Google Acquires WIMM Labs Android Smartwatch Designer
Google has gone and quietly acquired WIMM Labs, makers of the WIMM One, a smartwatch heavily geared towards developers. The company's been around for around five years, though it seemingly went dormant a year ago by deleting its Twitter account, ceasing sales of the WIMM One, and posting a somewhat strange message on its website.
"During the summer of 2012, WIMM labs entered into an exclusive, confidential relationship for our technology and ceased sales of the Developer Preview Kit. Existing WIMM One owners can continue to sync their devices at this time[...]We'd like to thank all of our developers for their interest and willingness to experiment with our platform and look forward to exciting advances in the wearable market," WIMM Labs posted on its homepage.
Whatever went down, the company apparently caught the attention of Google, which now owns WIMM Labs. According to Gigaom, Google has retained at least some of WIMM's staff members.
What makes this acquisition intriguing is that WIMM Labs isn't just a smartwatch maker, it's a company that built its own developer program for third-party developers to build micro apps, which are pieces of software that can not only sync with your smartphone, but also work independently from it.
All signs now point to Google launching a smartwatch device of its own, though the search giant may opt to take a wait and see approach based on the success (or failure) of other players. If Google decides to build a smartphone, it wouldn't be such a stretch for a company that already sells its own brand smartphone (Nexus 4) and tablet line (Nexus 7 and 10).
"During the summer of 2012, WIMM labs entered into an exclusive, confidential relationship for our technology and ceased sales of the Developer Preview Kit. Existing WIMM One owners can continue to sync their devices at this time[...]We'd like to thank all of our developers for their interest and willingness to experiment with our platform and look forward to exciting advances in the wearable market," WIMM Labs posted on its homepage.
Whatever went down, the company apparently caught the attention of Google, which now owns WIMM Labs. According to Gigaom, Google has retained at least some of WIMM's staff members.
What makes this acquisition intriguing is that WIMM Labs isn't just a smartwatch maker, it's a company that built its own developer program for third-party developers to build micro apps, which are pieces of software that can not only sync with your smartphone, but also work independently from it.
All signs now point to Google launching a smartwatch device of its own, though the search giant may opt to take a wait and see approach based on the success (or failure) of other players. If Google decides to build a smartphone, it wouldn't be such a stretch for a company that already sells its own brand smartphone (Nexus 4) and tablet line (Nexus 7 and 10).
