Features - QOTW: What do you think about wearable technology?

[Willzzz]

I'm waiting for implantable technology, powered by my body, sending information directly to my brain!

[yeeeeman]

It's good if it's non-invasive, not like Google Glass. Also, smart watches, like smart phones are a very bad idea. I don't need to receive emails on my watch!

[Knoxville]

To be honest, it's not for me. A smartphone is about as much tech as I need to carry around with me on a daily basis and even then many of it's features often go unused for long periods of time. Once the novelty value of being able to tweet from my watch or see which restaurants on my high street have a five star rating at a glance through my Google glasses wore off I worry that they would become gadgets that do nothing but gather dust on my desk.

Personally though, I don't even necessarily think about wearable technology being limited to things like a pocket watches or a bluetooth headsets that you actually wear on your person any more. I think the popularity and fashionable nature of owning say an iPhone, iPad, eReader or even a hybrid vehicle has made them very wearable pieces of technology in their own way.

[aramil]

Just going to tattoo a barcode of my NI number on my wrist, back of neck, and have a tracking chip implanted behind my ear..... I really don't see much difference.

[ET3D]

I did like the calculator-watches in the 80's. The problem I have with current tech is battery, as someone has already mentioned. But even a week off a charge is too little. I don't want to have lots of devices I have to keep charging. I'd rather have a watch that lasts me a year rather than be charged every two weeks.

Google Glass sounds nice. I already wear glasses, so adding something to them doesn't feel out of place, and having data in a position that I can easily see it is appealing. Though frankly the uses I want most are those prevented for fear of privacy breaches. I have bad memory and would love to be reminded who the people I meet are and where I know them from.

[jim]

I think right now I spend more time trying not to look at my smartphone than the other way round. Do I really want it round my wrist as well, or directly in front of my eyes?

It's great having the power to do all these sorts of things on the move, but I enjoy the separation I have by keeping it all in my pocket and only using it when necessary.

The big exception here, for me, is sports-related stuff. Pedometers, calorie counters, lap times, speed-checkers, GPS trackers - I can see why people who are into cycling and running would be interested in those, and I've seen some really interesting stuff developed by Nike that sits inside running shoes. And on that note, health information like heart rates and so on. But the point of all of that is that I typically wouldn't have my smartphone with me when I go running, and neither would I be able to look at it whilst I'm moving. As for daily life, my smartphone already fits the bill.

[Zak33]

what I want is a solar powered tiny battery pack... that watches my core body temperature.. and warms my boots when I get cold feet.

nothing worse in outdoor situations than cold feet.. and they don't last long if Im active.

actually..... a fabric that's not just waterproof and breathable... (goretex, seetex etc) but that charges the battery from movement....

that would work!

and one that changes my body heat from walking uphills...into stored heat for later that evening...


I'd also LOVE a rifle scope with a bullet cam so I can see my good and bad shots from a memory card later....

[Michael H]

Potentially huge implications for healthcare. If you had a wearable device recording heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar etc. you could be prewarned of a potential health issue and take preventative rather than remedial steps to correct.

[sir_markus]

it fully depends on what type it is. I never wear a watch just because i can't stand anything on my arm, hand or neck. i would just keep fidgeting with it. the only exception would be gloves for the cold and sunglasses for the sun. So if any i would lean towards the Google glass more then anything else

[Ttaskmaster]

Smartwatch - Pointless expensive tosh.
My phone goes BEEP-BEEP when I get an email, so I look at my watch to see who it's from, but must then dig my phone out of my pocket in order to reply??!!
What. Is. The. Point?

Google Glasses could be good...

I eventually got myself a Smartphone, but only 3 years after my chosen model had been out of production anyway. It meant I got something that does everything I want, in the exact way I want it to and allowed me to leave the laptops and netbooks at home.


Eventually, like UMPCs, either the junk tech will fall away and the best tech will emerge or, more likely, we'll be forced into using the latest new-fangled crap like iPhones because that's all you can get nowadays.

[b0redom]

Garmin 910XT - wouldn't be without that as it helps with the training.
Aftershokz Bluez - quite possibly the best gadget I've bought in ages.

[shaithis]

I'll be much happier with it when it's "embedded" and runs off of my body and/or solar/motion/chemical reaction

Until then, I will leave it to the hipsters to fund the development...

[b0redom]

I'll be much happier with it when it's "embedded" and runs off of my body and/or solar/motion/chemical reaction

Until it crashes on you and you can't get it off.

[teletext]

It just seems a bit gimmicky really. It's not exactly the safest way to carry around something that flashy and expensive either.

[jonah]

Not for me thanks. Why make it easy for the NSA/GCHQ?

[bdaniel7]

They're too expensive for the value they provide.
I couldn't agree more with @Tumble, power source should be the primary target for the companies.
And making the technology hackable, so that it can integrate with Arduino/RasPi/Other platforms plus some array of sensors (personal health, environment, GPS)... some sci-fi stuff.. )