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Musings from Philippe

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Mondaine Wins 2015 Good Design Award

mondaine-wins-2015-good-design-award-1

Mondaine has received a 2015 GOOD DESIGN Award for the Helvetica No1 Smart watch.

“Industrial design is about so much more than furniture and lighting,” commented Courtney Robinson, Marlox USA Marketing Director, Mondaine Brand. “Creating a truly good watch involves overcoming a lot of design challenges to reach innovative solutions, and we are honored that the Chicago Athenaeum recognized the Helvetica No1 Smart, Mondaine’s first connected device, with a 2015 GOOD DESIGN Award.”

Inside all Mondaine Helvetica No1 Smart watches is the latest in smart technology focused on monitoring activity and sleep, featuring MotionX activity tracking, Sleeptracker sleep monitoring, sleep cycle alarms, get-active alerts, adaptive coaching and automatic time alignment – all the data from which can be backed up and stored in the MotionX cloud.

The watch does not need to be recharged regularly, boasting a 2+ year battery life. It uses the horological smartwatch platform, power MotionX, which manages the bi-directional communication between the watch and whichever device, be it phone or tablet, it is connected to via the downloaded app. In complete contrast to other smart devices, where the data is shown digitally on the watch, the information is read in an analogue fashion via the sub dial.

Read the original article @ http://www.dexigner.com


Mondaine Group reveals smart new watch from Helvetica

Helen Pawson
The Moodie Report

Swiss watchmaker Mondaine showcased the brand’s first ever smart watch at last week’s TFWA World Exhibition.

The Helvetica No 1 Smart, which does not have a LED screen like other smart watches, features the Mondaine Helvetica Bold shape, a classic brushed matt steel case, white dial, sapphire crystal and a soft leather strap.

A sub dial at six o’clock is an analogue representation of the timepiece’s smart technology which features MotionX activity tracking, Sleeptracker sleep monitoring, sleep cycle alarms, Get-Active alerts and Smart coaching. All the data can be backed up and stored in the MotionX cloud. The model has a battery life of over two years and is priced at €800.

Mondaine_30Oct_1200

Helvetica No 1 Smart uses the horological smart watch platform, power MotionX, to manage the bi-directional communication between the watch and smart phone or tablet it is connected to via the downloaded app. The information is read in an analogue way via the sub dial, in contrast to regular smart devices where the data is shown digitally.

Developed by Swiss company Manufacture Movements Technologies (MMT), the horological smart watch platform is currently only licensed for use by Frederique Constant, Alpina and Mondaine.

Mondaine CEO Andre Bernheim commented: “This is a beautiful Swiss watch that is also connected and smart. Mondaine, founded by our father in 1951, introduced some of the world’s first LCD and LED watches and now we are doing something which is the next step in today’s watch industry. This is the first-ever Swiss-made horological smartwatch. It is a world first and Mondaine is proud to be at the forefront of this new technology, thanks to a collaboration with MMT.”

Pictured is the promotion taking place now at Zürich Airport, a top performing airport for sales of Mondaine and Luminox watches

Pictured is the promotion taking place now at Zürich Airport, a top performing airport for sales of Mondaine and Luminox watches.

Mondaine_30Oct_600_002

Europe and Asia are Mondaine’s strongest markets in travel retail, with the brand listed at all airports in Korea. Mondaine Global Sales Manager Travel Retail Beat Schärer said the company would like to strengthen its position in Asia.

Read the rest of the article @The Moodie Report


Mach was aus dir!

The first cameraphone image, taken by Philippe Kahn

Philippe Kahn

Philippe Kahn wanderte einst illegal in die USA ein. Heute ist er eine der Ikonen des Silicon Valley – und entscheidet mit darüber, wie Mensch und Maschine sich miteinander vernetzen.

Philippe Kahn hat sich auf sein Fahrrad geschwungen und ist die 3,5 Kilometer von seinem Haus am Hafen ins Büro gefahren, in der Innenstadt der kalifornischen Küstenstadt Santa Cruz. Es ist Mittag, Kahn muss erst einmal etwas essen und lässt sich eine Platte Sushi kommen. Er habe die ganze Nacht durchgearbeitet, sagt er und lacht dröhnend – ‘um herauszufinden, wie man besser schläft’. Denn er tüftelt gerade an einem ‘smarten Bett’, also an einer Liegestatt, die den Schlaf der Menschen verbessern soll.

Wie das genau funktioniert, will er nicht sagen. Fest steht er nur, dass er das Bett nicht selber auf den Markt bringen, sondern dies einem bekannter Hersteller überlassen will. ‘Wir sind die Leute hinter den Kulissen’, sagt Kahn.


 

Ein Moment, zwei Gerburten Mit dem briefmarkengroßen Foto, das er am 11 Juni 1997 via Mobilfunk verschickt, schreibt Phillipe Kahn Geschichte. Er kombiniert eine Casio Digitalkamera, mit der er seine Tochter fotografiert, mit einem Toshiba-Laptop und einem Motorola-Handy.

Das ist wahr und eine Untertreibung zugleich. Ob künftige Smartbetten, digitale Fitnessbänder von Nike und Jawbone, Schweizer Uhren von Mondaine, Alpina und Frederique Constant und nahezu jedem Mobiltelefon – überall stecken Ideen oder Technologien von Kahn drin.

Zugleich ist Kahn, 63 Jahre alt, Typ zausiger Bär, eine der Legenden des Silicon Valley. Er hat einst eines der größten Softwareunternehmen der Welt aufgebaut und mit dem Microsoft-Gründer Bill Gates die Klingen gekreuzt. Er hat die Fotografie mit dem Mobiltelefon erfunden.

Und nun, Anfang 60, ist Kahn das technische Hirn der sogenannten Quantified-self-Bewegung, jener schnell wachsenden Gemeinde, die alles an sich selbst messen, aufzeichnen und optimieren will – von den Schritten beim Spazierengehen, den Höhenmetern beim Treppensteigen, dem Puls beim Sprinten oder der Atemfrequenz beim Schlafen.

Mit 63 noch erfolgreich trotz Jugendwahn

Die Sensoren dafür und die Analysesoftware liefert Kahns Unternehmen namens Fullpower Technologies, das er 2003 in Santa Cruz gründete. Weil die neue Apple Watch schon nach 18 Stunden an die Ladestation muss, forscht er zum Beispiel gerade an einer Möglichkeit, die Zeit auf zwei Jahre auszudehnen. ‘Ich glaube, dass Messfunktionen einfach da sein müssen, ohne dass sich ihr Nutzer ständig sorgen muss, ob sie überhaupt einsatzbereit sind und funktionieren’, sagt Kahn. Damit definiert er die Handlungsmaxime für jene, die derzeit im Silicon Valley die Trends vorgeben. Mal wieder. Wie schafft man das auch noch mit 63 ausgerechnet in einem Fleckchen Erde wie dem Silicon Valley, in dem der Jugendwahn herrscht?

Kein Mann für den Flugzeugträger
So dröhnend Kahn im direkten Gespräch wirkt, so gerne arbeitet er im Hintergrund. In den Achtziger- und Neunzigerjahren befehligte er schon einmal 4000 Mitarbeiter eines Softwarehauses namens Borland, das er mitgegründet hatte und mit dem er eine halbe Milliarde Dollar pro Jahr umsetzte. Doch dabei habe er sich gefühlt ‘wie auf einem Flugzeugträger’, erinnert er sich, ‘schwer beweglich und nur Beton um mich herum’.

Heute hat Kahn 100 Mitarbeiter unter sich, zumeist Elektroingenieure, Informatiker, Mediziner, Datenspezialisten und Mechatroniker. ‘Ich würde es gern nur mit drei Mitarbeitern machen’, sagt er ‘aber das geht natürlich nicht.’ Darum fühle er sich wohl mit seiner jetzigen Mannschaft. Er reite gern ‘mit der richtigen Ausrüstung auf einer großen Welle’.

Das erste Foto via Mobilfunk

Der ambitionierte Surfer hat schon etliche Wellen geritten, keine Monsterwellen, dazu sei er ‘zu feige’, allerdings sehr große im Pazifik – und ganz große im IT-Geschäft. Neben dem deutschen Informatiker und Unternehmer Andreas von Bechtolsheim zählt er zu den Europäern, die Amerikas IT-Hochburg Silicon Valley mitgeprägt haben. Dass es soziale Netzwerke wie Facebook, Instagram oder Snapchat gibt, dass das Smartphone boomt, all das geht auch auf Kahn zurück – und auf seinen Ehrgeiz, die Geburt seiner dritten Tochter Sophie so schnell wie möglich direkt aus dem Krankenhaus in Santa Cruz seinen Verwandten, Freunden und Fans mitzuteilen.

Mit dem briefmarkengroßen Foto, das er am 11. Juni 1997 via Mobilfunk übers Internet verschickt, schreibt Kahn Geschichte. Er kombiniert eine Casio-Digitalkamera, mit der er seine Tochter fotografiert, mit einem Toshiba-Laptop und einem Motorola-Startac-Handy. Die Aufnahme sendet er nicht per E-Mail in die Postfächer seiner rund 2000 Bekannten, Freunde und Partner. Denn ‘die Kosten wären damals astronomisch gewesen’, sagt Kahn. Stattdessen publiziert er das Konterfei seines Töchterchens auf einer Webseite, auf die nur Freunde und Bekannte Zugriff haben. Die können das Foto so dann betrachten und herunterladen. Im Grunde funktionieren heute alle sozialen Netzwerke nach diesem Prinzip.

Ein Babyfoto war der Anfang
Ein Babyfoto war der Anfang

Für Kahn ist es eine Initialzündung. Er tauft seine Erfindung PictureMail und vermarktet sie über sein damaliges Unternehmen Lightsurf an Mobiltelefongesellschaften. 2005 verkauft er Lightsurf an den US-Internet-Infrastrukturanbieter Verisign und streicht dafür 270 Millionen Dollar ein.

Das Babyfoto und das schlaffördernde Bett sind nur zwei Stationen einer außergewöhnlichen Karriere, die mit der illegalen Einwanderung aus Europa 1982 begann und inzwischen in der Galerie der Multimillionäre des Silion Valley angekommen ist. Der Vater Ingenieur, die Mutter eine Kämpferin im französischen Untergrund, die das Vernichtungslager Auschwitz überlebt hat, ist Kahn gerade 13 Jahre alt, als seine Maman stirbt. Der Halbwaise macht Abitur, studiert Mathematik und Musik und unterrichtet danach Mathematik an der Universität im südfranzösischen Nizza.

Software statt Käse und Wein

Doch das füllt Kahn nicht aus, also beginnt er in der Freizeit zu programmieren. Zwar will er nie Unternehmer werden, sein Vater ist überzeugter Sozialist. Wohl aber verspürt er den Drang, etwas Neues zu kreieren, am besten in der IT-Branche. In Frankreich ist das schwer zu dieser Zeit. ‘Mit Wein oder Käse hätte ich vielleicht eine Chance gehabt, nicht aber mit Software’, erinnert sich Kahn. Als ihm immer mehr Freunde empfehlen, doch ins Silicon Valley zu gehen, folgt er ihrem Rat schließlich. ‘Irgendwann habe ich gesagt: Okay, dann mache ich das eben’, sagt er. Anfang 1982 kauft er sich ein Ticket nur für den Hinflug, seine Frau, die beiden Töchter und der Hund bleiben zu Hause.

Der Selbstoptimierer, Internetunternehmer Kahn is seiner PrivatwohnungDer Selbstoptimierer, Internetunternehmer Kahn is seiner Privatwohnung

 

Vom Einwanderer zum erfolgreichen Berater

Es folgt die typische Odyssee vieler spontaner Einwanderer in den USA. Weil Kahn keine Arbeitserlaubnis besitzt, produziert er für einen Computershop Druckerkabel, die damals noch nicht genormt sind. Doch die Einnahmen reichen nicht zum Leben. Kahn schreibt 105 Bewerbungen, bis ihn schließlich ein koreanischer Familienunternehmer einstellt, der sich auf Computer sowie Software spezialisiert hat und selbst keine Arbeitsgenehmigung hat. ‘Dort habe ich nicht nur Koreanisch gelernt, sondern auch richtig hartes Arbeiten’, sagt Kahn. Ein knappes Jahr später hat er das Geld, um seine Familie aus Frankreich nachzuholen.

Irgendwann hat Kahn das Business mit IT so verinnerlicht, dass er beschließt, europäische Unternehmer zu beraten, die in die USA streben. Er nennt seine Firma frech MIT, was für ‘Market In Time’ steht, frei übersetzt: zur richtigen Zeit auf den Markt. Es dauert nicht lange, bis sich das richtige MIT, die berühmte US-Forschungshochburg Massachusetts Institute of Technology, beschwert und eine Namensänderung fordert.

Mit Turbo Pascal gegen Microsoft

Kahns erste Kunden sind drei Dänen, die ihr irisches Softwarehaus Borland in die USA bringen wollen. Borland hat sich auf Programme für Softwareentwickler spezialisiert. Kahn übernimmt die Führung des Unternehmens. Dessen Programmiersprache Turbo Pascal wird schnell weltberühmt, die Informationsmanagementsoftware Sidekick ein Bestseller, die Datenbanksoftware Paradox ein weiterer Knaller. Mitte der Neunzigerjahre beschäftigt Borland 4000 Mitarbeiter, setzt eine halbe Milliarde Dollar um, ist das drittgrößte Softwareunternehmen der Welt. Kahn rast abwechselnd in einem weißen Porsche oder auf einem Honda-Motorrad durch die Berge von Santa Cruz, konkurriert in Segelwettbewerben in Hawaii – und greift Marktführer Microsoft an.

Doch dann kommt der Moment, an dem Kahn erkennt, ‘dass wir gegen Bill Gates nie gewinnen werden, zumindest solange nicht, wie er mit Microsoft das dominierende Betriebssystem kontrollierte’. Also empfiehlt er seinem Aufsichtsrat, alle Entwicklungsressourcen auf das damals noch junge Internet zu konzentrieren. Doch seine Partner wollen nicht. ‘Wenn sich der ganze Aufsichtsrat gegen einen stellt, bleibt einem keine andere Wahl, als zu gehen’, sagt Kahn. Für ihn ist das bitter. Er muss erkennen: ‘Mit einem Unternehmen ist es wie mit Kindern. Die wachsen auf, und man kann sie nicht mehr kontrollieren.’

“Das Beste, was mir je passiert ist”

Doch der Franzose ist inzwischen so amerikanisiert, dass er die Niederlage als neue Chance begreift. Neben einer Abfindung erhält er die Geschäftseinheit von Borland, die sich auf den Onlinedatenabgleich zwischen IT-Geräten spezialisiert hat. Daraus macht er die Softwarefirma Starfish. 1998 veräußert er Starfish für 325 Millionen Dollar an den damaligen Handyhersteller Motorola. ‘Der Rauswurf bei Borland war das Beste, was mir passiert ist’, meint Kahn im Rückblick. ‘Auch wenn mir das erst später bewusst wurde.’

<strong>Bloß kein Rislkokapital</strong>
Sein Erfolgsgeheimnis in all den Jahren beschreibt Kahn ebenso knapp wie überraschend: ‘keinerlei Wagniskapital’. Zwar sei Risikokapital fantastisch, ‘aber man macht sich abhängig von den Geldgebern’. Vor allem aber zwinge das viele Kapital die Gründer, viel zu schnell zu expandieren und übereilt Mitarbeiter einzustellen. ‘Unfähige Mitarbeiter sind das absolute Gift’, sagt Kahn. ‘Sie saugen Energie aus einem raus, weil sie ihren Job nicht richtig machen, und verschlechtern das Betriebsklima.’

Können statt Doktortiteln

Kahn nimmt sich deshalb viel Zeit, wenn er neue Mitarbeiter einstellt, und testet die Kandidaten manchmal sogar mit Denksportaufgaben. Neulich hat er eine Datenspezialistin angeheuert. Sie setzte sich gegen Mitbewerber durch, die mit beeindruckenden Lebensläufen und Doktortiteln glänzten. Anstatt das Problem, mit dem er sie konfrontiert habe, weiter zu verkomplizieren, habe sie es vereinfacht und logisch durchdacht, lobt Kahn. ‘Solche Leute braucht man.’

Zu solchen Leuten zählt Kahn auch Sonia Lee, seine zweite Ehefrau und Mutter jener Tochter, deren Foto er gleich nach der Geburt im Cyberspace verbreitete. Kahn lernte die koreanischstämmige Frau, die in den USA Malerei studiert hatte, in seiner dunkelsten Phase kennen, in der Zeit des Rauswurfs bei Borland. Sie beriet damals IT-Unternehmen beim Börsengang, indem sie deren Geschäftsideen in Grafiken und Schaubildern umsetzte. Dabei lernte sie auch, Unternehmensstrategien zu verstehen. ‘Sonia hält mich auf Kurs’, sagt Kahn, ‘sie fordert mich heraus.’

Ein Gründer braucht Glück

Die neue Frau an seiner Seite gründete zwar Kahns Firmen von Starfish früher bis Fullpower heute mit, hält sich aber stets im Hintergrund. Sie begeistert sich nicht übermäßig für die Passion ihres Ehemanns, das Surfen, umso mehr für Musik. Fast jeden Abend bringt sie Kahn dazu, mit ihr zu musizieren – sie auf dem Cello, er auf der Flöte. Das Saxofon, mit dem er in den Neunzigerjahren auf den Partys bei Borland aufspielte und sogar eine CD herausbrachte, hat er aufgegeben.

Kahn kann nicht sagen, wie lange er die Welle der digitalen Gimmicks noch reiten will. Er habe nie Unternehmen gegründet, um diese zu verkaufen, behauptet er. ‘Es kamen immer Interessenten, bei denen ein Verkauf strategisch Sinn ergab.’ Das Wichtigste, was ein Gründer brauche, findet er, sei ‘Glück’. Er habe lange über die Rolle des Glücks im Leben nachgedacht. Wolle man lieber von der Natur mit Klugheit gesegnet sein oder lieber mit viel Glück?

‘Ich kenne viele supersmarte Leute, die ständig unzufrieden mit sich sind’, sagt Kahn. ‘Wenn ich die Wahl hätte, wäre ich deshalb lieber dumm und glücklich.’

-Hohensee, Matthias

Read the PDF print version here

Read the PDF print version here


Can big data help you get a good night’s sleep?

An employee of Fullpower Technologies, rigged for a sleep study in the ­company’s lab.

An employee of Fullpower Technologies, rigged for a sleep study in the ­company’s lab. Right: The “head box” transfers input from body ­sensors to a base station that processes the data to ­create a personal polysomnogram. Photographs by Ian Allen for Fortune

Large-scale computing power, combined with input from millions of fitness trackers, could help unlock the mysteries of our national insomnia.

I’m playing tennis with Marissa Mayer, and oddly, the Yahoo YHOO -2.07% CEO is wearing a pearlescent purple gown and sipping from a teacup. Her dress is just long enough to obscure her feet, so she appears to be floating across the baseline. As she strikes the ball, she tips her chin skyward and laughs in slow motion.

Meanwhile, I’m perched in the lotus position atop a manta ray that’s hovering above the ground like some kind of Landspeeder. And I’m panicking. How can I keep my balance and still hit the ball—especially with my shirt collar pulling at my neck the way it is? Can’t swing my racket. I jerk my head left. Then right. I claw at my jawline. The ball has cleared the net, and it’s headed my way. If only. I could. Just. Move. My head.

And poof. She’s gone. I open my eyes in a strange room. It’s pitch dark and completely silent, but I manage to find my bearings. Santa Cruz, Calif. Breathing heavily, I carefully disentangle a gaggle of wires twisted around my neck and roll over to glance at the clock. Just after 3 a.m.

 


 

This scene, I now know, was merely one of 18 REM-sleep interruptions that I experienced between 11:18 p.m. and 6:16 a.m. during one long February night. What a strange setting for the only dream I’ve ever had about a chief executive: in a laboratory, tethered to a byzantine apparatus designed to monitor my brain activity as well as every breath, eye movement, muscle twitch, and heartbeat.

Let me explain. Like you and probably everyone you know, I’ve always been confounded by my sleep routine. Why do I one morning rise ready to tackle the day and the next seem barely able to lift my head? How much rest can I be getting if I wake up sideways with the covers on the floor and my wife in the guest room? Most important, what can I do better? I don’t want a magic pill. I’ve tried those. I know the rules of thumb: less stress, more exercise, better diet, no afternoon caffeine, put down the damn phone. But I’d kill for a personalized formula.

So I subjected myself to a polysomnography test, or PSG, hoping to unravel some of the mysteries of the night. My procedure was administered in the offices of Fullpower Technologies, one floor down from where I had spent most of the evening talking with the company’s founder and CEO, Philippe Kahn.

A French expatriate who grew up in Paris, Kahn, 63, is a Silicon Valley oracle whose track record predates the web. He founded Borland Software (acquired by Micro Focus) MCFUF -1.09% in the mid-1980s, followed by Starfish software (Motorola) and LightSurf Technologies (VeriSign) VRSN -1.53% . In 1997, while anticipating the birth of his daughter, he paired a state-of-the-art Casio CSIOY 0.51% camera with a Motorola Startac and became, he claims, the first person to transmit a digital photo over cellular airwaves. He’s also been a leader in wearable technologies.

Philippe Kahn says Fullpower is “operating a huge sleep experiment unlike anything anyone has ever done.”

Philippe Kahn says Fullpower is “operating a huge sleep experiment unlike anything anyone has ever done.” Photograph by Ian Allen for Fortune

That’s precisely the focus of Fullpower, which licenses its software to other companies. Nearly five dozen framed patents for wearable-related software and devices hang on the wall in the company’s lobby. The oldest dates to 2005, long before tracking steps became such a phenomenon. In the conference room there’s an assembly of chairs and tables around a full-size bed, making obvious Kahn’s latest obsession.

Fullpower built the lab about a decade ago to capture data from sleep patterns. Of course, test subjects don’t typically snooze deeply with wires glued to their skulls, chests, legs, and arms. But almost everyone manages to at least nod off for a while, and the data that subjects generate are valuable and often surprising. “What we found early on is that sometimes you sleep less and feel more refreshed,” Kahn says. “It’s because you woke up in the light part of the sleep cycle.” The insight led him to develop a sleep-cycle alarm that could determine the best time to alert a person within a certain window. “Sometimes it’s better to get up at 10 of seven than at seven,” he says.

Kahn insists that he’s on the cusp of many more such discoveries, and he’s intent on dispelling some of the conventional wisdom that stresses people out. “People say that if you can’t sleep for eight hours without waking up, something’s wrong with you. That’s such a fallacy,” he says. “Before electricity, people used to sleep in two shifts. That’s how I behave. Sleep for four hours, get up and do an hour and a half of work, and then another four.” He’s also skeptical of the notion that a quiet room is the best environment for shut-eye and dismisses the perceived deleterious effects of repeated rousing. “The sign of good sleep hygiene may not be how many times you wake up, but rather how rapidly you fall back to sleep. Sleep should be like hunger. Eat only when you’re hungry and until you’re satisfied.”

Fullpower has oceans of data to back Kahn’s theories. The company provides the sleep-tracking and activity-monitoring software for the Jawbone UP and Nike Fuel NKE -1.09% wearable devices as well as a new line of Swiss-made smartwatches and the forthcoming Simmons Sleeptracker Smartbed. The products transmit a mother lode of information (with users’ consent) to Kahn’s team. He thinks that by combining qualitative lab data and quantitative real-world data with machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other analytics technologies, he can unlock the secrets that so many of us walking dead are looking for: a better night’s sleep. “We’re operating a huge sleep experiment, worldwide, unlike anything anyone has ever done,” he says. “We have 250 million nights of sleep in our database, and we’re using all the latest technologies to make sense of it.”

Kahn is not alone. He’s part of a movement of brilliant entrepreneurs, data scientists, engineers, and academics who are looking at demographics, geographies, and lifestyles, and even into our genomes. They’re the beneficiaries of a historic explosion in sleep data, and they’re using many of the same technologies that are busily decoding some of the world’s other great mysteries. Tiny sensors, big data, analytics, and cloud computing can predict machine breakage, pinpoint power outages, and build better supply chains. Why not put them to work to optimize the most valuable complex system of all, the human body?

fullpower-fortune-sleep-study-data

It’s not an exaggeration to say lack of sleep is killing us. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls it a public health epidemic and estimates that as many as 70 million Americans have a sleep disorder. Sleep deprivation has been linked to clinical depression, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy driving causes 1,550 deaths and 40,000 injuries annually in the U.S.  There are 84 sleep disorders, and some 100 million people—80% of them undiagnosed—suffer from one of them in particular: Obstructive sleep apnea, generally indicated by snoring, costs the U.S. economy as much as $165 billion a year, according to a Harvard Medical School study. That’s more than asthma, heart failure, stroke, hypertension, or drunk driving. And the study doesn’t account for tangential effects, like loss of intimacy and divorce. BCC Research predicts that the global market for sleep-aid products—everything from specialty mattresses and high-tech pillows to drugs and at-home tests—will hit $76.7 billion by 2019.

The financial upside for anyone who can crack the sleep code is obvious. And so the race is on. “I believe that 15 years from now, if we do this right, we can actually tackle epidemics like obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, and any number of lifestyle diseases,” says Kahn. “We’re going to help people live longer and better lives.”

Read the entire article at Fullpower.com


Fullpower Launches MotionX for the Apple Watch

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 23rd, 2015)- Fullpower® today announced the launch of the MotionX® Technology Platform for the Apple Watch with MotionX-GPS, the top selling off-road navigation app for the iPhone.

MotionX-GPS with Apple Watch

The MotionX-GPS Apple Watch interface enables users to quickly and conveniently:

  • Start/stop/pause recordings
  • View current speed, recorded distance, and ascent/descent while recording a track
  • View your current location on a map
  • Mark waypoints
  • View progress toward a waypoint destination

MotionX-GPS is immediately available for $0.99 from the App Store on iPhone or at www.AppStore.com/MotionX.

MotionX-GPS with Apple Watch

About Fullpower
Fullpower® provides the leading MotionX patented ecosystem for wearable and IoT sensor-based solutions supporting state-of-the-art sensor arrays. For the “Quantified Self”, Fullpower has developed the MotionX® Technology Platform for advanced wearables and smartwatches that include automatic activity and sleep monitoring. Fullpower drives wearable solutions for market leaders such as Nike, MMT, Alpina, Frederique Constant, Mondaine, Jawbone and others.


MMT Announces the Swiss Horological Smartwatch with Launch Partners Frederique Constant, Alpina and Mondaine, Powered by MotionX®

MMT Horological Smartwatch

MMT: The bridge between Silicon Valley and Swiss watch-making

MMT (Manufacture Modules Technologies) is a new Swiss Joint Venture SARL formed by Fullpower Technologies of Silicon Valley and Union Horlogere Holdings. Its mission is to bring the MotionX Horological Smartwatch Open Platform to the Swiss watch industry. Fullpower will create and manage the schematic design, firmware, smartphone applications, as well as the cloud Infrastructure. MMT will manage the Swiss watch movement development and production as well as licensing and support for the Swiss watch industry. MMT’s headquarters are in Geneva.

“We love working with Philippe Kahn and his team; their approach to technology craftsmanship very much matches our company culture,” said Peter Stas, CEO of MMT and Frederique Constant. “Our intense collaboration and combined strengths have enabled us to realize the exciting Swiss Horological Smartwatch now and will lead to much more to come. The Swiss Horological Smartwatches released today truly show the strength of our partnership.”

“We looked for innovative partners in the Swiss watch industry and Peter’s efforts to develop his own high caliber product was unprecedented,” said Philippe Kahn, CEO and founder of Fullpower-MotionX. “We immediately clicked and went to work to help reinvent the wonderful Swiss watch industry.”

The beautiful Swiss watch that you love to wear is now smart and connected, powered by MotionX®

Powered by MotionX®, these Swiss Horological Smartwatches have bi-directional communication with iPhone and Android Apps. The Swiss Horological Smartwatch is the synthesis of high-tech innovation and traditional Swiss watch craftsmanship; the link between modern and classic; the bridge between Silicon Valley and Switzerland. There is no digital screen on Swiss Horological Smartwatches. Instead, the beautiful laser cut hands on the watch dial analogically display information. The watch retains its classic beauty while delivering the benefits of the quantified self without ever having to recharge a battery.

The first Horological Smartwatches will support the following functionality:
– 2+ years battery life
– Always-on-time and date
– MotionX® activity tracking
– Sleeptracker® sleep monitoring
– Sleep cycle alarms
– Get active alerts
– Adaptive coaching
– MotionX cloud backup and restore

The MotionX high-accuracy patented sensor-fusion engine tracks activity and sleep patterns. Activity and sleep information is presented accurately in real-time on the Swiss Horological Smartwatch using beautiful traditional analog dials. The Swiss Horological Smartwatch synchronizes on-demand with Apple and Android smartphone applications. On the iOS and Android apps, simple and easy-to-understand graphics highlight how much one has moved and slept during the day, week, or month. Goals and adaptive coaching encourage getting a better understanding of oneself, which in turn helps one’s well-being. Better sleep and a more active lifestyle are widely recognized as simple, effective positive behavioral changes. The Swiss Horological Smartwatch now combines a luxury timepiece with the MotionX quantified self platform to get to know oneself better.

mmt-frederique-constant-smart-watch-iphone

Frederique Constant, Alpina, and Mondaine will launch ten different Horological Smartwatch models in 2015 for both ladies and gents

Powered by MMT’s MotionX technology platform, these leading brands will offer ten different models in designer collections for both women and men, delivering 24/7 MotionX activity tracking and sleep monitoring with over two years battery life and support for Apple and Android smartphones worldwide. The initial partners are Frederique Constant, the Geneva based luxury watch manufacturer of classical watches; Alpina, the Swiss Sports Watch manufacturer founded in 1883; and Mondaine, well known for its SBB Swiss Railway watches. MMT’s MotionX horological open platform allows for each brand designer to focus on their own identity. 10+ Swiss Horological Smartwatch styles for both ladies and gentlemen will be available in stores worldwide starting in June 2015.

mmt-alpina-ladies-smartwatch-powered-by-motionx

“Our Horological Smartwatch is no less than a revolution for the Swiss Watch industry by extending the concept of traditional craftsmanship and design to the actual improvement of personal lifestyle and fitness,” said Guido Benedini, CEO of Alpina. “Being the inventors of the original concept of the Swiss sport watch in 1938, we are extremely proud at Alpina to re-invent such a concept in 2015 by partnering with the leading and proven MotionX technology platform.”

“Having launched the Mondaine Helvetica watch family, named after the most famous font, in fall 2014, this iconic timepiece will now be equipped with a true innovation in the watch industry,” said Ronnie Bernheim, CEO of Mondaine. “Uniting distinguished, modern, yet timeless Swiss design with the technology and functionality of the MotionX module, the new Mondaine Helvetica Swiss Smartwatch brings consumers the conventional look of an analogue watch with huge opportunities to transmit essential information of daily life between the watch and a phone, tablet or computer. We are very happy to be part of the first brands to launch this MotionX technology.”

mmt-mondaine-smartwatch-screenshots

 

 

About MotionX®
The Swiss Horological Smartwatch is powered by the MotionX® technology platform, providing a comprehensive summary of your daily progress, including activity and sleep. We spend a third of our lives sleeping, but the vast majority of people have little to no insight into their sleep habits,” said Philippe Kahn, founder and CEO of Fullpower. “The Swiss Horological Smartwatch is a leap forward in changing what we know about our daily behavior thanks to tracking and analyzing more than 170 million nights of sleep and years of research and development on the biomechanics of natural human motion. Whether you are sleeping or awake, the Swiss Horological Smartwatch gives you accurate sleep and activity tracking information using patented advanced sensing technology, and you never have to recharge it!” More information at www.motionx.com.

About Frederique Constant
Frederique Constant is a family owned watch manufacturer based in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland. The company is involved in all stages of watch production, from initial design to final assembly and quality control. Frederique Constant develops, manufactures, and assembles in-house calibers,18 different versions since 2004. Frederique Constant watches are defined by their high quality and differentiation and precision in design and manufacturing. Their perceived value, through quality of design, materials, and manufacture, is a key component of their success. Each watch is assembled by hand, with the latest equipment and extensive controls, to ensure maximum quality and durability. The company embraces innovation to offer creativity and exceptional value. Its 32,000 square foot facility in Geneva is ultra modern and offers the best environment for its passionate watchmakers. More information at www.frederique-constant.com.

About Alpina
Alpina, famous for its red triangle signature, is a fine watch manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1883, Alpina’s watchmaking history spans more than 130 years. A true pioneer of the Swiss watchmaking industry, Alpina has been the source of numerous innovations, patents, and calibers. With the birth of its legendary Alpina 4 in 1938, Alpina invented the concept of the sport watch as we know it today. Faithful to its long tradition of creating mechanical calibers, Alpina manufactures in its Geneva manufacturing facility four movements in-house: the Tourbillon, the World Timer, the Automatic Regulator, and the Small-Date Automatic. Alpina’s mission is to design and engineer luxury sport watches that operate with the greatest precision and reliability possible in the most demanding sporting environments, like the Alps. More information at www.alpina-watches.com.

About Mondaine
Founded by Erwin Bernheim in 1951, and managed by the brothers Andre and Ronnie Bernheim today, Mondaine has gained recognition as a leading family owned player in the watch industry. Already on the front line developing LED and LCD timepieces in the early 1970s, the independent, innovative, and marketing driven company with a state-of-the-art factory in Switzerland is now known for its ability to transform Swiss cultural icons into Swiss watch icons. After creating and marketing the Mondaine/SBB, Official Swiss Railways watches and clocks worldwide for almost 30 years, Mondaine now launches its Helvetica watch family, bridging aesthetic graphics and culture with high quality Swiss watches, based on the world’s number one font Helvetica. The now released Mondaine Helvetica Swiss Horological Smartwatch adds features to the well-received collection and demonstrates again Mondaine’s ability to be at the forefront of technology and satisfy the needs of modern consumers. More information at: www.mondaine.com.

About Fullpower-MotionX
Founded in 2003, Fullpower’s world-class team leads the wearable revolution. The MotionX® Platform includes a suite of tightly coupled and integrated firmware, software and communication components that are the building blocks for new breakthrough, non-invasive, wearable wireless devices with ultra-long battery life. Fullpower drives wearable solutions for market leaders such as Nike, MMT, Alpina, Frederique Constant, Mondaine, Jawbone and others. The Fullpower wearable patent portfolio includes more than 50 issued patents (and another 50+ patents pending) covering Sleeptracker®, MotionX®, bands, pods, smart watches, eyewear, clothing, sensor-fusion, health, medical, wellness and machine learning. More information at www.fullpower.com.

About MMT
MMT (Manufacture Modules Technologies) is a new Swiss Joint Venture SARL formed by Fullpower Technologies of Silicon Valley and Union Horlogere Holdings. Its mission is to bring the MotionX Horological Smartwatch Open Platform to the Swiss watch industry. Fullpower will create and manage the schematic design, firmware, smartphone applications, as well as the cloud Infrastructure. MMT will manage the Swiss watch movement development and production as well as licensing and support for the Swiss watch industry. MMT’s headquarters are in Geneva. More information at http://mmt.ch.

 

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PR Contacts
Americas: Caitlin Shockley, caitlin@mehtamediagroup.com
Europe: Annabel Corlay, corlay@mmt.ch
Japan: Ms. Yoshino, yoshino@gm-international.jp
Silicon Valley: Leslie Ruble, leslie.ruble@fullpower.com
Mondaine: Beth Hurtubise, beth.hurtubise@bdeonline.biz


Automatic Activity Identification Patent Critical For Smartwatches and Activity Trackers Awarded to the Fullpower MotionX Platform

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. – (Feb 4, 2015) – Fullpower® today announced it has been awarded another important patent covering key practical aspects of automatic activity identification in wearables with a February 2008 priority date. Automatic activity identification is crucial for most smartwatches and advanced fitness trackers such as the Jawbone UP24™, UP MOVE™, UP3™ and many upcoming smartwatches.

“Smartwatches and advanced activity trackers get turbo-charged by automatic activity identification and early priority date IP is critical,” said Philippe Kahn, CEO of Fullpower. “As the sensing technology leader for smartwatches and activity trackers, our IP portfolio represents a sizable strategic advantage for our partners such as Nike, Jawbone and others.”

These patents are part of an intellectual property portfolio from Fullpower that includes more than 47 issued patents with over 77 patents pending. Broad coverage for the MotionX® Technology Platform and Sleeptracker® technology introduces a new and necessary approach for continuous activity and sleep monitoring and analysis, with applications spanning a variety of smartwatches and activity trackers as well as health and fitness, medical, business, lifestyle and navigation applications. Fullpower’s ongoing innovation translates into continually broadening and deepening of this patent portfolio.

The patent for invention number 8,949,070 relates to gesture and current user activity recognition. This patent supplements the Fullpower patent portfolio for the MotionX Sensor-Fusion technology.

Fullpower US Patent 8949070

 

Important Links:
www.fullpower.com
www.motionx.com

About Fullpower
Fullpower® provides the leading MotionX-365 patented ecosystem for wearable and IoT sensor-based solutions supporting state-of-the-art sensor arrays. For the “Quantified Self”, Fullpower has developed the MotionX® Technology Platform for smartwatches that include automatic activity and sleep monitoring. Fullpower powers market-leading wearable solutions from Nike, Jawbone and others.


JAWBONE INTRODUCES UP MOVE

Jawbone Unveils New Entry-Level Activity and Sleep Tracker, Powered by MotionX®, To Help You Move More And Sleep Better

SAN FRANCISCO – November 4, 2014 – Jawbone® today announced UP MOVE™, a new, easy-to-use activity tracker that helps you get fit, lose weight and have fun doing it.

At just $49.99, UP MOVE by Jawbone is the simplest way to get credit for your steps, exercise and calories burned while also capturing detailed information about your sleep. And UP MOVE lets you learn more with Smart Coach – the UP® App’s intelligent approach to personalized guidance and deeper insight that helps you move more every day.

“UP MOVE is a fun, easy way to track activity and at just $49.99, it’s a great option for anyone at the beginning of a fitness or weight loss journey,” said Travis Bogard, vice president of product management and strategy at Jawbone. “Incorporating the same best-in-class lifestyle and activity- tracking features of our UP and UP24 bands, the UP MOVE tracker combines style, versatility and comfort with highly accurate tracking and personalized guidance.”

Stylish New Design

Press the face of UP MOVE to see its sleek, hidden LED display light up to show you your progress toward your goals at a glance. Press once to display your step progress, twice to display the time, and three times to display your sleep from the prior night.

Made from a durable, nylon-like anodized aluminum, UP MOVE comes in five brilliant colors with corresponding clips so you can easily fasten it anywhere. Place the tracker discreetly in the coin pocket of your jeans, or use it with the clip to wear it on your sock, belt or bra. Colorful hypoallergenic wrist straps are also available in two widths, slim and standard, allowing you to wear UP MOVE on your wrist and mix and match it with your personal accessories.

UP MOVE comes with a replaceable battery that lasts up to six months, eliminating the need for regular recharging. It uses the same circular batteries found in digital watches and remotes, which are long- lasting and easy to replace.

Move More with Smart Coach

The accelerometer built into UP MOVE counts your daily steps without missing a beat, no matter where you go or how you wear it. UP MOVE can also be worn in bed to accurately track sleep, including hours slept and sleep quality. For optimum results, wear the comfortable wrist strap accessory during sleep.

UP MOVE connects wirelessly with Jawbone’s industry-leading UP App via Bluetooth® Smart, syncing regularly in the background to track your progress throughout the day and night. Smart Coach, the UP App’s intelligent guidance and insight system, stays with you every step of the way to help you understand what changes you should make, and encourages you to move more each day. You’ll get a deeper understanding of how your diet, sleep, activity and other choices affect your overall health and well-being, and you’ll be motivated with personal challenges like drinking eight glasses of water in a day, or taking 2,500 more steps.

With UP MOVE, you can connect with anyone in the UP system, regardless of whether they use Jawbone’s original UP® and UP24™ bands, or simply the free UP App for smartphones and wearables. Members of the UP community who have three or more teammates are likely to take 1,000 more steps per day which equates to 10 extra miles per month, according to Jawbone data. Use the new UP leaderboard to see how you stack up against your teammates for a little healthy competition.

Powered by MotionX®

The tracker is powered by MotionX® technology to provide a comprehensive summary of your daily progress, including steps and sleep.

“We spend nearly a third of our lives sleeping, but the vast majority of people have little to no insight into their nightly sleep habits,” said Philippe Kahn, founder and CEO of Fullpower. “UP MOVE is a leap forward in changing what we know about our daily behavior thanks to more than 170 million nights of sleep tracked and analyzed, and years of research and development on the biomechanics of natural human motion. Whether you are sleeping or awake, UP MOVE gives you accurate sleep and activity tracking using patented advanced sensing technology enabling ultra-long battery life.”

Available This Month

UP MOVE by Jawbone includes the pod-style tracking device, a corresponding clip and a replaceable battery, and it comes in a selection of five brilliant tracker and clip color combinations including:

Black Burst, Onyx Clip
Blue Burst, Fog Clip
Grape Rose, Purple Clip
Ruby Rose, Red Punch Clip
Slate Rose, Yellow Clip
It will be available for pre-order in select colors on Jawbone.com beginning November 5, and will be available for purchase at Jawbone.com, Amazon, Apple, Best Buy and Target stores later this month. The Grape Rose UP MOVE will be offered exclusively at Best Buy stores and on Jawbone.com.

Wrist straps for UP MOVE – available in slim and standard widths – will be sold separately in Onyx, Fog, Red Punch, Purple and Yellow as single straps for $14.99, and in assorted three-packs for $29.99.

The UP by Jawbone App for UP MOVE will be available on iOS and Android devices beginning this week as a free download from the App Store and Google Play.

About Jawbone®

Jawbone® is a world-leader in consumer technology and wearable devices, building hardware products and software platforms powered by data science.

The UP® system helps people live better by providing personalized insight into how they sleep, move and eat. Its open platform includes an ecosystem of apps and services that integrate with UP to offer new, customized experiences. The company’s approach to lifestyle tracking is unique, with over 1000 patents granted or pending related to its ecosystem and wearable technology manufacturing processes.

Jawbone is also the creator of the best-selling JAMBOX® family of wireless speakers, the award-winning Jawbone ERA® Bluetooth® headsets, and NoiseAssassin® technology.

Headquartered in San Francisco with offices globally, Jawbone products are available in over 40 countries around the world.

Visit Jawbone.com/trademarks for more information on trademarks owned by AliphCom dba Jawbone. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About Fullpower-MotionX

Founded in 2003, Fullpower’s world-class team leads the wearable and IoT revolution. The MotionX Sensor-Fusion Technology Platform includes a suite of tightly coupled and integrated firmware, software and communication components that are the building blocks for new breakthrough non- invasive, wearable wireless devices. Fullpower powers market-leading wearable solutions from Nike, Jawbone and others. The Fullpower wearable patent portfolio includes more than 45 issued patents and more than 75 patents pending covering Sleeptracker®, MotionX®, bands, pods, smart watches, eyewear, clothing, sensor-fusion, IoT, health, medical, wellness and machine learning. Fullpower showcases some of its MotionX Technology Platform via its iPhone and iPad applications, which lead the App Store in the Medical, and Navigation premium paid categories.

Media Contacts:

press@jawbone.com
fullpower@43pr.com

For more news and stories from Jawbone, please visit blog.jawbone.com.


Bad Cops Can Be Fixed With More Video… Maybe Even the Ones in Ferguson

By Kevin Maney, Newsweek

Tiny cameras are one thing. Instant upload adds another dimension. Now that we have ubiquitous wireless networks—whether cellular or Wi-Fi—services like Google+ can upload video to the Web as soon as it’s shot. As Philippe Kahn, who invented the camera phone in the 1990s, told Newsweek, police or soldiers or mobs who see you shooting video might smash your device. But if the file is already on its way to the Web, the toothpaste, you might say, is out of the YouTube. “The truth gets shared,” Kahn says.

Click here to read the complete article at Newsweek.com


Fullpower® Awarded One More Key Sensor-Fusion Patent for Activity Identification

SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwired – July 23, 2014) – Fullpower® today announced it has been awarded another key sensor-fusion patent. This patent outlines a method to identify a person’s activity using sensor-fusion.

“Wearable and IoT depend on sensor-fusion to deliver,” said Philippe Kahn, founder and CEO of Fullpower. “Jawbone UP and Nike+ Running, for example, are showcase implementations and this is just the beginning.”

The patent for invention number 8,784,309 relates to monitoring human activity, and more particularly to accurately calculating user activity statistics using a location sensor and an inertial sensor. This patent supplements the Fullpower patent portfolio for the MotionX® Sensor-Fusion processor technology, which includes US Patents 8,568,310, 8,187,182, 7,647,195, 7,970,586, and 8,320,578 among others.

The Fullpower Patent Portfolio
These patents are part of an intellectual property portfolio from Fullpower that includes more than 45 issued patents with dozens of patents pending. Broad coverage for the MotionX® Technology Platform and Sleeptracker® technology introduces a new and necessary approach for continuous activity and sleep monitoring and analysis, with applications spanning a variety of health and fitness, medical, and navigation applications. Fullpower’s ongoing innovation translates into continually broadening and deepening of this patent portfolio.

Important Links:
www.fullpower.com
www.motionx.com

About Fullpower and the MotionX Technology Platform
Founded in 2003, Fullpower’s world-class team leads the wearable and IoT revolution. Fullpower powers market-leading wearable solutions from Nike, Jawbone and others. The Fullpower wearable patent portfolio includes more than 45 issued patents and more than 75 patents pending covering Sleeptracker®, MotionX®, bands, pods, smart watches, eyewear, clothing, sensor-fusion, IoT, health, medical, wellness and machine learning.

Fullpower US Patent 8784309


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