There’s no doubt that the wearable tech space has a lot going on right now, but sometimes it seems like all that’s out there are smartwatches. Part of the reason for this is because, well, there are a fair amount of smartwatches available to buyers today. But how did this situation come to be?
It seems as though a big amount of the hype surrounding wearable watches stems from rumors that Apple (News - Alert) would release the iWatch because, like it or not, Apple is the consumer electronics trendsetter of today. Curiously, the company has been slow on the draw, allowing competitors like Samsung (News - Alert) and Sony to release Android-based smartwatches in the meantime. Still, estimates suggest the iWatch would sell very well — Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray recently suggested 10 million iWatches would be sold within the first year — if it was to go on sale in 2014.
Of course, there was also the massive Kickstarter success of the Pebble smartwatch — it brought in a record-breaking crowd funding amount of over $10 million — which proved definitively that there is legitimate consumer interest in such a product.
In other words, the smartwatch is sort of the rock star of the wearable tech space right now and this is a good thing for the space as a whole. This is because, whether or not you personally have an interest in owning a smartwatch, the attention and money smartwatches are bringing to wearable tech will only result in further innovation and exploration into the next wearable tech trend.
Still not convinced? Then check out a panel discussion — entitled “The Smartwatch Phenomenon - Extraordinarily Useful or Simply Marketing Hype?” — at next week’s Wearable Tech Expo dedicated solely to exploring the impact and potential of the smartwatch. The session — which is scheduled for Tuesday, December 10 from 9:50-10:50 a.m. — will feature a panel of smartwatch pioneers and inventors, namely: Stan Kinsey, president of Martian Watches; Andy Tarczon VP, Partner Development, Meta Watch; and moderator Mike Wolf founder & chief analyst at NextMarket Insights.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi
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