Wearable Computing: Why There's No Room For Watches Like Galaxy Gear

Summary: The technology and time are right for wearable computers -- at least the ones with eyeglasses as the user interface. But smartwatches? No way.

When I was a kid, I liked reading Dick Tracy comics. This was during 1960s when the strip took a science-fiction turn and Tracy, who had long sported a two-way radio wrist-watch, started using a two-way wrist TV. It was fun then to think about high-tech electronics in a wrist-watch.

Samsung is pulling out all the stops for its Samsung Galaxy Gear, aka Smart Watch. That's nice, but the watch is yesterday's format.

I've been following real-world wearable computers since 1997, when I attended an IEEE International symposium on wearable computers in Cambridge MA. By 2002, I was trying out the Xybernaut Poma Wearable PC. More recently, I've been playing with Google Glass.