The pace is certainly quickening in the smartwatch category as Samsung, Google (with Motorola), Sony and LG are among a growing list of major manufacturers introducing product in this space with more coming in the weeks and months ahead. And lest we forget the highly anticipated debut from Apple in this category - the iWatch - which should only add to the media feeding frenzy if and when that wearable debuts.
It's a party that all the big boys are apparently invited to ...but will anyone else be attending this bash?
Perhaps the bigger question is this - is the wearable tech category just force-feeding products down the consumers' throats at this point?
Seems as though we've entered into a stretch of gadgets coming to market that are more about making a product do things that another product already does (and that the original product is already doing really well actually). Why does a pair of glasses have to be a computer? For that matter, why does a watch need to be a smartphone?
"When my smartwatch can unlock my front door, open my garage door, start my car, turn lights on or off in any room in my home, then I see the category making headway," began social media marketing consultant Lauren Sosik. "The category is being launched prematurely as a true universal home tech protocol isn't even in place yet. I think most people feel they can still reach in their pockets and pull out their smartphones to do the things a smartwatch does. There's no real impetus to buy that product right now."
Despite feelings such as these from some observers, the major manufactures are bringing innovative new product to market at a breakneck pace such as Samsung (Gear 2), Google and Motorola (Moto 360), LG (LG G Watch) and the aforementioned rumored Apple iWatch to name but a few.
Though it appears there is a seemingly moderate to low interest level among consumers for this category, there are apparently large groups of people hiding around the globe that may just be lining up to buy these products in 2014 as global smartwatch sales are expected to grow by more than 500 percent this year - from the 1.9 million units sold in 2013. Market researcher Strategic Analytics is also predicting continued growth in the years ahead. In fact, the form claims the overall wearable tech market will surge tenfold by 2018, going from sales of 15 million units last year to over 154 million units by 2018.
It will be interesting to see where all these wearable tech buyers are currently hiding.
