 "The wrist watch: the new data ticker has almost arrived!")
The wearable devices are finally transcending from hype to reality. While the most talked about among such devices has been the Google Glass, there are others as well.
One such genre has been the smart watch, which of late has been in the spotlight due to active interest by some big smartphone makers, including Sony and Samsung that have already launched their smart watches, Sony SmartWatch 2 and Samsung Gear, respectively. In fact, mobile chipmaker and CDMA patents company Qualcomm also jumped into the smart watch fray this month with its Toq device.
Incidentally, the more popular smart watches in the global market today are not from the smartphone makers but from startups that are more focused on wearab
devices. These include I’m Watch, Martian, Pebble and WearIT, though not necessarily in the order of their popularity. No, the big watchmakers haven’t made it to the smart watch arena yet.
Coming back to the launches this September, it was its second smart watch launch, after SmartWatch 1 last year, which had kind of a muted response from the market. Samsung, on the other hand, is already rumored to be working on a next version that could come as early as 2014. While the current version would work only with Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the next version is expected to be compatible with a wider range of Android devices. Sony’s SmartWatch 2 is compatible with Android devices other than Sony’s and of course, and so is Qualcomm’s.
Most of the more popular smart watches also support Android devices while some support iPhones also.
As of today, there are at least more than 20 smart watches either already in the market or under development, globally. While several of their makers have chosen to use operating systems or platforms other than Android, the improved availability of Android for wearable devices would very likely make that change.
While some developers may rightly see a benefit in using non-Android platforms that are OS and device neutral, the costs associated with development would possibly make them switch over to Android, especially as smart watches evolve further to mimic more of smartphone functionalities. Even now, given the majority smartphone market share being with the Android platform, an Android embrace may appear compelling enough to many a smart watchmaker.
Indeed, smart watches are not being envisioned to be replacing smart phones in the near future. Instead, they are being envisaged to form a powerful combo with the smartphones.
There is much agreement across the industry that because a smart watch is a wearable that is in close contact with the body and that too around the wrist—the doctor’s first touch-point for diagnosis—the device could open up immense possibilities in health monitoring.
To begin with, a smart watch could be monitoring blood pressure, pulse rate and temperature on regular intervals and even use an application that stores the readings and does trend analysis or triggers an alarm in case of an anomaly. The trigger could be on a paired smart phone, which in turn could also alert a family member at home, an HR manager in the office, or an empaneled physician. Some smart watches like WearIT already offer such functionalities.
A smart watch could also simply be used to prevent the loss and theft of mobile phones, again by pairing the two devices and by further using an app that raises alert in the mobile is separated from the smart watch by more than a user-determined distance of, say, four feet.
Imagine the amount of data being generated—and ultimately traveling over the mobile networks—as more and more such potential and latent needs are addressed using wearable devices like a smart watch.
The first generation of wearable devices has appeared and the stage is set for a rapid march of the segment. And it could be another big wave of mobile broadband growth that could be in the store for telcos!
Deepak Kumar is Founder Analyst at BusinessandMarket.net and specializes in market research and strategic advisory
One such genre has been the smart watch, which of late has been in the spotlight due to active interest by some big smartphone makers, including Sony and Samsung that have already launched their smart watches, Sony SmartWatch 2 and Samsung Gear, respectively. In fact, mobile chipmaker and CDMA patents company Qualcomm also jumped into the smart watch fray this month with its Toq device.
Incidentally, the more popular smart watches in the global market today are not from the smartphone makers but from startups that are more focused on wearab
devices. These include I’m Watch, Martian, Pebble and WearIT, though not necessarily in the order of their popularity. No, the big watchmakers haven’t made it to the smart watch arena yet.
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Coming back to the launches this September, it was its second smart watch launch, after SmartWatch 1 last year, which had kind of a muted response from the market. Samsung, on the other hand, is already rumored to be working on a next version that could come as early as 2014. While the current version would work only with Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the next version is expected to be compatible with a wider range of Android devices. Sony’s SmartWatch 2 is compatible with Android devices other than Sony’s and of course, and so is Qualcomm’s.
Most of the more popular smart watches also support Android devices while some support iPhones also.
As of today, there are at least more than 20 smart watches either already in the market or under development, globally. While several of their makers have chosen to use operating systems or platforms other than Android, the improved availability of Android for wearable devices would very likely make that change.
While some developers may rightly see a benefit in using non-Android platforms that are OS and device neutral, the costs associated with development would possibly make them switch over to Android, especially as smart watches evolve further to mimic more of smartphone functionalities. Even now, given the majority smartphone market share being with the Android platform, an Android embrace may appear compelling enough to many a smart watchmaker.
Indeed, smart watches are not being envisioned to be replacing smart phones in the near future. Instead, they are being envisaged to form a powerful combo with the smartphones.
There is much agreement across the industry that because a smart watch is a wearable that is in close contact with the body and that too around the wrist—the doctor’s first touch-point for diagnosis—the device could open up immense possibilities in health monitoring.
To begin with, a smart watch could be monitoring blood pressure, pulse rate and temperature on regular intervals and even use an application that stores the readings and does trend analysis or triggers an alarm in case of an anomaly. The trigger could be on a paired smart phone, which in turn could also alert a family member at home, an HR manager in the office, or an empaneled physician. Some smart watches like WearIT already offer such functionalities.
A smart watch could also simply be used to prevent the loss and theft of mobile phones, again by pairing the two devices and by further using an app that raises alert in the mobile is separated from the smart watch by more than a user-determined distance of, say, four feet.
Imagine the amount of data being generated—and ultimately traveling over the mobile networks—as more and more such potential and latent needs are addressed using wearable devices like a smart watch.
The first generation of wearable devices has appeared and the stage is set for a rapid march of the segment. And it could be another big wave of mobile broadband growth that could be in the store for telcos!
Deepak Kumar is Founder Analyst at BusinessandMarket.net and specializes in market research and strategic advisory