Today’s daily video topics include a release of Microsoft test versions of its upcoming operating systems for Windows phones, the rapid growth of the Apple Watch in the wearables market, IBM’s new IoT business unit, and Amazon’s secret drone testing in Canada.
Microsoft is preparing to significantly increase the number of smartphones supported by its upcoming Windows 10 operating system.
In February, Microsoft kicked off a preview of Windows 10 for smartphones, a major step in the company’s journey toward a single OS that encompasses multiple device classes.
The downside was that it supported just six Lumia smartphones. Microsoft is now getting ready to widely expand that list.
The new Apple Watch will be a key driver in the expected growth of the global wearable device market. The strongest growth will be among what IDC calls smart wearables—those devices that can run third-party applications.
Those include Motorola Mobility’s Moto 360 smartwatch, Samsung’s Gear watches and, notably, the Apple Watch. Such smart devices will account for 25.7 million of the wearables that ship in 2015, a 510 percent increase from the 4.2 million units shipped in 2014.
IBM announced it will invest $3 billion over the next four years to establish a new Internet of Things business unit. Big Blue also said it is building a cloud-based open platform to help customers and ecosystem partners build IoT products.
In addition, the company is creating new IBM IoT cloud services to drive insights into business operations. More than 2,000 IBM consultants, researchers and developers will support the new IoT initiative and help enterprise clients gain new insights.
The FAA’s slow review process for Amazon’s proposals to test its ideas for unmanned drone-based package delivery services in the U.S. prompted the Seattle-based online retailer to move much of its drone testing work to a secret location in Canada where such tests are being allowed.
Amazon is keeping the location of the testing in Canada very quiet, but a team of roboticists, software engineers, aeronautics experts and remote sensing specialists are there to carry out the experiments.