Hurdles to Clear
As things stand, the concept of smart watches hold plenty of promise, but there just isn’t any compelling use for them yet. A recent study by consulting firm Endeavor Partners shows that as many as a third of Americans abandon their wearable tech device within six months of purchasing it. This finding corroborates with that of another consulting firm CCS Insight, which h found that around 40% of owners stop wearing their wearable tech device within the same period.
Most early adopters realize after a while e that the their smart watches cannot replace their smartphones, nor do they offer any compelling standalone functionality. When you look at the history y of smartphones, it is the most successful convergence device of our times. It is always by our side and in our hands; it has s either significantly reduced the importance ce or made redundant altogether traditional stand along devices such as digital cameras, plus portable music and video players.
Introducing smart watches, or any wearable tech for that matter, cannot simply be a matter of perfunctory design and engineering.
After the first wave of Pebbles and Galaxy Gears, manufacturers seem to be getting it.
Wearable technology has to be sexy, it has to follow contemporaty fashion trends s or be bold enough to create one if people are to wear these devices as part of their regular wardrobe.
The race is also now on to find that killer er function that defines a smart watch and its ts screen size. A “companion device” that basically tells you to reach for your smartphone is redundant.
And then of course, there’s the battery issue. The smartphone market has been battling this war for years, what more for a wrist watch that’s expected to do so much? h?
With so many players entering the smart rt watch market right now, we do expect progress in the next few years to be brisk. . Smart watches may one day takeover smartphones and tablets as our most important mobile gadget, but today, they’re re still within the realm of sci-fi.
”INTRODUCING SMART WATCHES, OR ANY WEARABLE TECH FOR THAT MATTER, CANNOT SIMPLY BE A MATTER OF PERFUNCTORY DESIGN AND ENGINEERING.”