Nestlums – an innovative app to teach children about the working of money in our virtually cashless, digital world, where it may seem invisible to them – launched today and is already trending on the App Store and has been for us on site too which is really great news for the company.
Wayne Travis (Creative Director of a leading fintech company, Thought Machine) and his team mates, as parents concerned about their young kids limited understanding of money in our increasingly cashless digital world, decided to create an app to teach them the essentials, in the form of a game so enchanting they will be begging to keep on playing and learning:
Neslums is a new mobile app which offers modern money training for children through a unique, character-driven, gamified experience, without connecting to a bank account or touching any real money.
The modern digital world presents new challenges in teaching children about money. Research released today by Thought Machine shows that in 1 in 4 UK families, a child had made an unauthorised purchase online. When it came to parents teaching their children about financial literacy, 80% believe it is important that their child learns financial literacy concepts from an early age. Although 1 in 3 parents said that they were unsure their child currently has the necessary understanding of financial literacy concepts for their age.
The release of the research coincides with the launch of Nestlums, a new mobile app created by Cauldron in partnership with BAFTA nominated game developers Glitchers. The app offers modern money training for children through a unique, character-driven, gamified experience, without connecting to a bank account or touching any real money. The Nestlums team hope the app can provide tangible support in building financial understanding, especially where digital money is concerned.
“We know that getting to grips with money can be hard for kids, especially as it becomes increasingly less visible in the modern world. My seven year old daughter barely has a clue what’s going on when I tap my card in a shop!”explains Wayne Travis, Creative Director from Cauldron. “With the growing prevalence of virtual currencies and the rise of the dreaded in-app purchase, we wanted to reinforce the idea of earning money honestly, appreciating the value of money even if you can’t see it or touch it, and not blowing it recklessly.”
As families have been spending more time at home, it is likely children are also spending more time online. The Nestlums team hope the app can provide tangible support in building financial understanding, especially where digital money is concerned.
Nestlums can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for a one-off payment of £2.99, and features no subscription charges, in-app purchases or advertising.
Own The Room, an international leader in learning and development, announces an innovative approach to communications training that combines world-class virtual coaching sessions and LifeHikes, an AI-driven mobile application. As companies adapt to virtual operations and take initiatives to foster a culture of openness and change, this digital learning solution empowers teams to strengthen their communications with added layers of impact, connectivity and engagement.
Own The Room’s virtual training programs feature live, interactive, skill-based lessons led by certified Coaches who have helped thousands of professionals advance their communication and presentation skills. Companies who enroll in the online training pair their virtual sessions with the newly launched LifeHikes® app to enhance the learning experience, get actionable metrics, and track progress during and after the virtual training. Together, it’s a transformative experience that leads to long-lasting results for participants and delivers insights to help employers quantify their training investment.
“At Own The Room, we want to train the world and give everyone the tools to unleash their potential,” says Own The Room Founder and Coach Bill Hoogterp. “In a time when it is more important than than ever to listen and speak out, our virtual offerings with human-centered technology empower everyone to find their voice and have as much impact as possible.”
Developed by a team of industry-leading engineers, scientists and communication Coaches, LifeHikes® features interactive lessons led by expert Coaches. It offers a robust library of practice prompts that can be completed in-between virtual team trainings, visual reports, video playback, and personalized feedback that reveal each user’s strongest skills and areas for improvement. The app also includes a Virtual Reality feature, which enables users to deliver presentations to a realistic audience in a conference room or interview setting.
To learn more and enroll in an Own The Room virtual communications training program, please visit: https://owntheroom.com/virtual-sessions/or contact team@owntheroom.com.
Heficed, the provider of network infrastructure solutions, announced they are bringing theIP Address Market to theEquinix platform. This will provide widespread accessibility to IP assets for Equinix customers, levelling out the playing field for companies with limited capacity to build their own IP infrastructure and contributing to the growth of the world’s largest ecosystems of interconnected partners.
In order to provide continuous quality service, businesses need sufficient IP resources to sustain the growth of their operations. IP Address Market will enable Equinix clients to access a vast amount of IPv4 addresses, paving the way for streamlined and accelerated scalability.
The exhaustion of IPv4 addresses has put up new barriers for scaling business; the IP Address Market helps Equinix clients break through these obstacles with the resources needed to grow and sustain their operations much faster, and without aggravating the IP shortage issue.
IP exhaustion was a predetermined problem, as no one had anticipated the scale at which the internet would evolve; the 4.3 billion IPv4 addresses were not meant to sustain the rapidly growing IoT market and the vast amount of always-on connections. In 2019, the last regional internet registryran out of available IPv4addresses, escalating the issue even further.
The IP Address Market mitigates the problem as it enables unused IP addresses to reenter the market. Consequently, it provides access to extensive IPv4 resources, enabling businesses to lease necessary IPs and continue scaling their operations without contributing to the current strain placed on the market.
“IPv4 shortage has had its effect on hindering technology development and limiting operational expansion,” says Vincentas Grinius, CEO of Heficed. “We developed the IP Address Market with the goal to support businesses in overcoming the challenge and provide them with the much needed IPs. That’s why we are excited about presenting Equinix customers with more opportunities to scale their ventures.”
This will further accelerate the development of the IP Address Market and bring the concept of IP leasing one step closer to being recognized as the new industry standard, enabling more efficient resource allocation and helping to build sustainable IP infrastructures.
Recently Heficed enhanced their Geolocation search feature, enabling IP address selection by the desired location. In the near future, the company plans to roll out additional features, such as Take Away IPs (TAIP), Bring Your Own IPs (BYOIP), and automated IP health checks. The end goal is to have full operational sustainability with zero need for provision.
Pearl Abyss has announced that new hero Tagahl Sherekhan is now available in Shadow Arena, the studio’s brand new hero action battle royale game that is currently in Early Access on Steam. The free to play hero brawler now has eleven available heroes, each catering for different strategies and playing styles.
Tagahl Sherakhan finds his origin story in Black Desert Online lore and is the descendant of a dragon slayer tribe called the Sherekhan. He made himself famous and notorious when he killed a ferocious dragon in Calpheon. Legend has it that he was not rewarded by Calpheon’s people for his courageous act and left these lands in discontent. Always looking for fame and glory, he finally found his way to Shadow Arena’s world of challenges and is more powerful and determined than ever.
Tagahl Sherakhan is a force to be reckoned with. The warrior has a gigantic presence, and uses the glaive as his main weapon. His powerful and lethal combat style can deliver powerful blows to enemies. As a former Dragon Slayer he developed the crushing skull and clipping wings skills that deal serious damage to enemies. Due to his experience in slaying large beasts, his array of skills do have a pretty wide AOE effect as well, which can be handy when he’s battling larger NPC’s or groups of enemies.
To celebrate the launch of Tagal Sherakhan, Pearl Abyss is giving away a hero for free for everyone who claims it on the Shadow Arena Steam Store page up until the 9th of July. Furthermore, the community team is planning a host of celebratory events. Please check the official website for more information and the latest updates.
About Shadow Arena
Shadow Arena pits 40 players against each other in a ruthless fight to be the last person standing on the battlefield. Players can choose from eleven playable characters, each with their own unique fighting style. To climb to the top of the pack, players must slay monsters and collect loot to upgrade their gear and gain buffs. However, impeccable skill execution and well-timed evasive tactics are critical in securing victory.
The tile Sticker is the size of a 2 euro coin but around 3 times thicker. The build of the tile is waterproof with an internal battery lasting up to 3 years, On the back of the tile there is an adhesive to stick to any product as required. The tile Sticker is placed on an object and if lost can be found via a ring tone or location map on the app.
Setup and use:
The free tile app is required to be downloaded and set up on the standard smartphone. The tile sticker has a 46m range or if lost this can be referred to last known location on the app. If lost or missing, via the Notify When Found.” crowd community that is within the range automatically located the map location as required. The core features of the App as used to find the item via the ring my tile or find my phone, or see the location on the map, or share with friends and community find.
This information is automatically updated whenever anyone in the Tile community comes within Bluetooth range of your Tile. The Tile app on the play store has Installs 1,000,000+ Installs ( rating of 4 out of 5 ) which would mean for android only, one of these would be required to pass the path of the tile sticker. This constant searching via Bluetooth has a noticeable drain on the phone battery power.
Advance features required a payment service which gives advance features of alerts, 30 Day Location History, Unlimited Sharing and Free Battery Replacements.
Tile comparison range:
Overall:
This is a product that under an ideal world where nothing gets lost or misplaced would not be required, but in the real world, everyday things get misplaced. This product allows you the option to find the product that may be invaluable to ensure the small outlay of cost may be saviours in finding the product. The downside of the system is the drain on the battery on the phone. If the unit is lost far away from a know location this relies on crowd surfing to find the product, The risk for many is worth taking giving a higher probability of finding a lost product. The tile sticker is solid, not intrusive in size with an excellent battery life ensure its core function works, with a bonus of compatible with Alexa.
Recently Jabra announced a fe wnew products to the market to cater for home and office and now with nmore of us working from home than ever before it will become a norm to some extent for many going forward and with that we need the technology to help us out and Jabra are one company that has always excelled in this department.
The Evolve 2 has three microphones of which two are located in the boom-arm and one in the right ear cup. The headset offers up to 37 hours of battery life and three times better real wireless range than the existing Evolve 65. This headset is part of their new range which we covered here and you can read up some more on them, Today we take a first look at the product and unbox them and if you have any questions feel free to ask as always. Full review will be ready soon.
Launching today, Nestlums is a new mobile app which offers modern money training for children through a unique, character-driven, gamified experience, without connecting to a bank account or touching any real money.
The modern digital world presents new challenges in teaching children about money. Research released today by Cauldron shows that in 1 in 4 UK families, a child had made an unauthorised purchase online. A third of parents also said that they were unsure their child has the necessary understanding of financial literacy concepts for their age.
As families have been spending more time at home, it is likely children are also spending more time online. The Nestlums team hope the app can provide tangible support in building financial understanding, especially where digital money is concerned.
Created for people who want their children to develop good financial habits early, Nestlums harnesses the power of play to make a typically uninteresting subject engaging and rewarding. In the app, charming ‘Nestlum’ characters encourage kids to earn virtual currencies through the successful completion of real life tasks, set by parents in the app. Upon completion, children can then go on to manage, save and spend their earnings.
“We know that getting to grips with money can be hard for kids, especially as it becomes increasingly less visible in the modern world. My seven year old daughter barely has a clue what’s going on when I tap my card in a shop!” explains Wayne Travis, Creative Director from Cauldron. “With the growing prevalence of virtual currencies and the rise of the dreaded in-app purchase, we wanted to reinforce the idea of earning money honestly, appreciating the value of money even if you can’t see it or touch it, and not blowing it recklessly.”
Nestlums features two virtual currencies: ‘Gems’, which let kids unlock and play games within the app, and ‘Coins’ which represent a tally of real world money that can be honoured by parents as actual pocket money outside of the app.
“We designed the wise little creatures in Nestlums to tune into a child’s innate sense of empathy, and give them something to bond and play with as they progress. We’ve always said to parents: if they won’t listen to you, maybe they’ll listen to the Nestlums!” explains Fox Rogers, Design Director at Cauldron. “We are striving to create responsible financial behaviours that translate into the real world.”
Nestlums is the first public initiative from Cauldron, the recently re-branded creative arm of fintech pioneers Thought Machine, and has been created in partnership with BAFTA award nominated games developers Glitchers.
The app is aimed at younger children who do not yet have their own bank account or smartphone, and is intended to live on the parent or guardian’s device. Nestlums has been specifically designed as a safe space for children to learn financial behaviours. For example, the app does not connect to a bank account or card and features a secure ‘grown-ups’ section for managing a child’s tally of coins against money spent/honoured in the real world.
“Multiple children can be set up in Nestlums, and there is no limit to the number of tasks that can be set, rewards given, or games played, allowing Nestlums to be adapted to suit every family.” says lead Game Developer, Max Scott-Slade at Glitchers.
Nestlums can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for a one off payment of £2.99, and features no subscription charges, in-app purchases or advertising.
Timex is celebrating the 40th anniversary of PAC-MANTM, one of the world’s most well-known arcade games, with an expanded release of the Timex T80 x PAC-MANTM watch. Just as PAC-MANTM revolutionized the gaming world in the 1980s, Timex shook up digital watchmaking around the same time when it introduced some of the first digital watches for mass production. Following the sold-out release of the T80 PAC-MANTM watch at ComplexCon and timex.com in November 2019, Timex is now making the watch available globally to meet international demand and build upon the watch’s first-outing success. If you are a watch fan or collector like me this one should be up there on your list for a new timepiece.
“This crossover aligns the popularity of the iconic PAC-MANTM arcade game with the retro aesthetic of our T80 watch’s digital design, in turn creating a timepiece that hits all the right notes of nostalgia,” said Silvio Leonardi, Senior Vice President of Timex. “Now, following the watch’s initial success and in support of its 40th anniversary, we are excited to offer the T80 PAC-MANTM globally. Customers and fans should anticipate even more to come as we celebrate this milestone anniversary.”
This T80 watch features PAC-MANTM right on the dial, along with other special touches on the case back and bracelet clasp. The watch also packs all the capabilities one would normally expect from a Timex T80, such as an alarm, stopwatch, date display and INDIGLO® backlight; it even plays plays the iconic PAC-MANTM melody with retro flair to spare, making for a well-rounded timepiece that wears just as well in 2020 as it has since the heyday of arcade gaming.
The Timex T80 x PAC-MANTM will be available from June in silver-tone, gold-tone and black for £69 at Timex.co.uk and from select retailers around the globe.
IDTechEx has substantially updated and added to their entire wearable technology market research portfolio. The wearable technology reports are now including a dedicated supporting document discussing the impact of COVID-19 on the industry. The following points illustrate some of the most significant conclusions, figures, and data from the latest IDTechEx research report offerings.
2019 saw the largest single year growth rate for wearable technology product revenue since 2015
The wearables market had a very strong 2020, growing 19% to reach a total of $70bn for the year. The most significant product sector driving an increase in growth over the previous year was the true wireless headphones product sector, as part of hearables, which generated over $4bn of new revenue relative to 2018. The other strongest growth came from device categories such as smartwatches and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices, which grew by just under $4bn and $1.3bn respectively relative to 2018 values. This represents the largest one year growth rate since peak wearables hype in 2015 (a year which saw the commercial launches of leading devices such as the Apple Watch), which emphasises the growing strength in the sector and the continuing opportunity for new development and growth.
COVID-19 has already had a significant impact on 2020 revenues, but many sectors retain long-term optimism
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound societal and economic impact, and many wearable products have been part of this. The most critical impact to date has been at the point-of-sale for many products, with lockdowns and social distancing measures meaning that stores are closed, doctors appointments are not taking place in person and sales of many products have been significantly impacted as a result. However, the impact has been very varied; where some products have seen as much as an 80% reduction in sales for Q2 2020 vs Q2 2019, other areas such as remote patient monitoring devices have been accelerated onto the market to assist in pandemic countermeasures.
As such, there is a complex picture, which is covered at length in the IDTechEx report portfolio via a primer document on COVID-19, which is available with all IDTechEx wearable technology reports.
Specific regulatory changes coming in 2020 and 2021 will have a significant impact in skin patches, hearables and beyond
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is profound and as such has by far the largest impact on the short-term outlook for the sector. However, the reports highlight regulatory changes as another factor which will have a significant impact going forward. This has already been seen in relation to COVID-19, where many products involved in pandemic countermeasures have been fast-tracked to FDA approvals. Regulatory barriers are critical challenges for many players, from new start-ups to global leaders, and changes to them can shift the dynamic immediately.
The IDTechEx reports highlight several other specific regulatory changes which have been longer awaited, which will cause disruption in the product areas covered. In hearables, the Over the Counter Hearing Aid act requires guidelines for that product category to be established by August 2020, paving the way for a new generation of hearing assistance products which can be approved and reimbursed as part of the US healthcare system. In electronic skin patches, new regulatory and reimbursement frameworks for wearable cardiovascular monitoring focusing on mobile cardiac telemetry and extended Holter monitoring are expected to be confirmed in 2020 and implemented in early 2021. Both of these steps introduce new product opportunities, and the research details ways in which companies are planning to adapt to these changes as they are implemented. We expect these changes in regulation to have an immediate impact on the industry dynamic in the markets which they affect.
Technology giants target the move from consumer to medical, with wearables as a key ingredient
Technology players, such as Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft and many others, have long been investing in product and platform development with relevance to health and wellness. Whilst this in itself is not new information, the report highlights the increasing prevalence of medical sensing metrics being deployed into traditionally consumer wearable products. Smartwatches have been demonstrated with ECG for atrial fibrillation, PPG for oxygen saturation and blood pressure monitoring. In hearables, optical blood pressure is now commonly discussed, joining other more familiar features such as fall detection, core body temperature monitoring and other relevant medical metrics. These and more examples are all included within the IDTechEx reports.
However, the critical point here is that these metrics are not just exclusive to medical devices. In many cases, products are having versions of these features added as part of a standard consumer offerings, complete with appropriate disclaimers that encourage users to consult their doctor if they have challenges. However, when this development is paired with intensive lobbying, as well as significant parallel development of the data infrastructure and supporting systems required for medical devices, it is clear that the longer-term strategy will move in this direction. The wearable devices at the core of this are an essential part of the long-term strategy, and the technology within them is being developed at a remarkable rate.
The chart below illustrates this trend within wearable product data. “Potentially medical” products are product categories where sensing capabilities more traditionally associated with medical devices have been introduced in consumer products, which could potentially see some reclassification within the boundaries of medical products further into the future. This is not likely to happen quickly, but this is a significant trend which should not be ignored, regardless of which side of the debate you fall on.
From single parameter to multi-parameter sensing
The role of a medical device for sensing is typically to represent one physiological parameter as accurately and reliably as possible. A doctor would then use an appropriate combination of medical device readings and other tests to make an assessment and determine the best course of action. However, as digital health and artificial intelligence (see IDTechEx report on this topic here) are increasingly introduced, the capabilities of medical devices are being expanded such that they can diagnose and monitor specific conditions with increasing independence from the doctor.
This trend goes hand in hand with increasing adoption of multi-parametric sensing on medical devices. Whilst these are not necessarily new, it is still the case that the majority of medical device categories (and particularly those studied within wearables) focus on a single parameter, such as blood glucose, cardiac biopotential, skin temperature, blood pressure and so on. Multi-parameter sensing often presents a much more significant challenge, particularly in navigating regulatory barriers, with companies forced to weigh up the advantages of the new capabilities offered with the significant investment to go through de novo regulatory approval processes which take significantly more time and money.
However, as more pioneers begin to introduce advanced features enabled digital health and AI, these multi-parametric systems will increasingly become the norm. This will have a significant impact on the status quo for many of the product sectors as they exist today, but the change is expected to be a gradual evolution over years and decades. This also goes hand in hand with the previous point; many of the fitness and wellness devices are already using combinations of many different biometric readings to build a more complete picture of the wearer’s health. It will just take significantly more time and money for these advances to have their efficacy and safety proven within the context of medical devices too.
To find out more about the wearable technology market research portfolio from IDTechEx, including reports on hearables, electronic skin patches, VR, AR & MR, e-textiles and smart clothing, plus the master report on wearable technology please visit www.IDTechEx.com/research/wt.
