is 2014 the year of wearables?

Is 2014 the Year of Wearables?

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Table of Contents

Internet of Things (IoT) ................................................................................................ 3 Wearable Technology is a sub-‐category of IoT ............................................................................................. 3 The Recent Proliferation of Wearable Technology ..................................................................................... 3 Poll: How do you want to wear technology? .................................................................................................. 3

Investors and Accelerators .......................................................................................... 5 $570 Million in Venture Funding ........................................................................................................................ 5 Wearable Technology Accelerators ................................................................................................................... 5 Techstars and R/GA Accelerator ......................................................................................................................... 5 SparkLabs Accelerator ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Samsung Accelerator ................................................................................................................................................ 5

Survey of Wearable Devices ........................................................................................ 6 XOEye ............................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Limitations .................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Strengths ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6

Google Glass ................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Limitations .................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Strengths ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7

Oculus Rift ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Limitations .................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Strengths ........................................................................................................................................................................ 8

Fitness Trackers and Smart Watches ................................................................................................................ 9 Mixed Reviews at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2013 ............................................................... 9 Watches as fitness trackers .................................................................................................................................... 9 Nike Fuel Band ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 Jawbone Up24 ........................................................................................................................................................... 11 Fitbit Force ................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Samsung Galaxy Gear Smart Watch (Samsung Gear) ............................................................................ 13

Opportunity ............................................................................................................................................................... 14 Popular Devices Comparison Table ................................................................................................................ 15

Fashion and Wearables .............................................................................................. 16 Accelerators .............................................................................................................................................................. 17 NY Fashion Tech Lab ............................................................................................................................................. 17 Fashion Technology Accelerator (San Francisco) .................................................................................... 18

Google Glass Experimenting with new Frames ......................................................................................... 19 CuteCircuit ................................................................................................................................................................. 20 MEMI Bracelet .......................................................................................................................................................... 21 Everpurse ................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Oakley Airwave ......................................................................................................................................................... 23 Mimo Wearable Sensors for Infants ................................................................................................................ 24

Conclusion and Opportunity .............................................................................................................................. 24

Payments, Mobile Phones, and Wearable Technology ................................................ 25

Opportunity for Metamorphic Ventures ..................................................................... 26 Commercial Viability of Wearable Devices .................................................................................................. 26 Wearable Technology Platforms ...................................................................................................................... 27 Concluding Thoughts ............................................................................................................................................ 27

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Internet of Things (IoT) In what’s called the Internet of Things, sensors and actuators embedded in physical objects—from roadways to pacemakers—are linked through wired and wireless networks, often using the same Internet Protocol (IP) that connects the Internet. -‐McKinsey Insights

Wearable Technology is a sub-‐category of IoT Wearable technology is a means of capturing data with wearable sensors to influence consumer behavior and business decisions. When a customer’s buying preferences are captured in real time, at a specific location (using granular location data from Bluetooth Low Energy technology), dynamic pricing may increase the odds of a purchase. Employees in the manufacturing plant can use an industrial eyewear-‐computing platform to share a first person point of view with managers at the office and improve operational efficiency. Independent software developers can create and sell immersive gaming environments for augmented reality devices. These developments create new opportunities for technologists, entrepreneurs, and investors.

The Recent Proliferation of Wearable Technology According to Juniper research, mobile smart wearable device shipments are estimated to approach 130 million by 2018.1 Analysts from Forrester Research predict that wearable devices have enormous potential for uses in health, fitness, navigation, social networking, and media. These optimistic reports also note social and legal barriers to the growth of wearable technology, most notably privacy.

Poll: How do you want to wear technology? A survey conducted by the North American Technographics asked consumers how exactly they would like to wear technology. The graphic below illustrates the responses.

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Investors and Accelerators

$570 Million in Venture Funding According to CBinsights, 30 venture backed wearable technology companies have raised over $570 million in 2013. 2 The categories of wearable technology include augmented reality and personal display, body monitoring for health and fitness, brain monitoring, controlled computing, and point of view wearable cameras.

Wearable Technology Accelerators Business accelerators are also being formed to incubate startups building wearable technologies.

Techstars and R/GA Accelerator TechStars and the digital agency R/GA, creator of the Nike Fuel Band, launched an accelerator that has ten companies that represent connected devices spanning a diverse array of verticals including healthcare, the connected home, child-‐care, retail, and navigation.

SparkLabs Accelerator Founded in 2012, the SparkLabs Accelerator focuses on startup companies from the online gaming, mobile, ecommerce, and digital media sectors. The Seoul-‐Based accelerator latest class includes wearable tech and mobile game makers. The mentorship-‐driven program is three months in length and provides funding, office space, a structured program and access to a network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors and executives. SparkLabs seeks to contribute to and help develop South Korea’s startup ecosystem.

Samsung Accelerator The Samsung Accelerator is providing capital, administrative and operational support to develop products and services that serve to be a connective tissue between Samsung’s various devices.

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Survey of Wearable Devices

XOEye

XOEye is an industrial eyewear-‐computing platform that allows for a shared, first person point of view experience. XOEye Vision Telepresence will provide an enterprise communications infrastructure for managers and employees. The XOEye can share both video and audio in real-‐time and allows a manager to oversee operations from any terminal.

Limitations There are no online reviews for XOEye’s wearable device. A company would need to spend time testing the product.

Strengths XOEye can help managers have more information about what is happening on the ground. This can reduce risk, increase operational efficiency, and improve internal communication.

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Google Glass Google Glass aims to free data from desktop computers, phones, and tablets by placing the data in the user’s field of vision. Glass has a 5-‐megapixel camera, bone conduction transducer enabled audio, and 12GB of usable memory. Glass can be controlled both with voice recognition software, that utilizes the built-‐in microphone, and the touchpad on the arm of the frame. The device syncs to Google Drive and has Bluetooth and Wifi built-‐in.

Limitations Taking pictures and capturing video with Glass is sometimes considered socially unacceptable behavior. Many Glass critics argue that capturing pictures and video with Glass compromises people’s privacy. Google has responded to this criticism by creating a guide to help users wear glass without breaking certain social expectations. “Glass was built for short bursts of information and interactions that allow you to quickly get back to doing the other things you love. If you find yourself staring off into the prism for long periods of time you’re probably looking pretty weird to the people around you. So don’t read War and Peace on Glass. Things like that are better done on bigger screens.3”

Strengths Developers can leverage the Glass Developer Kit (GDK) to build immersive environments that will trigger certain events based on a user’s granular location. This creates a unique opportunity for developers to build games and applications for Glass. As a result, companies will be able to send coupons, discounts, and relevant information to consumers through these applications.

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Oculus Rift The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset that lets users experience more immersive games, movies, and virtual environments. The stereoscopic view creates the perception of depth and the inertial measurement unit (IMU) tracks the user’s head movements.

Limitations The Oculus Rift is currently only available for developers. Developers can purchase the Oculus Rift and a software development kit for $300 and begin building immersive game experiences.

Strengths Developers are excited to spend $300 to begin building augmented reality game experiences with Oculus Rift’s custom software development kit (SDK). Oculus Rift has received rave reviews from major technology publications including CNET, VERGE, WIRED, and VentureBeat. In addition to gaming, Oculus Rift also presents opportunities to create more immersive 3D movie experiences. Facebook recently acquired Oculus Rift for $2 billion.

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Fitness Trackers and Smart Watches Fitness trackers use built-‐in pedometers to measure athletic activity and have emerged as a significant category of wearable technology. According the independent analyst company Canalys, 1.6 million smart bands were shipped in H2 2013 and over 17 million wearable bands are forecast to ship in 2014. Fitbit led in the fitness-‐tracker category, with over 50% market share in the second half of the year. 4

Mixed Reviews at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2013 Many fitness trackers share similar features. While the proliferation of fitness trackers is significant, critics of the most recent Consumer Electronic Show suggest that fitness trackers are unimaginative. Pedometers like LG’s Life Band, Garmin’s fitness band, Fitbit’s Jawbone, Nike Fuel, and the Razor Nabu all measure daily steps and use this data to create a game where users compete with each other to be more active.

Watches as fitness trackers Smart-‐watches at the CES share many of same features with fitness trackers. The Sapphire Wellness Watch, Salutron LifeTrak, Hot Watch, ZTE BlueWatch and Casio STB-‐1000 Sports Gear track a user’s daily steps with built-‐in pedometers. Fitness bands, like the Razer Nabu and LG Lifeband Touch look like Nike Fuel Bands, but also receive incoming phone calls and messages. The overlap is important because fitness trackers and smart watches will eventually become one category.

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Nike Fuel Band The Nike Fuel Band is a wristband, pedometer, and watch that tracks and displays a user’s daily athletic activity. The pedometer tracks daily steps and calories and combines that information into a single score called “Nike Fuel Points.” The single button on the wristbands triggers LED lights to display calories, steps, and time. The Nike Fuel Band also makes the user’s athletic activity available on a web portal and on mobile applications for the Android and iPhone.

Strengths Nike has an established and credible brand, strong marketing and sales engine, complementary products, and a platform approach that leverages existing Nike customers.

Weaknesses The Nike Fuel Band does not have any differentiating features that would create a competitive advantage over the Fitbit Force and Jawbone UP24. Additionally, the “Nike Fuel Score” does not provide robust analytics that would be important for serious athletes.

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Jawbone Up24 The Jawbone Up24 is a fitness tracker that counts steps, hours of sleep, and calories burned. The Jawbone’s web and mobile applications allow the user to log food consumed during the day to create a more complete fitness report.

Strengths The Jawbone’s sleek design attracts many customers who want technology to be fashionable.

Weaknesses Because the Jawbone Up24 does not have a display on the wristband, users must open the mobile or web application to check their daily activity. Both the Nike Fuel Band and Fitbit Force let users track their activity with the armband display. Additionally, the Jawbone Up24 and UP 3.0 mobile app are only supported on iOS devices.

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Fitbit Force Like the Nike Fuel Band and Jawbone Up24, the Fitbit Force is a fitness tracker that utilizes a pedometer to track steps, calories burned, and sleep. The Fitbit Force is also a watch. Users can access their activity reports through the armband display, the web portal, and on mobile applications for the iPhone and Android devices. The Fitbit’s web and mobile applications allow the user to log food consumed during the day to create a more complete fitness report.

Strengths The Fitbit Force is the most affordable of the three devices. The Fitbit force also is very lightweight and provides robust reporting on the armband’s display.

Weaknesses Complaints of itchy, irritated wrists have prompted Fitbit to voluntarily recall all of its Fitbit Force wristband activity trackers. About 1.7% of Force users reported cases of skin rashes after wearing the devices. The irritation is supposedly caused by an allergic reaction to nickel in the device or the adhesive in the strap.

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Samsung Galaxy Gear Smart Watch (Samsung Gear) Samsung’s Bluetooth enabled watch connects to a user’s Samsung phone and displays notifications including phone calls, calendar updates, and text messages. The Samsung Gear has a built in camera on the armband. The Gear links to the Samsung Galaxy phone via Bluetooth to function as an external display for a user’s phone5. The Gear has a pedometer, 1.9 megapixel camera, 4GB of internal memory, and 320 x 320 pixel resolution.

Limitations The Gear can only be used with a Samsung phone. Email and social services are not yet supported. The Gear has a 3rd party application store with a very limited selection of applications. According to a CNET review, the watches loudspeaker works well in an office but does not work well on a busy street.

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Opportunity While critics emphasize that fitness tracker share similar features, the demand for these wearable devices cannot be ignored. Initial feedback of these first few generations of fitness trackers indicate that consumers prefer armband displays so they can monitor their activity without opening an application on their phone. For some users, a mobile phone is cumbersome and they would prefer a second screen to answer calls and receive certain notifications. Smart watches serve both as fitness trackers and notification systems. If Samsung can entice developers to build 3rd party applications for their smart-‐watch, the Gear may be able to function as a viable alternative to the smartphone. Apple’s rumored smart-‐watch debut should inform the technology world in respect to design and usability. After fundraising over $10 million on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, the Pebble watch successfully attracted independent software developers to build applications for the device with the Pebble application-‐programming interface (API). Pebble provides robust technical documentation to help independent developers build applications for the device.6 Some 3rd party Pebble smart-‐watch applications include an ESPN notification system, iControl smart-‐home application that turns the Pebble watch into a remote that controls alarm setting, turn on lights, and set temperature, and a FourSquare application that lets users check-‐in with their watch. Pebble’s strong developer network creates value for consumers. Wearable technology platforms make wearable devises more versatile. For developers, the wearable landscape is currently too fragmented, and this means dealing with a different software development kit (SDKs) or APIs (application programming interfaces) for every device they would like to build for. As wearable software platforms become more standardized, software developers will be able to build more powerful applications for the devices. For example, Google’s recent launch of the Android Wear development platform will help standardize the process of building applications for wearable devices. As a result, wearable devices will become more versatile and, in certain cases, replace smartphones. The emergence of robust wearable platforms is an important opportunity for Metamorphic Ventures.

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Popular Devices Comparison Table

Google Glass Oculus Rift Nike FuelBand

Jawbone Fitbit Force Samsung Gear

Summary Computer enabled glasses

Augmented Reality headset

Pedometer, watch

Pedometer Pedometer, watch

Bluetooth enabled watch

Price $1,500.007 $300.008 $149.00 $149.99 $129.99 $299.00 Features Camera,

display, touchpad, and microphone.

Stereoscopic view that creates perception of depth.

Pedometer, display, and touchpad.

Pedometer with display.

Pedometer, display, and watch.

Displays texts, calls, and calendar.

Company Google Facebook Nike Jawbone Fitbit Samsung

(Pebble Smart-‐Watch)

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Fashion and Wearables Fashion and technology have a dynamic and evolving relationship. Technological advancements have always influenced the design and fabrication of garments and accessories. As fashion writer Bradley Quinn observes, “Technology has always been the essence of fashion...The fast-‐paced progress of technology complements fashion’s ever-‐evolving aesthetic, and each gives the other a wider frame of reference and more scope to explore new horizons.”9 As digital technology exerts its influence on the entire value chain, from fabrication to promotion, designers are experimenting with ways to merge fashion and wearable devices. Designers are creating garments that can play music, answer telephone calls, and even monitor the wearer’s heartbeat. In recent years, social media websites like Facebook and Twitter are allowing fashion designers to nurture more intimate connections with niche customer segments. The interplay of digital technology and fashion has only just begun. As fashion designer Hussein Chalayan has said, fashion “will renew itself through technology, new fibers, new ways of making clothes. Without risk, nothing changes the world.” For consumers who have considered purchasing a Google Glass, there is always the lingering question of: would I actually want people to see me wearing this? The resistance to wearable devices is generally, with some exception, the resistance to wearable devices that lack aesthetic appeal. Many wearable devices are gadgets first and fashion accessories second. Design is important to many wearable device makers in respect to usability. However, until recently, the aesthetic appeal has not been the central focus of wearable device makers. CuteCircuit, a designer merging fashion and technology, describes the potential of technology and fashion. “The market keeps proposing bracelets, watches, and little boxes strapped anywhere on the body, but fashion designers believe that wearable technology should be a beautiful garment that allows the human body to become an interface, or a second skin, that connects us to people and places. Fashion has always been the interface between a person and their peers, the colour we wear represents our mood, the garments we wear give onlookers a glimpse into our personality.” 10 Fashion and technology can serve as an interface between people, places, and information. Many designers are beginning to explore the aesthetic possibilities of fashion and technology. This section will survey the designers, accelerators, and brands that are exploring the intersection of digital technology and fashion.

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Accelerators

NY Fashion Tech Lab

The NY Fashion Tech Lab is an accelerator that is a result of a collaboration between the Partnership Fund for New York City, Springboard Enterprises and major fashion retailers focused on targeting early and growth stage companies that have developed innovations at the intersection of fashion, retail, and technology. Selected fashion tech companies will collaborate with major fashion retailers along with the chance to refine and beta test their innovations in New York City over the course of the 12-‐week program, which culminates in a Demo Day. Selected Companies will also have the opportunity to leverage mentoring and collaboration from the participating fashion retailers, VCs and the Lab’s Entrepreneurs Network. Participating retailers include ANN Inc., The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., J. Crew, Kate Spade & Company, Macy’s, and the Ralph Lauren Corporation.

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Fashion Technology Accelerator (San Francisco) Fashion Technology (FT) Accelerator is a program in Silicon Valley exclusively dedicated to start-‐ups at the intersection of fashion and technology. FT Accelerator works with a selected group of companies that are already generating revenue and are typically ready to achieve sustained growth. For pre-‐revenue start-‐up there is FT Start-‐up Showcase, a monthly discussion and demo centered around different topics and challenges facing the fashion and retail industries at the intersection with technology. The Fashion Technology Accelerator invites a highly-‐curated group of fashion tech start-‐up founders, retail executives, investors and influencers to share their stories, advice and opinions with our with engaged community of entrepreneurial and forward-‐thinking leaders.

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Google Glass Experimenting with new Frames

Despite Diane Von Furstenberg and Nina Garcia wearing Google Glass at fashion weeks past, the device seems to be more a novelty than a true accessory. In an effort to market to customers who require prescription glasses, Google has released four titanium prescription frames and three sunglasses that attach to the Glass device. All four of the prescription frames were designed in-‐house and selected for their appeal to the current eyewear market. They fall on the modern side of glasses design, including split, thin and thick frames, and a rounded frame, and are available in five colors: charcoal, cotton, shale, sky and tangerine.

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CuteCircuit

CuteCircuit is a brand that uses LED lights to design clothing that lights up with various colors and patterns. CuteCircuit’s Pink and Black Collection allows people to control the color the lights display with Twitter integration. The animations and the color of the lights visible on the dresses can be controlled by anyone voting via twitter, using hashtags #makeitblack or #makeitpink. The dresses are the first ever iPhone controlled Haute-‐Couture dresses. Using the ‘Q by CuteCircuit’ iPhone app fans tweets are tallied to change the colour of the dress instantly. Cute Circuit’s Aurora Dress is made with silk taffeta and chiffon, and includes luminous technology that creates many different light patterns, from sparkly colors to an incredible fall of rainbow. The Kinetic Dress is a Victorian inspired evening gown reactive to the wearer’s activities and mood. The Kinetic Dress is sewn of an elastic textile embedded with sensors that follows closely the body of the wearer. The sensors are able to capture the wearer’s movements and interaction with others and display this data through the electroluminescent embroidery that covers the external skirt section of the dress. Depending on the amount and speed of the wearer’s movement the electroluminescent embroidery changes pattern, displaying the wearer’s mood to the audience and creating a magic halo around her.

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MEMI Bracelet

MEMI is a chic iPhone-‐compatible smart-‐bracelet that notifies users of important phone calls, text messages and calendar alerts. MEMI uses Bluetooth technology to communicate with your iPhone. With our MEMI app, you can customize who “breaks through” to your bracelet. For example, your bracelet can vibrate for all calls or for select callers that are important to you – like your boss, babysitter, parents, or significant other. In addition, you can set notifications for calendar events so your MEMI can let you know when to wrap up a meeting or when to head to the next one. You can easily change your settings at any time. Additional features:

• Three distinct vibrations -‐ a different vibration is assigned for calls, texts, and calendar alerts

• Discrete side button -‐ a small button to turn your MEMI on and off. Additionally, to confirm your MEMI is on and connected to your phone, simply press and release the button; MEMI's LED will light up.

• LED light -‐ a tiny light located next to the button to indicate when you turn your MEMI on and off, when you go in and out of range, and when it is charging

• Double tap motion sensing-‐ to quickly stop vibrations from an incoming call, simply tap MEMI twice; MEMI’s LED will light up

• Hidden Micro-‐USB port -‐ a micro USB port hidden within the clasp for charging and software updates

• Compatibility -‐ iPhone 4S and up (MEMI is not compatible with Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7, or Palm phones at this time.)

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Everpurse

Everpurse has a special charging pocket into which you place your smartphone. The patent-‐pending docking system guides your phone smoothly onto a dock connector at the bottom—so you don't have to fish for a cord. To charge the Everpurse, you place Everpurse on its charging mat. It uses inductive charging to send energy wirelessly from the mat to the purse, so you never have to plug the purse in! You can leave a charging mat plugged in wherever it's convenient for you—at work, at home, wherever—and drop Everpurse onto it when it needs charging. We suggest leaving Everpurse on its charging mat overnight, and it will have a full charge the next morning.

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Oakley Airwave

The Oakley Airwaves are GPS enabled goggles that measure a user’s speed and airtime. The goggles have a navigation feature that pinpoints a user’s location on a run. Users can locate friends who also have Oakley Airwave goggles, play music, and send and receive calls and text messages. Oakley Airwave’s run for $649. Features:

• Heads-‐Up Display: Airwave 1.5 delivers crisp, widescreen graphics using innovative prism technology

o Speed: The GPS integration can accurately measure how fast you are moving down the slope

o Jump Analytics: Measure and track the distance, height and airtime of your jumps

o Vertical: Measure your vertical feet by run, by day and over the course of the season

• Temperature: The temperature sensor keeps you aware of how cold it is • Navigation: Pinpoint location on a resort map, find the run or attraction

you’re looking for • Buddy Tracking: Locate and track friends that have the Oakley Airwave 1.5,

first edition Oakley Airwave goggle or App on their smartphone • Smartphone Connectivity: View incoming calls and text messages. MFi and

Low-‐Energy Bluetooth connectivity allows the goggle to interface • with your smartphone, heart rate monitor and more • Music: Access your phone’s music and playlists to control your soundtrack

on the slopes • Social: sharing personal performance goals via social media, responding to

posts, providing status updates and locating other Airwave customers in the area.

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Mimo Wearable Sensors for Infants

Mimo’s organic cotton kimono is fitted with non-‐contact machine washable sensors that measure a baby’s respiration. When paired with the Mimo Turtle, the parent or guardian can monitor their infant’s respiration, skin temperature, body position, and activity level. Mimo sends all this data to the Mimo Lilypad Base Station via -‐infant safe-‐ Bluetooth Low Energy.

Conclusion and Opportunity Innovation is not just limited to building new technologies. Fashion and design innovations allow products to become more useable, beautiful, and compelling. As designers and fashion leaders continue to develop innovative wearable devices, consumers will be able to connect to new places, people, and objects. Design and fashion enable people to interface with wearable devices and with each other. As more designers embrace wearable technology, wearable devices will become more ubiquitous in our everyday lives.

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Payments, Mobile Phones, and Wearable Technology Square is a free credit reader for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices that charges users a 2.75% fee for each transaction. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Square, believes wearable devices may be able to allow for more efficient payment processing. “People have known Square for accepting credit cards. This is a big push we’re making into smaller businesses and brick and mortar, specifically around restaurants. There’s this huge movement around quick-‐service restaurants all over the country, especially in places like New York, where you order at a counter. Food trucks are often an offshoot of this. These places are doing really creative crafty things and doing them very well11.” – Jack Dorsey, CEO Square Dorsey expressed enthusiasm about how the Fitbit, Jawbone Up, and the Nike Fuel Band are natural to wear as armbands. It is possible that Dorsey may seek to partner with a smart watch hardware company, such as Samsung, to build a 3rd party application that allows users to make payments through Square with their wearable devices.

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Opportunity for Metamorphic Ventures

Commercial Viability of Wearable Devices In 1987, Apple released a personal digital assistant (PDA) called Newton. Newton’s handwriting recognition software did not work and, as a result, Newton was a commercial failure. Newton’s failure paved the way for other PDAs and smartphones. Some critics argue that wearable devices are premature, like Newton, and only serve to pave the way for future technologies.

However, wearable technologies are experiencing significant commercial success. According to the marketing research NPD Group, digital fitness category alone has grown to become a $330 million market in 2013. According to an estimate from Quancast.com, over 1.9 million users visited Fitbit.com this past year. Pebble has fundraised over $10 million on Kickstarter, becoming one of the most funded project on the platform.12 Facebook recently acquired Oculus Rift for $2 billion. Wearable devices are viable consumer products that extend smartphone capabilities and, in some cases, create entirely new market opportunities.

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Wearable Technology Platforms Wearable technology platforms are more powerful than wearable technology devices. When evaluating a wearable technology, it is worth considering whether independent developers are building 3rd party applications for the platform. For instance, the Samsung Gear smart-‐watch has a platform where developers can build 3rd party applications. However, very few applications are being built on Samsung’s platform. Oculus Rift, on the other hand, has a committed group of developers who are paying a $300 fee to purchase the hardware and have access to the software development kit. The Pebble Smart watch has also successfully encouraged independent developers to build applications for the device. When an active community of developers builds applications for a particular device, the device becomes more valuable to consumers. As the process of developing applications for wearable devices becomes standardized, wearable devices will become more versatile.

Concluding Thoughts Wearable devices create entirely new market opportunities for software developers, entrepreneurs, and investors. As development platforms become more standardized, the wearable devices will become more valuable to consumers. Metamorphic Ventures will keep its fingers pressed firmly on the pulse of the wearable device category as these exciting developments continue.

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Cited Material 1 "Press Release: Mobile Smart Wearable Device Shipments to Approach 130 Million by 2018, Juniper Research Finds." Press Release: Mobile Smart Wearable Device Shipments to Approach 130 Million by 2018, Juniper Research Finds. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. 2 "Wearable Technologies: $570M Raised by More Than 30 Venture Capital-backed Companies." CB Insights Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. 3 "Explorers." Glass-explorers. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

4 "1.6 Million Smart Bands Shipped in H2 2013." Canalys. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. 5 The Samsung Gear only links to Samsung phones via Bluetooth. It will not link to your iPhone. 6 Pebble’s technical documentation for developers https://developer.getpebble.com/ 7 Price of Glass http://amzn.to/McBvMY 8 The Oculus Rift is currently selling its development kit so programmers can build games and virtual reality experiences. 9 Fashion Institute of Technology http://www.fitnyc.edu/13610.asp 10 CuteCircuit merges technology and fashion http://cutecircuit.com/ 11 "Jack Dorsey Talks Square and Wearable Devices." Bits Jack Dorsey Talks Square and Wearable Devices Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. 12 Pebble Kickstarter Campaign http://kck.st/1d50Sew

is 2014 the year of wearables?

Documents

survey of wearable devices

rga accelerator

sparklabs accelerator

samsung accelerator

category of iot

venture funding

google glass

oculus rift