Are wearable devices the future of mobile?

By Business Beat Reporter

Wearable tech has become the buzzword of 2014, so much so that it is ultimately becoming the yardstick for technology companies to prove that are still relevant.

Many claim that wearables are the biggest thing since the smartphone, and tech companies are coming up with tantalising offers to gain market share.

But are they a fad or are wearable devices here to stay? Read on and decide.

According to the International Consumer Electronics Show, a global electronics and technology trade show held in Las Vegas, USA, wearable tech devices fall in three major categories.

Smart Watches

These are wrist-worn devices that take up the form factor of a watch, but give you more than just the time.

The basic idea is that these watches pair up with your phone to notify you when you get emails, texts and so on, without you having to pull your phone out of your pocket or handbag.

Some variants have extra functionality like taking photo taking, GPS location activity monitoring as well as apps — like the Mercedes app on the Pebble Smartwatch that tells you how much fuel you have or your tyre pressure even if you are away from your car. Quite the handy feature, don’t you think?

The major devices in this field are Samsung’s Smart Gear, Sony’s smartWatch and Pebbles’ Smartwatch. There have been rumours that Apple will also launch its own watch, but we are yet to see that.

The beauty with smartwatches is that they are a less obtrusive way of notifying you of what’s going on in your personal cyberspace, but since they have to be linked to your phone to give you full functionality, many experts term them a rather expensive accessory with very basic autonomous functions.

They are also clunky and unfashionable.

With the regular watch being the last socially acceptable piece of jewellery for men, the technology still needs to jump over the acceptability hurdle to become more mainstream.

Tech companies know this and there are rumours that they are collaborating with major fashion houses like Burberry and Ray-Ban to give their devices that final attractiveness.

Trackers (Activity Monitors)

The second major category in the wearable tech realm are the fitness trackers or activity monitors.

This second variant is mostly worn on your wrists but is not limited to this. Some are full body wearables, like in the case of Intel’s Mimo baby monitor, while others are in ear or are worn as headgear.

The core functionality of these trackers is to monitor your body’s essentials — heart rate, blood pressure, concentration levels and the like — and prompt you to take action, like increase your level of exercise or even go see a doctor.

Some trackers monitor your heart rate and couple it with a special algorithm to give you information about how well you are sleeping.

The main appeal of these devices is that they give you personal data on the go, making you more aware of what’s going on with your body and what you need to do to correct any imbalances for optimal function.

With the current speed life moves these days, we really can’t take such service for granted since we hardly have time to listen to our bodies. 

The names behind this type of tech include Jawbone, Fitbit, Mimo Basis and LG.

Glasses

The last major category of wearable tech is glasses, though the idea is still at its infancy.

As the name suggests, these are worn on the face and have a wide range of function — from taking pictures and recording videos to playing music.

The glasses record your everyday life as you are living it, and lets you share it.

In tandem with various apps, they also give you up-to-the-minute information about what’s in front of you. For instance, the camera can spot a landmark and give you information on its history, or use facial recognition and draw up someone’s Facebook or LinkedIn profiles.

This would give you that extra edge of information during a presentation or even during a chat in the bar when you meet someone who’s name you don’t immediately recall.

And you know how bar arguments end after you utter the words, “Let’s Google it”? Now this will be possible at the blink of an eye.

The major offerings in this category are Google Glass, Epson’s Moverio and GlassUp by an Italian firm of the same name.

All in all, wearable tech’s future seems solid, with functionality taking the mantle as far as the durability of the idea is concerned.

However, it still faces hurdles, with the major ones being cost, privacy concerns and a not-too-well-developed ecosystem. But with the backing of big tech firms from Intel to Google, it seems the best is yet to come.

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