Intel Acquires Maker of Wearable Computing Devices

From X-bit Labs: Intel Corp. on Tuesday announced that it has completed the acquisition of Basis Science, a leading developer and manufacturer of wearable computing devices for health and wellness applications. The acquisition of Basis accelerates Intel's wearable products focus and extends the company's capabilities in this area. It also brings access to new technology, and further expands the leadership team with people who have a proven track record in wearable device technologies.

Intel is actively pursuing a range of products and initiatives with the goal of accelerating wearable device innovation. The company has already developed a range of Quark-branded chips for various wearable devices as well as intelligent appliances. Intel’s strategy is to create wearable reference devices, SoCs and other technology platforms ready to be used by customers in development of wearable products. Underscoring this point, Intel recently announced several innovations and initiatives focused on fit, function and style.

Basis Science is mostly known for its Basis band, one of the world's most advanced health trackers. The wrist-worn device and web and mobile service captures physiological metrics such as heart rate to help people get fit, sleep better and stress less.

The Basis band will continue to be sold through existing retail channels. The team will continue to work on its product roadmap and serve its existing Basis band users. The team will also begin work on future wearable initiatives, working closely with the broader Intel team.

Intel Quark SoC X1000 is a 32-bit, single core, single-thread, Pentium instruction set architecture (ISA)-compatible CPU with 16KB L1 cache, 512KB L2 cache, operating at speeds up to 400MHz. It features computing industry standard I/O interfaces, including ACPI, PCI Express, 10/100Mb Ethernet, SD, USB 2.0 device and EHCI/OHCI USB host ports, high-speed UART, RS-232 serial port, programmable 8MB NOR flash, and a JTAG port for easy debug. Specifications of the new Quark SoC will be released at the trade-show.

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