Wearable Gadgets: Theme for the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas concluded just two days ago. With the theme being wearable gadgets, there were plenty of electronic gadgets to see, from smartglasses, to smartwatches to cameras you wear on your wrist to fitness gadgets as well as smartsocks. While many people looked forward to new and amazing technologically advanced products, others were skeptical. However, sometimes being a skeptic is better because it allows you to be pleasantly surprised when things turn out to be better. For most of the people that attended the event, they found many things that made them sit up and take notice, particularly because there were many smaller builders and manufacturers that came up with the right goods. There is high enthusiasm for the new breed of wearable gadgets although consumers want them to be something that will fit their lifestyle and should look good as well.

Smartglasses

When Google introduced their Google Glass last year, there was divided opinion on its usability. In the just concluded CES, several companies showed up with their own versions of smartglasses as companies gear up to tap into this market, which is predicted to be a $6 billion industry by 2018. Vuzix from New York introduced their M100 Smart Glasses which is now available commercially. The Android-run unit and display fits over the user’s right ear and eye and is capable of video recording and playback and take photos. It is also capable of linking to a calendar and tracking timed events. The company plans to target medical, industrial and retail industries. Epson showed the improved and thinner Moverio BT-200 smartglasses with a touchpad running on Android 4.0, Bluetooth and SDHC card slot that is capable of storing up to 32GB of data. It is Wi-Fi enabled and has a hand-held remote control.

Smartwatches

Several watch manufacturers learned from Samsung’s mistake with their Galaxy Gear last year in their rush to beat Apple. Manufacturers now have come up with sleeker designs, although some of the features of smartwatches have to be sacrificed. Burg watchmaker unveiled seven smartwatches in their series. As the number of features in their smartwatches increases, so does the size of the watch, which makes it a bit cumbersome. The most sophisticated one is Burg 17 Amsterdam. It is capable of making phone calls, read message, has GPS, microSD slot, 2MP camera and 1.5-inch screen. It runs on Android 4.0 and still cheaper than Galaxy Gear. Cogito on the other hand unveiled their range of colorful smartwatches with discrete features, which are similar to Pebble. Cogito only shows discrete notifications on the watch face for text messages, social network posts and email. It wirelessly syncs to iOS or Android devices instead of having a touchscreen. The manufacturers of Pebble introduced the Pebble Steel. The watch has steel casing and is waterproof and has pre-installed apps but likewise shows notifications from an iOS or Android device.

The biggest smartwatch unveiled in this year’s CES is Neptune Pine, with its 2.4-inch touchscreen and runs Android 4.3. The removable screen can be attached to a headband or the wrist to be used as a wearable and portable camera.

Smartsocks

Heapsylon’s Sensoria is for physical fitness training. Conductive threads are used as sensors to pick up pressure points from three area of the wearer’s foot, which are picked up by the ankle bracelet. The data is collated with the conditions outside including terrain, altitude and temperature, and sent to a smartphone via Bluetooth. A virtual coach app on the phone analyses all the information and tells the user what is wrong and provide suggestions to improve their technique. Other physical fitness wearable gadgets include the Smartband and Core from Sony that links to a smartphone app and LG’s Lifeband Touch that works with iOS and Android. The Smartband tracks several aspects of physical activity while the Core monitors the wearer’s mood and emotions. LG also announced its Heart Rate Earphones.

The growth of the wearable technology market that includes not only the electronic gadgets but also medical and physical monitors and the other support products, including batteries and micro components, is rosy and is predicted to become an $80 billion industry by 2018. However, the general consensus is that the wearable gadgets still have a long way to go, according to industry analysts and executives who attended the international event, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

“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 last 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.”

Photo Credit: Neptune Pine