Wearable gadgets not ready for prime time, tech watchers say

REUTERS: Despite the hoopla, wearable gadgets like wristwatches for checking your text messages or eyeglasses that capture video are unlikely to make a splash with consumers anytime soon, given the clumsy designs, high prices and technological constraints of many of the current offerings.

That is the conclusion drawn by many industry executives and analysts who trolled the vast exhibition halls of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

Most of the wearable products on display at the industry’s premier showcase looked like awkward attempts to shoehorn technology into new forms without an original or compelling benefit for the wearer, skeptics say.

Stacy Rasgon, a semiconductor ana- lyst at Bernstein, spent a day at CES busily snapping photos of every fitness band, watch and other wearable device he came across.

“I have 20 different photos, but if I look at the pictures I couldn’t tell you which product is from which vendor. They all look the same,” Rasgon said. “Wearables sound like a great idea and there’s going to be a lot of experimentation. People are throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks.”

Sony Corp, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Qualcomm Inc showed off new or recently launched smartwatches, most of which act as extensions to cell- phones, letting users check messages and appointments. Wristbands - like the popular Fitbit that tracks physical activity - also accounted for a big chunk of the devices on display at CES.