Wearables (glasses-like (e.g. Google Glass), watch-like (e.g. Samsung Gear) etc) are by many considered the next step for mobile communication, complementing and long term in cases replacing smartphones, and it might very well be true.
What I find a bit problematic is that most people don’t need glasses, and less and less wear watches (being replaced by smartphones). Watches have become more like status symbols, than practically relevant.
Now Sony has patented a “digital wig”, which is a ridiculous idea, so let’s pause for a minute.
Here’s an idea:
A smartphone can locate a user via GPS, Wi-Fi and GSM/3G/4G. It can find out whether the user is moving (and how) or whether he/she is standing still via the accelerometer. Location together with accelerometer, compass, gyroscope tells what the user is looking at and how the user moves.
Google Glass is in my opinion bad enough (and is of course right not too expensive anyway). Wearables need to be way more non-intrusive than this.
Why not speak stuff into my ear and vice versa? Do I really need to see things via a visor? If I only need a headset (no glasses, no “watch”, no … wig) it becomes more acceptable and almost unnoticeable. As I don’t use a headset (severe headaches after a short while) and certainly not a watch (gets stuck in my ape hair), anything beyond a phone in my pocket is fundamentally too much, but a tiny headset would be OK if it only needed to be charged once daily (via the phone) and it would be comfy. I understand other people might have a higher “pain” threshold, so mileage may vary.
I’m beyond being in the key demographic, so I should probably just shut up.