On Device Research Survey indicates Smartwatches are set to be the next must-have Gadget - Improved Design and battery Life needed to make them less Frozen in the past

“Companies making these devices need to ensure their products remain exciting for users once the initial enthusiasm ebbs. Furthermore, wearable devices need to be comfortable, attractively designed, easy to use and have great battery life”

CCS Insight Chief of Research Ben Wood on the findings of a Survey that reveals the level of awareness as it relates to smartwatches

Smartwatches are no on the horizon, at least from Samsung, which has already outed one such, the Galaxy that may be a bit to archaic to be a hit with the mainstream as argued in my Geezam blog article entitled “Samsung Gear Smartwatch is too Dick Tracey and not Simple enough to want you to Rock the Future on your Wrist”.

So says a recent survey of 1,500 smartphone owners in the US and UK by On Device Research to determine who want them and if this is the next big thing or the next big hype as stated in the article “Smartwatches: Staying power or fleeting technology?”, published October 3, 2013 8:07 PM PDT by Dara Kerr, CNET News.

The results of the survey by On Device Research published on Wednesday October 3^rd 2013 in the article “Wearable technology far from tipping point”, published Wednesday September 4, 2013 @ 8:22, On Device are interesting:

1.      40% of those early adopters eventually stopped wearing their smartwatch because it got dated

2.      50% knew about wearable fitness trackers

3.      50% of US smartphone users surveyed had heard about Google Glass

4.      65% knew of smartwatches

A graph also makes these stats a little easier to digest!

If you were to listen to On Device Research marketing manager Siim Teller, he'd make you realize it's not hype as the trend is very real, quote: “We are surprised by how many people are aware of wearable technology. Sixty-five percent of respondents had heard of smart watches and over 50 percent knew about wearable fitness trackers. Nearly half of those surveyed in the US had heard about Google Glass. This is very high for a product that isn't even commercially available at the moment.”

Clearly the market is psyched and ready for smartwatches, be it from Microsoft, Samsung, LG, Google or even Apple as prognosticated in my blog article entitled “Samsung’s apparently into Wristwatches along with Google and LG as smartwatch-smartphone Tango Catches Fire”. And as On Device Research is spot on with my blog article entitled “Samsung Galaxy Gear was not all that it promised - Wearable Computing Renaissance and smartphone and Tablet Extinction once improved” as that’s what’s needed:

1.      Smartwatches that are related to fitness, as that’s’ the craze right now

2.      Smartwatches that have Battery life comparable to regular watches

3.      Smartwatches that are synchable and multi-purpose with any device and also synch with your Home Appliances and even automobiles

4.      Smartwatches that are fashionable and look like regular wristwatches and are able to go with whatever you have to wear

If the Samsung Gear and other smartwatches such as the Pebble and the Martian are anything to go by, then the smartwatch makes have a long ways to go before smartwatches become as mainstream as regular watches and are not device that’ll drift from memory.

But they’re on the right track: Everybody wants to look fashionable and nobody wants to look like Dick Tracey or Inspector Gadget! Otherwise they’ll end up being Frozen (2013)!