We're as yet undecided as to whether or not the lads in tech development just want to make us look stupid, or if these are great life-changing ideas
If wearable technology is going to take off, then these few gadgets may well be what we're all wearing in the future. We most definitely will not look cool doing it, that's for sure, as they've managed to make the majority of these things look incredibly dorky. Take it away, Google Glass...
Google Glass
The biggest of the products that promises to take over our lives in the field of wearables is without a doubt Google Glass. From recording our precious moments to giving us directions, we get the impression that we're going to get something similar to Terminator-vision from the famous clothes/boots/motorcycle scene in the iconic movie.
http://youtu.be/tb2eL0mUUqs
Anyway, they look incredibly dorky, but they promise to shrink a lot of the functions of your smartphone down on to something you can pop on your head, so they may well take off, if they can make them less Edgar Davids-esque.
No price or release date confirmed yet
Galaxy Gear and the Sony SmartWatch
Samsung's first smartwatch is getting mixed reviews online, but they're not the only ones to try this out. Sony have launched their own SmartWatch, and are already on to the second gen, which will work well with their new Xperia Z Ultra, and Apple have been rumoured to have one in the pipeline for the past while. If you ask us, this seems like the least clunky and most desirable of all the tech that we could wear since L.A. Gear Lights.
Galaxy Gear has not given their release date but is expected to tip the scales at about €300. The Sony SmartWatch 1st gen is available online for about €100, and while the 2nd gen isn't out yet, it looks nicer and may well be cheaper than the Samsung equivalent.
Run-n-read
This one is a little more niche, but for those of you who head to the gym and spend a large proportion of your time on the treadmill, then it's perfect. You'll need to wear a headband (looking slick, right?) to get this one on, but it keeps the text bouncing in perfect sync with your eyes as you read.
http://vimeo.com/71351500
You can tap the little device on your head to turn pages too, so you don't need to break stride. The other solution is audiobooks of course, if you want to exercise your mind while you work out your body, but this could be a handy solution if you want to read hands free, and it also doubles as a handy fitness tracker.
The Run-n-Read is still in the funding stage, but you can donate as little as $40 to start getting involved
Hi-fun Bluetooth Phone Glove
This is probably our favourite in the field of wearable technology because we would use it almost for the pure novelty, but it also has some excellent practical features for the oncoming sarcastic winter months. It allows us to answer our phone when it's cold and not have to fiddle about with taking our gloves off, and it lets us finally do the phone hand gesture and something will actually happen, instead of us just talking in to our hand. Truly the future has arrived, incredible. You can pick yourself up a pair in
Compu b if you fancy looking this cool.
The Hi-fun Hi-call will set you back €59.99 from our mates at Compu b
Nike +
One of the pieces of wearable tech that seemed to slot seamlessly into many people's lives, this was actually a pretty decent idea. While there are plenty of apps out that have tried to take its place, it's still the handiest way to just pop in your Nike runners or buy the little laces pouch and keep track of your workouts.
Compu b stock these as well.
The Nike + sensor for your shoe is just €19.99, one of the cheaper wearable tech options out there
Overall, these are not hugely stylish piece of kit, but one thing's for sure, a lot of brands are investing a lot of money in investigating whether or not this is something people want. No company can afford to make the mistake that Nokia did on the smartphone front all those years ago, so there's going to be a trend heading this way, at least for the next while. We'll wait to see how they improve all these devices across the next few generational releases to see if they get any better and less clunky, but certainly shrinking down the capabilities of your smartphone to watch or glove so you don't have to handle it all the time is where our money is on if we're betting on what they'll make next. We're going to opt for a smartwatch first (and the Hi-call, of course), and see how the rest play out.
