06 Apr The Wearable Smartphone: The future of smartphones and wearable devices
If recent history is any indication for what the smartphone will look and be like in the near future, then we can expect radical changes and dramatically different ways that we will interface with this technology. Today wearables are mostly smartphone companion devices that connect with Bluetooth. That invisible cord will probably be cut soon. New products are constantly emerging that continue to revolutionize the smartwatch, smartphone, and wearable computing industry. In fact, in January 2016, Apple announced it is doing away with wired headphones jack altogether and going with Bluetooth earbuds. Soon enough you will have a smartphone on your wrist with independent cellular connectivity: the wearable smartphone. This will be your health and fitness monitor, media player, 3D mouse and controller, and biometric key and wallet. You will be able to make a call, effortlessly lock and unlock doors, avoid security lines and make payments instantly and securely all from your wrist. Wearable projection interfacing (mapping a display onto any surface) and heads-up displays (smartphone glasses that enable us to augment our reality and senses) allow your hands and fingers to be your touchscreen display eliminating the need to carry a pocket PC. Ben Arnold, Executive Director, Industry Analyst, Consumer Electronics, The NPD Group, said “Manufacturers continue to partner with designers to increase the appeal of the products, and there is a product for every type of consumer—from the most active athlete to the mom who just wants to remember when to pick up her kids from soccer practice—on the market.”[1] eyeCam is developing eyeHand a wearable smartphone with a projection interface that turns your hand and fingers into a touchscreen display, 3D mouse, and controller. If this is what the future looks like, what will it look like in 5 or 10 years? We can’t wait to see. [1] https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2015/ownership-of-activity-trackers-smartwatches-expected-to-jump-at-least-4-percent-this-holiday-season-according-to-npd/...