The Unexpected Return Of Technology Companies That Once Ruled The Roost

Rising from the ashes like a Phoenix with a new brand strategy, we take a look at three wearable technology and smartphone brands that are returning from oblivion.

As a big supporter of the underdog, I always keep an eye on the tech companies that once ruled the roost. I find it fascinating when they bravely make an unexpected return to the smartphone or wearable tech race. Of the brave, who return from oblivion, there are a few that are making the kind of comeback that warrants our attention. Personally, we are rooting for these three.

NOKIA Health, Shifting Focus From Treatment To Prevention

At the beginning of the summer (2017), Nokia made a triumphant return. Rising from the ashes like a Phoenix with a new brand strategy, Nokia introduced us to a new range of wearable health devices that include Nokia Body BMI Wi-Fi connected scale, Nokia BPM+ soft-cuff blood pressure monitor, new Nokia Health Mate app with a 360-degree view of Digital health.

Health

Since launching products from the Withings brand, which was transferred to the mobile brand earlier this year, Nokia’s line of digital health products offers convenience, choice and accessibility for every lifestyle. Working with a redesigned Nokia Health Mate app Nokia is focused on transforming the dynamic between patients, doctors and the medical community with tools focused on the prevention of chronic conditions. The app also gives users a 360-degree view of their well-being.

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Cedric Hutchings, vice president of Digital Health at Nokia shared back in June 2017, “Nokia’s line of digital health products delivers actionable insights, giving users the equivalent of a daily check-up,” said Cedric Hutchings, vice president of Digital Health at Nokia. Brad Rodrigues, interim president at Nokia Technologies, added, “The products are beautiful, easy to use and fit seamlessly into people’s daily lives, enabling individuals to monitor and improve their health easily.”

Winner of Health and Fitness Platform of the Year at the Wareable Tech Awards last year, Nokia Health is committed to shifting focus from treatment to prevention, by empowering consumers to take control of their health. Look out for the release the Nokia Steel HR hybrid smartwatch this December.

JAWBONE Aiming To Be At The Forefront Of Revolutionising Primary Care

Not many were surprised when Fitbit’s rival Jawbone closed shop and changed course. They had been in a spiral of demise for a long while. The struggle was real. After liquidation, Jawbone formed a new business which they named Jawbone Health Hub. The startup once valued at $3 billion, was now looking to make health-related hardware and software services.

Wearable Technology
Jawbone Co-founder/CEO Hosain Rahman

With ambitions to be at the forefront of revolutionising primary care, co-founder/CEO Hosain Rahman foresees Jawbone Health Hub connecting patients, and physicians like never before. On the shift in strategy Jawbone shared, “Jawbone Health is at the forefront of revolutionising primary care for millions of patients worldwide. Combining more than 20 years of proprietary wearable technology with clinically relevant signals, Jawbone Health connects patients and physicians never like before with continuous, data-driven dialogue. This unique position of daily directed guidance stands to redefine primary care while helping people live happier, healthier and longer.” Much better at selling his vision than running a company, we hope that Hosain Rahman, the persistent entrepreneur, invests in significant R&D sop as to ensure that his new wearable devices venture works.

BLACKBERRY Targeting Business-focused Consumers

Moving away from the digital health space. Once on top of the smartphones world, Blackberry has been struggling for a long time to regain the glory that it once had. In the last 12 months, the once popular mobile brand has been embarking on a new venture called Krypton.

smart phone

Described as a mid-range smartphone, the Krypton is said to be similar to BlackBerry’s DTEK60 mobile. Besides the rumours that they are working on entering the wearable tech space with Augmented Reality Smartglasses, there is currently, there is not much out there, except for a few unconfirmed speculations like the one tweeted by Evan Blass on 5th October 2017 to his 389k followers that the name will not be Krypton but Motion.

When it comes to the specs, a source stated that the Krypton is expected to have a 5.2-inch or 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1088, with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 625 chipset, paired with 4GB of RAM, helping push the display’s pixels. BlackBerry’s security software DTEK and HUB are expected to feature alongside Android 7.0 Nougat. Other predicted specs include IP67 water and dust resistance and a home button embedded fingerprint scanner. Having taken with all the information floating out there on the world wide web, I can conclude that the new BlackBerry smartphone will most likely be targeted to business-focused consumers, who are less about taking the perfect selfie and more about running a small empire.

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Founding Editor in Chief at FashNerd.com | editor@fashnerd.com | Website

Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is currently one of the leading influencers writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology. She has also given talks at Premiere Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Pure London, to name a few. Besides working as a fashion innovation consultant for various fashion companies like LVMH Atelier, Muchaneta has also contributed to Vogue Business, is a senior contributor at The Interline and an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL.

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