Chip maker Broadcom (News - Alert) has been branching out lately from smartphones and tablets. This can be traced back to its recent financial results for the second quarter, which state that wireless chip sales were slow during the period, while broadband, television and networking equipment were up.

In other words, it’s clear that the mobile device market isn’t the area on which Broadcom should focus going forward. The company has already doubled down on its other areas of interest this year, most notably with a new cable digital-transport adapter (DTA) system-on-a-chip (SoC) with Full-Band Capture technology, which offers North American cable operators a competitive advantage.

As for forging into new markets, it appears that Broadcom has its sights set squarely on wearable technology, if the latest expansion to its Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED) portfolio is any indication.

Dubbed WICED Direct, this new offering leverages the WICED platform, which simplifies the implementation of Internet connectivity in various devices, and Wi-Fi Direct. This combination enables OEMs to quickly develop wearable products capable of communicating seamlessly with the cloud via any smart mobile device.

Aside from Broadcom’s current need to diversify its operations, it’s also a good idea for the company to enter the wearable tech space based on forecasts for the market, which expect 15 million wearable devices to be sold this year alone.

"The value of a wearable device lies in its ability to connect to a smartphone or the Internet with minimal impact on battery life," said Rahul Patel (News - Alert), Broadcom’s vice president of Marketing, Wireless Connectivity Combos. "As the market gains momentum, Broadcom is actively widening business opportunities in this growing space by offering the breadth of IP and customized components that enable creative new smart wearable devices to be connected."

Broadcom’s WICED portfolio is meant to be the ideal foundation for embedding low power, high performance interoperable wireless connectivity into wearable devices. It should come as no surprise, then, that emerging segment leaders are already designing health and wellness devices based on WICED technology.