ONMarch9thAppleprobablythemostsuccessfultechnologycompanyinhistoryheldaneventtolaunchitssmartwatchwhichwillgoonsalenextmonth.Inadditiontokeepingtrackoftimethewatchmeasures

　　ONMarch9thAppleprobablythemostsuccessfultechnologycompanyinhistoryheldaneventtolaunchitssmartwatchwhichwillgoonsalenextmonth.Inadditiontokeepingtrackoftimethewatchmeasuresthewearer’sheartrateandactivitylevelsprocessesvoicecommandsgivesalertsofincominge-mailsandcallsandfacilitatespaymentsincheckoutlines.InotherwordsitdoesalotofwhatsmartphonesalreadyaccomplishbutiswornonthewristandmustbeclosetoaniPhoneinordertofunction.Whyistheresomuchbuzzaboutthiswatch?

　　Assmartphoneshaveenjoyedasuddenandtremendousboostinglobalappealpeoplehavestartedtowonderwhatthenextmajortechnologytrendwouldbe.Manyanalystshavepinnedtheirhopesonwearabledeviceswhichcontainsmallsensorstotrackanddisplayinformation.ThiscategoryincludeseverythingfromsmartwatcheslikeApple’stofitnessbandsthatmeasuresleeppatternsandexerciseto“smart”shoesthatmeasuredistancetosmartglassesthatcantakevoicecommandsanddisplayinformation.Wearablespromisetomeasurepersonaldataandsavepeopletime:aglanceatone’swristtoseealertstakesfewersecondsthanpullingoutaphone.Companiesinvariousindustriesfromminingtoairlinesarealsocautiouslytestingwhetherwearablescanhelpimproveefficiencyorcustomerservice.

　　Howeverwhilethenumberofwearablegadgetshasgrownconsumersstilltendtobegeeks（对电脑痴迷的人）andfitnessfiends.Lastyeararound21millionwearabledevicesweresoldmostofthemwrist-worndevicesaccordingtoIDCaresearchfirm.Wearabledeviceshavefailedtobecomemainstreamforthreemainreasons.Firstmanyofthemareunabletofunctionwithoutanearbysmartphonewhichlimitstheirappeal.Consumersalreadyhavetokeeptrackofseveraldeviceswithoutaddinganother.Secondtheyarenotyetconsideredcool.GoogleGlassapairof“smart”glassesmadebythesearch-enginefirmweresoclunkythatevenfashionmodelscouldnotmakethemlookgood.Thirdthereisnotyeta“killerapp”thatprovestheirusefulnessinpeople’sdailylives.Technologistsimagineafuturewhenwearabledeviceswillservetoconfirm personalidentityfacilitatepaymentsunlockhouseandcardoorsandtrackpeople’sactivityandwellness.Thatfuturehoweverisyearsaway.

　　Appl