Lycos ventures into wearable devices space

Lycos Life will be delivered in the form of smart wristband ($124.99) and a ring ($59.99)

Lycos Internet Limited, a Hyderabad-based publicly-listed digital marketing company, is all set to enter the connected wearable devices space by launching Lycos Life, a line of wearable devices that help users monitor steps, calories burned, speed and heart rate, among others.

"The security, fitness and messaging wearable technology collection, developed by our recently-floated division Lycos Life, will be launched in the US and in India on June 8. We have signed a pact with Amazon to sell these devices," Suresh Reddy, chairman and chief executive of Lycos, told mediapersons here on Friday.

Lycos Life devices, to be delivered in the form of a smart wristband ($124.99) and a ring ($59.99), have the capabilities to intelligently sense individuals' everyday patterns and transfer this information securely and wirelessly to the user's phone via a low-energy Bluetooth connectivity and its tap-to-transfer (T2T) communication protocol.

The devices, embedded with firmware developed in-house by Lycos, will allow users to securely and seamlessly log in to their favourite apps and websites from their phones and unlock them without the use of passwords.

Besides, these will allow users to automatically monitor their activity, sleep, heart rate, incoming calls, and important notifications from their phone completely hands-free.

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), a combination of new vendors, new devices, and greater end-user awareness will drive the worldwide wearables market higher in 2015.

Vendors will ship a total of 45.7 million wearable devices in 2015, an increase of 133.4% from the 19.6 million units shipped in 2014. By 2019, the total shipment volumes are forecast to reach 126.1 million units, resulting in a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45.1%, IDC said.

"Internet of Things (IoT) is the core underlined business that we will be going after," Reddy said, adding that Lycos was currently working on multiple product ideas in the wearable devices space. Lycos Internet Limited's scrip is currently trading at Rs 38.50 on the BSE, up 6.80%, over the previous close of Rs 36.05 a share.