startup, and the benefits of bootstrapping even at a time when crowdfunding platforms are prevalent. The founder talked about how he started with $64K of his own startup capital, followed shortly from $100K put in by his father, and how that afforded him the ability to start with a clear and singular vision.

GoPro has seen its sales numbers for its action camera products and accessories double ever year, according to the company. It made over $500 million in gross revenue on the strength of 2.3 million cameras sold in 2012, and racked up over $100 million in sales last January, and Woodman hinted that the company might exceed $1 billion in revenue for all of 2013 in a Bloomberg TV interview last October.

HTC to launch wearable by Christmas

In October 2013, HTC teased plans to reverse its fortunes by introducing a wearable device, among other products. Speaking with Bloomberg in an interview, the company’s Chairman Cher Wang provided … Continue reading

Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 update tipped alongside Galaxy S5 this month

Samsung will launch not only the Galaxy S5 later this month but an updated version of its Galaxy Gear smartwatch, insiders claim, a surprisingly early refresh to the wearable which … Continue reading

Apple nabs sleep researcher Roy J.E.M Raymann amidst tipped iWatch ambitions

News about Apple’s anticipated iWatch wearable has ramped up in recent time, with word surfacing last month that a team of experts had been tapped by Apple as a possible … Continue reading

OKDoor turns Google Glass into a virtual gatekeeper

Google Glass could put your receptionist out of a job, one company has suggested, with new Glassware called “OKDoor” putting remote control of your doors on the wearable. The handiwork … Continue reading