It's been an interesting month for the wearable tech category as the big Google Glass one-day sale stole some headlines, the announcement of the Amazon store dedicated to selling the category made a splash, China's Ingenic Semiconductor announced a development kit for wearables with a MIPS-based CPU is welcome news (on the heels of Intel's similar technology announcement for the wearables market called Edison) and the continued roll out of smartwatch after smartwatch.
So then, where are we now?
Despite what appears to be a tepid response from consumers thus far for the category, a recent report from IHS Global Insights claims the market for wearable technology - encompassing everything from new hearing aids to wristband pedometers - totaled almost $9 billion last year. The research firm claims that number should climb to $30 billion by 2018. Thus, the move by Amazon.
Perhaps even more shrewd than the store opening by Amazon is the creation of a wearables "learning center" as the store's developers seem to understand that a large segment of consumers simply aren't very familiar with the devices in this space. The "learning center" will provide plenty of product demo videos and buying guides.
"These resources provide information about device compatibility, product comparisons and use-case suggestions to help customers find the right device for them. Customers can also take advantage of the 'Editor's Corner' to find information about wearable technology industry news, device reviews and more," explained Amazon in a released statement.
Perhaps the news that Apple has hired former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts is even bigger news for this category, as it appears the smartphone giant is seriously considering taking a major plunge into the building of technology into clothes and other accessories.
Maybe Ahrendts can address what is currently one of the major hurdles with wearable tech today - the stuff just looks stupid. Her background would suggest she is the right fit to tackle that issue for Apple.
A recent Pew Research Center report reveals more than 50 percent in the U.S. feel life will change for the worse if people begin wearing technologies that provide information about the world around them on a constant basis - with women leading the way.
The recent announcement by Google that it is now partnering with Luxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses, to design a more stylish Google Glass in the future is another good sign that stupid-looking may be on the way out in this space. Let's see.
