[Unknown Target]

Hey everyone.

I recently attended a wearable technology meetup (pictures here), and wrote a blog post (here) about my thoughts on this sector of technology.

In summary, wearables lack purpose, and I think they focus too much on microtechnology. I also think they suffer from short-range vision in the marketplace; when I think of them, I think spacesuits and HAZMAT equipment. But I would be curious to hear what you guys think, because I also think of Mass Effect and just the idea of videogames -  holographic displays, omnitools, data jacks, etc.

So what do you think about wearable technology, and where could you see it going in the future?

[Bobboau]

I think Apple is getting into the market, so we are going to have no choice but to have an inexplicable need for it.

[Unknown Target]

I disagree, and I think you will too - take a look at the article I wrote. Here's the relevant bit;

Already there is discussion in the tech industry of how the Apple Watch “will be a flop“. Granted, early speculation on the launch of a major consumer product is a dime a dozen, and no one will really know what happens until the rubber meets the road, so to speak, as this article so plainly spells out. However, I think the former article probably has the most relevant quote;

“Wearable devices haven’t taken off for that reason: The functionality doesn’t justify their price.”
It’s just difficult to try and convince someone to drop an additional $350 on what is essentially a stripped-down smartphone; especially when they already own said smart phone. There’s just not a lot of value for the consumer besides it being a neat tech idea; a dream that people have been chasing for years and, when it finally gets here, the result is less than what we imagined.

[headdie]

integrating mobile phones, and tablets together without the current form factor limitations on performance would be great.  it also brings into question current ideas on workstations and laptops if you combine mouse, keyboard and monitor with wireless tech, all you then need to do is sync up your wearable computer to the input, display and printer to be able to use it like a current computer.

[BirdofPrey]

I think they have decent potential and can serve a good purpose.  it's just how they are being used now that isn't so great.  Right now wearables are more or less just another screen for your phone but don't do as goo a job due to a lack of screen real estate.

The glasses would be great for augmented reality stuff.  You won't have that good of a use for them most of the time, but they'd be good for stuff like being in the car; I could see them used to give you a HUD for your car to show speed limit and such without looking at the gauges, and they could put the cameras and sensors on the car into your field of view; escpecially at nighttime it would be great to have the lines and any poorly illuminated objects of interest highlighted, and navigation arrows would also be useful.  Also for specialized fields, they could give useful data like showing surgeons real time imaging (MRI CAT scan, etc).

I find watches a bit more dubious.  Fitness trackers aren't as great as companies try to make them sound.  The pedometer is decent enough, though the arm-swing may induce some error, but the monitoring sucks since they can't get a good reading on things like temperature or pulse if they aren't tightened down, and even then, it's not great (more accurate reading on pulse from the fingers, and the temperature of your skin is a poor indicator of your core temperature).  The other thing they do is show stuff like phone notifications, texts and who is calling, which is great, but for actually dealing with messages and calls it's likely to be better to just take your phone out.

My main issue with thm, though is how ugly they are. I want a smartwatch that I can actually wear as a fashion accessory rather than some clunckly, ugly calculator watch looking boxy thing (smart watch should emphasize the watch rather than the smart), and smartglasses would be better if they were actually glasses, though screen tech needs to come a lot further for that to happen.

[Bobboau]

I disagree, and I think you will too - take a look at the article I wrote. Here's the relevant bit;

I agree it's retarded and should be a flop, but the media allowing an Apple product to not succeed? next thing you'll be talking about reptilians running Disney.
Maybe I am slightly jaded.

[StarSlayer]

I wear a pocket watch on my waistcoats, does that count?

[Klaustrophobia]

Remember how the ipad was useless and supposed to be a massive flop?  I predict same thing will happen here, although I share the belief that wearable tech is dumb (coming from a guy who uses a flip phone, desktop, and 9 year old laptop).  However I've already seen a craze of those fitbit things, and all it ****ing does is count your steps.  It doesn't matter how pointless the technology is if the marketing is good enough.

...Unless it makes people look REALLY stupid and/or it goes on your face.  Like google glass.  Cracked did a good article on that but I can't find it.

[Dragon]

I also don't see the watch going very far. It sounds like a nice thing until you realize the display is going to be dinky. I have this problem with my smartphone, which is one of the smallest ones on market (bought it for that, and for a QWERTY keyboard). The screen is 3", which is the very border of usability (but also in a nice "sweet spot"). Anything bigger won't fit into a trouser pocket (or in a waistcoat, though I don't usually carry it there), and I prefer to have it there rather than in my jacket. It's harder to pickpocket (a serious concern when using public transport) and easier to notice vibrations. But I wouldn't buy anything smaller, either. Typing on it would be a massive chore if it wasn't for the extendable keyboard, and I can't imagine a watch having that. A 3" screen on a watch would look like something out of Star Trek, and would be rather clunky to use. My bet is on 2" or smaller, which make sense for a watch... and not much sense for anything else.

Most SF movies dealt with it by having a holographic keyboard and screen, but we can't quite do that yet. TBH, I hoped to use this trick with that smartphone, too. There are pocket projectors available for displaying a keyboard on the table and the screen on the wall, but it turns out they're rather inconvenient and don't really work that nicely.

I wear a pocket watch on my waistcoats, does that count?

Ditto. The best (and certainly best-looking) kind of wearable technology ever invented. Who needs an Apple when you can have a Timemaster?

[Cyborg17]

I'm waiting for the full smartphone watch.  Make it a lot harder to lose.  And with speech to text and a pair of headphones you wouldn't need to type unless you really had to say something privately.

[Dragon]

Well, I'm not putting my money on STT tech just yet. I've tried voice recognition before, and it was patchy at best. I don't think you can quite operate a smartphone with voice only, and manual corrections would be hard. Also, you won't get much mileage out of the "smart" part in that case - that thing could just as well a "normal" phone, since the only things you'd be able to do would be texting and talking. The deal with a smartphone, at least for me, is that it doesn't do anything particularly well, but can stand it for just about anything in an emergency. Internet browsing is better done on a laptop, navigating with a dedicated GPS, taking notes with a notepad and so on. But in case you're caught without one of those devices (or without enough space/power to use one), a smartphone can replace them in a pinch. A smartwatch couldn't really do that, you'd be relying on GPS voice commands (a phone can display you a readable map, however small) and internet browsing would be really lousy (it's annoying even with my 3" Xperia) if possible at all. Even the calendar/organizer wouldn't be very functional (organizer is another thing smartphone is good for, though some "dumb" phones also had that).