Internet of things? More like Internet of useless things, no? Next to “wearables,” the Internet of things — or IoT if we want to be cool about it — has been the next big thing in technology since tablet sales started to slow. For the past few years, the hype has been about connecting everything to the Internet, whether it’s refrigerators, luggage or even our pets. The idea is that all these things generate data, and if we can move that data around and access it whenever we want, we’ll find new ways to …

Most Canadian shoppers are using their smartphones to assist them while shopping and would like businesses to send them location-based offers and rewards, reveals a new report from the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) and LoyaltyOne. 56% of those surveyed have used beacon technology at some point while shopping and overall consumer awareness of beacons and location-based services (LBS) technology is high at 86%.

The Internet of Things, which makes everyday objects smarter and connected, could bring electronic brains to more than 1.9 billion devices by the year 2020, according to a forecast by the tech analyst firm Linley Group. Linley Gwennap, founder of the Linley Group, told the crowd at the company’s annual chip conference that the term Internet of Things covers a lot of ground, from smart utility meters to smart cooking thermometers, making the forecast difficult to make. Industrial devices are leading the way, but Gwennap said he expects to see rapid growth in consumer devices starting around 2017.

Gartner's top 2016 strategic trends for 2016 had a decided emphasis on the Internet of things, smart machines and the digital glue that will tie those technologies with the business. The glue included in Gartner's list, delivered at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo, is something called the device mesh. While a term like device mesh sounds trendy much like Gartner's nexus of forces tagline from two years ago the concept is sound. The general idea is that the digital mesh is a dynamic network linking various endpoints. Everything is a device.

Amazon Web Services, the retail giant’s web hosting arm, registered on Monday a slew of domain names for use as part of the so-called Internet of things, according to Domain Name Wire, a trade blog. These registrations suggest which products (or at least product names) the company is considering. Given that the move occurred during the company’s big AWS Re:Invent customer conference, at which Amazon typically makes big product statements, it bears examination. The blog listed five Internet of things-affiliated names that Amazon  AMZN locked up as it prepares to launch a cloud-based service for IoT this …

If you read tech blogs, you must have heard about beacons or iBeacons (Apple’s version) which are tiny Bluetooth 4.0-based devices. These devices have been witnessing a lot of hype and some adoption in proximity marketing solutions where merchants are putting up beacons to send offers, promotions, coupons, etc. in the form of proximity messages. Financial Institutions such as banks have also started using beacon technology to boost customer engagement and explore new revenue streams.  Following is a list of seven such banks who have either implemented or are in the process of implementing beacon technology to leverage their services and to increase …

Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ Element brand is driving stays at its properties and rewarding consumers with wearable device prizes as part of a collaboration with Fitbit that asks fitness enthusiasts to take a virtual walk around the world and log their milestones. The “Walk the World with Element Hotels, Powered by Fitbit” event is designed to incite a spark of travel interest in consumers by spurring them to log their steps on the road as part of a global challenge. Participant will automatically be entered to win rewards at particular milestones during the week, including Fitbit wearables and Starwood Preferred …

Yesterday, Amazon announced that it's adding a bunch of new partners and products to its Dash Replenishment Service, including Samsung, GE, and some automatic pet food dispenser companies. You might know Dash better for its little Wi-Fi connected buttons that let you buy stuff (or get hacked to order pizza). But Amazon's other goal (and perhaps its main goal) is to have the ability to automatically reorder consumables like pet food or batteries built right into gadgets. Samsung is joining Brother in offering a printer that can re-order ink automatically when you're running low. Obe, Oster, Petnet, and CleverPet all want to reorder pet food for you. …

Amazon.com Inc.’s Dash buttons, which let shoppers instantly order household and grocery items, are catching on with shoppers a few months after their introduction, based on early estimates. Already 300,000 to 500,000 buttons have been shipped since Amazon first offered them to members of its Amazon Prime service, said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos. They could reach 15 million to 20 million installations in three years as Prime, which includes two-day free shipping for $99 annually, grows about fivefold to 75 million members, he projected. One in four Prime users will have at least one Dash button by …

Amazon plans to announce a cloud-based service for the Internet of things this week at its AWS Re:Invent trade show, according to sections of a memo Fortune has viewed. The document implies that the new AWS service will mimic similar offerings from Microsoft, IBM, Ayla Networks and others that target developers trying to build connected devices in that it will link the AWS cloud platform to silicon from specific vendors. IBM and Microsoft have announced broad platforms and aggressive plans to support the Internet of things—billions of connected devices that collect data for consumer and industrial applications and typically pass it on to some sort of …