Wearable technology’s time has come

Smartwatches for kids that serve as electronic tagging devices with panic buttons were among the hi-tech gadgets showcased at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Stephen Shurrock, CEO of Telefónica’s consumer division, spoke about the security wristband for children.

“Telefonica has a wristband for five- to 10-year-olds,” he said. “It’s unobtrusive. You can set it so that if your child goes beyond a set area, for example, the block in which you live, a beeper goes off so you’ll be alerted straight away.

“There are five phone numbers on it, and there’s a panic button, which your child can hit — immediately the band will go through the five stored phone numbers and call them. It’s a ‘peace of mind’ product.”

Also at the conference yesterday Pebble, one of the market leaders in wearable technology, launched a new stainless steel version of the company’s smartwatch as well as a “smart strap” to accompany its watches. The company sold its millionth smartwatch last December. Founder and CEO Eric Migicovsky explained the attraction of the smartwatch.

“The true lesson goes back to what watches are good for,” he said. “When you look down at it, it gives you context for your day. Am I early? Am I late? What do I need to do? Where do I need to be?

“With the Pebble, it has notifications so you can track your health. You can communicate with your friends and family without getting out your phone. You don’t have to change your habits. It’s waterproof — you can wear it while swimming or washing the dishes. It’s slim — you can slide it under your shirt. You can speak directly to the apps on it with your own voice. It’s no longer an accessory to your phone.”

“The adoption of wearable technology is increasing at five times the rate of mobile phone take-up, according to some figures,” said Brent Blum, Accenture, at a conference session yesterday.

“Why are we switching from the tablet or the mobile phone to something on our body? It’s about context.”

Fitbit general manager Gareth Jones said one of the keys to the success of fitness wristbands is when an element of peer pressure is introduced into people’s exercise training schedules.

“There is a social aspect to fitness wristbands,” he said. “It becomes addictive to see what your friends are doing. It increases the stickiness of a product like Fitbit a hundredfold. It gives users statistics so they can compare their progress — or not — with friends, brothers, or sisters whether they’re in London or Australia. It’s a great way to motivate and encourage each other to get fit and healthy.

“So you’ll get notifications and updates, a ‘kick in the butt’ to get moving if necessary. You can introduce specific challenges with other people who are linked in your community. You can have a leader board. It introduces a proper gamification element, which has a huge impact on usability.”

Josh Waddell, vice-president of Mobile Innovation Center, SAP, added a note of caution: “There are figures which suggest that, six months on from buying wearables, a third of people have put their device in the drawer. It’s a bit like the January gym membership. People are taking it up and dropping it again quickly. We need to keep that engagement going.”