By: Michael Calicott
Society
has surged forward through the centuries thanks to technological advancements.
Each century has been marked by a specific movement that revolutionized the
world through some new piece of technology that helped people live easier.
Today, this advancement has come in the form of wearable technology. From
Google Glass to Nike Fuel and the Samsung Smartwatch it is apparent that technology
is moving away from the traditional desktop and into every aspect of life. Essentially the theory behind wearable tech is
that the products will be both fashionable and useful. For example, the Samsung
Smartwatch will not only tell time like a traditional watch, it will also
display the weather and it can sync to your Samsung phone and preview messages
so that you no longer have to pull your phone out every time you receive a
message. These advancements seem like simple advancements, but in the long run
they will translate into extremely useful products that we can’t live without.
Wearable technology is important to
businesses because it provides information. We now live in the age of
information, meaning that whoever can aggregate the most useful data and
interpret it will come out ahead. This is primarily why some of the largest
companies in the world like Google and Apple are investing in products that
help people live better while also gathering information about their customers,
the environment, demographics, and so much more. Take for instance Nike fuel which
is a wristband that collects activity information. This is useful to consumers
because it allows them to track their health using graphs and by collecting
Nike fuel points. On the other hand, through issuing the Nike Fuel points, Nike
collects valuable information about their customers and from there can develop
new products that they believe their customers might appreciate. Everyone wins!
The market for wearable technology
is expanding rapidly as more companies develop innovative new products ranging from
smart shoes to solar jackets used to charge your cell phone. Credit Suisse
estimates that the market for wearable tech will increase from $5 billion today
to $50 billion in five years. Under these assumption I believe it is safe to
say that this is still just the beginning for wearable tech, and that growth is
inevitable. On the downside, the only foreseeable risk is that most of the
products on the market are geared towards men. Everyone knows that men
generally wear less accessories than women, so this could pose a threat to the
market if the tech giants cannot create tech that women like to use in the form
of accessories that they enjoy wearing like earrings, bracelets, necklaces,
etc. Overall, I believe that there is a lot of room for growth and a ton of
uses for different technology. For more examples of some of the new tech that
is already in use see the links below.
Technology continues to expand and will continue to grow into different circuits. I could see wearable technology becoming a trend one day. It makes you wonder, will technology be a part of everything one day?
ReplyDeleteIt seems like, these days, wearable technology is on the rise. Google just announced that it will start selling Glass to the public at large. In the coming years, we will see more and more people wearing their technology, which can be a good and a bad thing. The last thing we need is more distractions, but I can also see the benefits like allowing us to have our hands free. We'll see where it goes but it's no secret that wearable technology will be just as common as smartphones are today.
ReplyDeleteThis is where technology should take a turn to help not only the haves but more importantly the have-nots. If this type of advancement is possible then mankind must take advantage of a simple solution for a worldwide problem.
ReplyDeleteWearable technology is the future. It has already began with the Samsung Watch and the Google glasses.
ReplyDelete