#1: Will Tizen dominate wearables?

With Samsung’s release of the Gear 2 family last month, a new, leaner mobile OS entered the market: Tizen. After months iWatch rumors, Apple released CarPlay at SXSW–a hint of its waning interest in the wearables market. Also at SXSW, Google said they’ll release Android SDK for Wearables in 2 weeks.

While Google’s announcement and DotCoMo’s exit from the consortium, there are still plenty of carriers and Samsung to support the growth of Tizen. This is especially especially true considering the drive to create the $20 smartphone for emerging markets. Check out these resources for more information:

Business Insider: “Why Apple Should Fear Samsung’s New ‘Tizen’ Strategy” http://bit.ly/1gjyQsf
Gizmodo: “Meet Samsung’s new smartwatch family: the Gear 2, Neo and Fit.” http://bit.ly/1gjzUMF
SlashGear: “Tizen hits bump as more carriers plan to back out.” http://bit.ly/1gjMo75
CNET: “Tizen chairman, ever the optimist, says smartphone will hit market in 2014.” http://bit.ly/1gjMXh8
Time: “Samsung’s New Galaxy Gear Watches: Goodbye Android, Hello Tizen” http://bit.ly/1gjN7Fp

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#2: #SXSW’s App Frenzy

More than 40,000 of the country’s digital elite invaded Austin earlier this week for SXSW–the annual conference for the movie, music and interactive industry. Developers, and brands, were there hawking their mobile apps to become the next Twitter or Starbucks app. As these attendees come home, the SXSW echo chamber will no doubt drive more app development.

Here’s why you shouldn’t join them: http://bit.ly/1gjwtFX

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#3: That ring don’t hunt

Wearables are a hot–watches, eyewear and now rings. Unfortunately, the later is largely vapor. Despite huge Kickstarter wins, ample prototypes and fantastic use cases, no smart ring has arrived on the market except one. (It’s NFC-based–as useless to iOS users as their iPhones.) This contrarian article offers a great breakdown on why:

Gizmodo: “Sorry, But Smart Rings Aren’t the Future” http://bit.ly/1cwgHfZ