GET Updated plus upgraded in GADGETS ; A WAVE of wearables ; Wearables may not gain broad acceptance until sensors advance to a point where they can track more sophisticated bodily functions than heart rate, says Henry Samueli, co-founder of Broadcom Corp., the company that makes wireless connectivity chips for everything from iPhones to refrigerators. Monitors that measure blood sugar, for instance, still require test strips and pin-pricks.
"If you can monitor your blood chemistry with a wearable, now there we're talking about something pretty compelling," Samueli says. "Then I think the market will take off in a big way."
Companies are also expected to tweak the business models for wearable gadgetry as the devices become more mainstream. Fitness-focused wearables could one day help lower your health-care premiums if your insurer can verify your exercise regime. Always-on wristbands that know who you're with —and their preferences— could become vehicles for location-based restaurant advertising.
"I think you're going to see a lot of maturity in 2014 in the way companies think about their business," says J.P. Gownder, an analyst with Forrester Research.
Right now, the market is a swirling cauldron of ideas and products. Eventually, a winner may emerge.
Josh Flood, an analyst with ABI Research, says "the killer app" for a wearable product with the right mix of form, function and price "hasn't been identified yet."
Forrester's Gownder concurs. "It's a bit of a hype bubble," he says. "But so was the Internet in 1999."
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GET Updated plus upgraded in GADGETS ; A WAVE of wearables ; Wearables may not gain broad acceptance until sensors advance to a point where they can track more sophisticated bodily functions than heart rate, says Henry Samueli, co-founder of Broadcom Corp., the company that makes wireless connectivity chips for everything from iPhones to refrigerators. Monitors that measure blood sugar, for instance, still require test strips and pin-pricks.
ReplyDelete"If you can monitor your blood chemistry with a wearable, now there we're talking about something pretty compelling," Samueli says. "Then I think the market will take off in a big way."
Companies are also expected to tweak the business models for wearable gadgetry as the devices become more mainstream. Fitness-focused wearables could one day help lower your health-care premiums if your insurer can verify your exercise regime. Always-on wristbands that know who you're with —and their preferences— could become vehicles for location-based restaurant advertising.
"I think you're going to see a lot of maturity in 2014 in the way companies think about their business," says J.P. Gownder, an analyst with Forrester Research.
Right now, the market is a swirling cauldron of ideas and products. Eventually, a winner may emerge.
Josh Flood, an analyst with ABI Research, says "the killer app" for a wearable product with the right mix of form, function and price "hasn't been identified yet."
Forrester's Gownder concurs. "It's a bit of a hype bubble," he says. "But so was the Internet in 1999."
"Like" Yahoo Tech on Facebook for all the latest in tech