Wearable Technologies are in their infancy but it seems all players in technology market knows the importance of it. There have been numerous experiments and raw products in their Alpha stage. But, nothing else caught the fancy of technology lovers the way a smart watch ignites their passion.

The Past Interestingly, the genesis of Smartphone is quite old. The idea of the connected watch has been there around for at least one decade: During 2003, Microsoft have tried to involve themselves in this industry e. But after spending substantial money and effort and futile partnership building exercise with some watchmaker firms like Suunto, Fossil and even Swatch, they have put this project in cold-storage during 2008. The idea was to make a smart watch product costing nearly $800, but probably at that time the the people was looking forward towards something else

The above design is probably what Microsoft could produce at that point of time. It can be very clearly seen that the concept was much different than the present day one. The present There are few different concepts which are called smart watches currently. Health wrist wares: Since the release of Nike’s Nike+ FuelBand , jawbones and Motorola health watches there have been excitements in this segments. The wristband monitors the wearer’s gym performance/ exercises, and can upload information to smart phones like the new Samsung Galaxy S4 or an iPhone. Limited function open interface watches: Result of Kickstarter project, Pebble watches can change the interfaces and looks instantly, thanks to its brilliant, outdoor-readable electronic-paper (e-paper) display. There are already tons of designed watch faces, with more coming every day. Choose your favorite watch faces using Pebble’s iPhone or Android app. Then as the day progresses, effortlessly switch to the one that matches your mood, activity or outfit.

First generation smart watch: Taking touchscreen technology to a whole new level this smart watch from Sony works on battery with Android platform. These batteries of this gadget can be charged using a standard USB connector. Breaking the rules of a normal digital watch, this magnificent creation has a dial that offers 1.3 inch OLED display. You can make different applications run on this watch having a touch interface, just as you do on your smartphone. It will not only helps to keep up with time but will also offer other hi-tech features like email display, music player, social portals, answer or decline calls. On receiving a message or email notification, this watch displays a message on the dial and vibrates as well. Along with date and day display, this watch also features a calendar, letting you plan your days systematically.

The growth drivers: while evaluating the future we must understand the driving forces behind the demand and supply segment.

1. Busy lifestyle: probably the main need originates from our busy lifestyle. In the era of information explosion everybody wants to catch up with all the information but in abbreviated manner. Everybody would love the ability to have alerts right on the wrist to glance at really quickly. This is with the desire not to miss something urgent or needing attention right at that moment
2. Stylish way: An intelligent device on the wrist is always an ultimate style statement and reflects ones status and position
3. Easy alarm/ reminders: Alerts set on the phone is often missed because it is set in silent/ vibrating mode, its not nearby or placed inside a pocket. A small vibration at the wrist would be impossible to miss. Having Siri integrated right into the watch would make setting reminders, tasks, and appointments a super easy and powerful feature to have available instantly right at my wrist.
4. Alternate authentication mechanism: smart watches can be designed to pair with a mobile device,. That pairing offers an easy way to set up advanced authentication. This could replace a passcode on an smartphone or on laptop/ desktops. The pairing technique can either be Bluetooth or by NFC..
5. Additional security: A third level of authentication like bio-metric sensors or face recognition can easily be implemented through a smart watch.
6. Ethical issues: People consider it less offensive when the look at the wrist during meeting or conversation than looking at a mobile. The comfort level is higher as this is worn like an attire.
7. Health parameters: It is easy to implement heart beat monitors, body temperature measurements and mood assessments as it is worn on a vital point of the body like wrist

The picture below describes the possible architecture of a smartphone. Though it is shown in the context of a specific smart watch (iWatch) it can also be applied in a generic way.

The future: ABI Research predicts that smart watches and other wearable computing devices will “explode in popularity over the next year” and grow to 485 million annual device shipments by 2018. Citi analyst Oliver Chen said the smart watch segment, which now includes devices from Fossil and Movado, could easily evolve into a $6 billion annual business with “higher than average” profit margins.

Danielle Levitas, analyst at the research firm IDC, said there is an opportunity for smart watches and other wearable devices because consumers want to be connected without pulling out a phone, which might be impolite in some situations. “It’s less rude to glance at your wrist than to take your phone from your back pocket,” she said.

there is no doubt that they will start a new era in the technology world. With their wrist-wearable devices, the smart watches that are already available will fall behind them immediately. They will make something that will attract the consumer’s thoughts and give them thousands of reasons for spending money. Fitness bands, Smart watches and hybrid devices were talked up in this year’s annual CES. Some smart watches presented on this show already made their debut like the Pebble wristwatch and the James Bond 007 Martian Passport Watch.

“I think we have reached a tipping point,” said Avi Greengart, analyst on consumer devices at the research firm Current Analysis. Greengart said 2013 may be the year for the smart watch because “the components have gotten small enough and cheap enough” and a large number of consumers now have smartphones that can connect to a wearable device.

Author: Technology Blog