Poll Finds Tech-Savvy Users Prefer Smartwatches Over Glass Devices
Poll Finds Tech-Savvy Users Prefer Smartwatches Over Glass Devices | TechCrunch

		
		A fairly small poll of users on JessicaLessin.com found that, in general, users prefer smartwatches to smart glasses. While this is not definitive proof of any real preference – the sample size is far too small – it does allow us to see what the early adopter will be wearing next season.
The poll, produced by Eric Newcomer, asked visitors whether or not they planned to buy a smart device in the next five years and which type they preferred. Sixty-two percent expected to own a smartwatch while 41 percent expected to own a smart glass device in the next five years. When asked what they would buy immediately, the numbers got a little hairier – 45 percent chose neither – while smartwatches still led over glass devices.






Writes Newcomer:
Many app developers and hardware companies are betting that a new generation of wearable devices will create a new hardware market. In 2014, manufacturers are expected to ship 15 million smartwatches and by 2020 that number could reach 373 million, according to emerging markets research firm NextMarket. That admittedly optimistic estimate is based, in part, on the more than 1 billion yearly conventional watch shipments.
Polls like this one are interesting in what they tell us about specific, tech-savvy audiences. I’m sure if you asked the same question of a general population they’d still be thinking about whether to invest in a tablet let alone consider a facial user interface.
Arguably, smartwatches and Google Glass aren’t quite ready for prime time. Most incarnations are severely limited by computing power and battery (although I am excited about Omate’s upcoming offering) and Google Glass is a fun diversion for now. It’s not really a war between the two, it’s just a slow creep towards a ubiquity of wearables.

		

		
		
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		John Biggs is a writer, consultant, programmer, former East Coast Editor and current contributing writer for TechCrunch. He writes mainly about technology, cryptocurrency, security, gadgets, gear, wristwatches, and the internet. After spending his formative years as a programmer, he switched his profession and became a full-time entrepreneur andwriter. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Laptop, PC Upgrade, Surge, Gizmodo, Men’s Health, InSync, Linux Journal, Popular Science, Sync, and he has written a book called Black Hat: Misfits, Criminals, and Scammers in the Internet Age.	



	
	
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