Jennifer Darmour, senior director of Chrono Therapeutics, speaks during the “Rock Stars of Wearables” conference held in Austin on Sept. 23. Credit: Rodolfo Gonzalez
This week's Digital Savant column, in Thursday's print edition of the Statesman and on MyStatesman.com, I take a look at the state of wearable devices, from smart watches to clothing with sensors to stuff we can't even imagine yet. I also look at a local company that has designed tools to carry the rest of our stuff, including phones, keys and money. That's wearable, too!
Here's an excerpt from the column:
But it's not all a story of wild success. Apple has been gunshy about revealing actual sales numbers of its Apple Watch, which received mixed reviews earlier this year as a Version 1.0 product that's really not for everyone — particularly if you don't own an iPhone. And both smartwatches and fitness trackers are fighting the perception that they're novelty items that people get tired of quickly, sticking them in a drawer after just a few months of use. In fact data released last year suggested just that; a third to a half of gadget buyers eventually ditch their fitness trackers or smartwatches.
With that all in mind, I showed up at a one-day conference in downtown Austin called Rock Stars of Wearables last week. The first sign of trouble was that there were no guitars or pyrotechnics and that the first "rock star" I witnessed on stage was a business director in a suit from Qualcomm.
Odd branding aside, the day was a time for those in the industry to chart the exciting future of wearables, both inside and out. What I learned, shockingly, is that even those who are fully committed to making wearables a thing in our lives agree that they have a long way to go.
You can read the rest here. Let me know whether you're excited about the future of wearables or deeply skeptical in the comments.
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