Apple targeting wearable health and fitness device market
Apple hopes to improve its financial health by focusing on your health. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is preparing to enter the wearable device market with technology focused on health and fitness tracking, according to media reports. Apple Insider reported Tuesday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted the company a patent for a headphone system that includes built-in sensors to detect heart rate, temperature, perspiration and other biometric data. The patent for a “sports monitoring system for headphones, earbuds and/or headsets” shows that Apple (AAPL) has been investigating integrated activity monitors for at least six years, Apple Insider writer Mikey Campbell reported. Apple filed for the patent in 2007. The activity monitor also incorporates accelerators, which could allow people to change music tracks or adjust volume on their headphones with the tilt of the head or some other motion, Apple Insider said. Apple reportedly has hired a bunch …