MWC 2014: Smartwatches and connected-bracelets rule the floor

Advertisement
By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 6 June 2014 20:21 IST
MWC 2014: Smartwatches and connected-bracelets rule the floor
Smartphone-connected watches and bracelets have emerged as the technological phenomenon for 2014 as manufacturers rush for new sources of revenues.

At the industry's biggest annual fair, the February 24-27 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, players from global leader Samsung to China's Huawei and Sony Mobile released a string of such devices.

Connected by wireless Bluetooth technology to the handset, they let users take calls and check emails or text messages. Many now offer to track your every step, read your heart rate, and even monitor your sleep pattern.

Mobile titan Samsung showed off a Gear 2 watch with sports tracking software, a heart rate sensor and camera; and a sleek Gear Fit bracelet, also with a pulse sensor, featuring a curved touch screen that wraps around your wrist.

China's Huawei presented its TalkBand B1, which has a pedomotor and pop-out earpiece for taking calls.

Advertisement

Sony Mobile is banking on its SmartBand SWR10, which keeps a record of your movements; the photographs you take; your communications and even the music you listen to. It will measure your sleep cycle, too, to decide the best moment to wake you.

South Korea's LG said it would release a smart watch this year.

Advertisement

The big question mark in the industry is whether Samsung's archrival Apple, which traditionally skips the mobile fair, is developing a much-awaited iWatch or similar mobile device.

As smartphone sales slow in mature markets such as the United States or Western Europe, such connected objects offer a chance to pry open the wallets of consumers reluctant to update their devices.

Advertisement

Global smartphone sales surged 42.3 percent to 968 million units last year, powered by demand for cheaper devices in developing markets, according to industry research group Gartner Inc.

Yet sales in mature, more profitable markets actually slowed, it said.

Research house Canalys predicts sales of connected bracelets and watches, however, will surge to 17 million units this year, and 45 million in 2017.

In Barcelona, manufacturers showed off some examples, from a connected basketball that can improve your shot to a smart toothbrush that gives you tips on technique.

"The world is approaching a tipping point in technology," Nokia chairman and interim chief executive Risto Siilasmaa told reporters in Barcelona.

"We see a world where connectivity will expand massively, linking everyone and everything, altogether tens or hundreds of billions of physical objects."

Objects would be aware of their location, temperature, motion, and chemical composition, while also being capable of communicating to each other, said the head of Nokia, whose handset division is being taken over by Microsoft.

'Massive' data flows
"Massive flows of information will come from these objects, making today's data traffic look modest," Siilasmaa said.

Excluding computers, phones and tablets, there were 175 million connected objects in 2013, a market worth 24.2 billion euros ($33.0 billion), according to research house Idate.

That figure is predicted to rise to 470 million objects generating revenue of 40 billion euros by 2017, Idate said.

Market analysts booz&co estimated that 80 percent of revenue in the connected objects industry will go to information service providers such as Google, not the networks.

Yet as networks becomes more advanced, the operators can gather greater volumes of real-time, potentially lucrative data about each of their users.

As operators learn to analyse each user's location, surroundings and habits, that information could spark a boom in personalised advertising, providing customers opt-in, analysts say.

Improved location and personal data-based advertising could generate as much as $44 billion a year in revenue by 2017 for network operators, according to a study by mobile network technology group Syniverse.

Indeed, research house Gartner Inc. predicts that global mobile advertising will grow from an expected $18 billion this year to $42 billion in just three years, helped in part by geolocation-based publicity drawing in smaller, local advertisers.


MWC 2014 in pictures
 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Vivo Y400 Pro 5G: Everything We Know Ahead of India Launch on June 20
  2. Oppo Reno 14 5G Series Teased to Launch in India Soon
  3. Poco F7 5G to Be Equipped With a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC
  4. BSNL Announces Name of Its 5G Service in India
  5. OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z3 With Up to 36 Hours Battery Launched in India
  6. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7 Launch Date Leaked Online
  7. Oppo Reno 14 5G, Reno 14 Pro 5G India Launch Timeline Leaked
  8. Vivo T4 Lite 5G to Launch in India on June 24; Chipset Confirmed
  9. Google Messages Now Lets You Delete Messages for Everyone in RCS Chats
  10. Realme 15 Series Said to Launch in July; Lite Variant Leaked Online
  1. Realme 15 Series Launch Timeline Leaked; Lite Variant Surfaces Online
  2. Oppo Reno 14 5G Series India Launch Confirmed: Expected Price, Specifications
  3. Google Messages Widely Rolling Out Snooze Notifications and Delete for Everyone Features
  4. OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z3 With 12.4mm Drivers, Up to 36 Hours of Battery Life Launched in India
  5. Microsoft Planning Thousands More Job Cuts Aimed at Salespeople
  6. Vivo T4 Lite 5G India Launch Date Announced; to Feature MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC
  7. Coinbase Launches Stablecoin Payments Service for E-Commerce
  8. Iran Crypto Exchange Nobitex Hit by Hackers, $90 Million Destroyed
  9. Vodafone Idea Partners With AST SpaceMobile to Bring Direct-to-Device Satellite Connectivity to India
  10. Microsoft Said to Be Prepared to Abandon High-Stakes Talks with OpenAI
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.