Wearable Tech Comes Of Age
I love it. After writing about it for three years, finally we are beginning to see some fully integrated wearable products. It…
I love it. After writing about it for three years, finally we are beginning to see some fully integrated wearable products. It was Skim last week, Levi Strauss and Phillips this week.Next month they will introduce the ICD+, a jacket that features a built-in cell phone, MP3 player, and headset. The jacket, which will retail for $900 at exclusive European boutiques, also includes remote and voice-activated controls. Woven into the ICD+ are an electronic circuit and approximately four feet of wires, which together establish a personal area network, or PAN, to conduct data and power throughout the jacket.The electronic components weigh only five ounces. Although Levi Strauss and Phillips are aiming this early model at young people and those who must have the latest trends, they believe interactive clothing will soon find a place in every wardrobe.Several other companies are working on similar technology. Motorola and Swatch are teaming on a wristwatch cell phone, while Nike is designing clothes equipped with MP3 players. Tech labs [nice name ;-)] have built concept clothes such as a solar-powered T-shirt. Levi Strauss is already envisioning the next generation of wearable electronics. The company wants the devices in its next line of clothes to be wireless.Time to make some room in your wireless wardrobe ...Click for pictures