[TC] Finally time for Smart Watches and Wearable Computing

Posted by Jayesh Yewale Posted on 9:41:00 PM with 2 comments

Long ago, in a far off land some of us will remember where the days of a smart watch and wearable computing was a digital giant of a watch that incorporated functions such as a calculator and alarm in a device that obliterated much of your wrist but was a cool gadget to show off to your friends.

Today’s smart watches may not at first glance be that different, yet despite being around for the past decade modern smart watches have so far failed to become mass market.

The most recent launches this month however are likely to increase the adoption of smart watches and be another step towards bringing the world of wearable computing to the masses.

ABI Research has predicted that more than 1.2 million smart watches will be shipped in 2013.

The unveiling by both Sony and Samsung of their own smart watches at the IFA trade show in Berlin this week, both of which will be available before the end of the year, should help speed up adoption of wearable computing on your wrist and allow users to realise the benefits of M2M connected wearable technology.

Samsung’s Galaxy Gear Smart Watch is essentially a smart phone on your wrist since it can not only be used to make calls but can also deliver email and texts and take photos too. It launches next month.

Sony also unveiled its own version of the smart watch and Pebble launched earlier this year but the market is still waiting for Apple’s long-rumoured iwatch. Qualcomm meanwhile also showed off its prototype smart watch Toq this month and Microsoft is reported to be launching its own smart watch for Microsoft Surface in 2014.