IDG Contributor Network: Smartwatches finally evolve into a viable platform

[Disclosure: Qualcomm is a client of the author.]

I believe the near-term future will largely be defined by wearable devices, but there’s no denying the class started ugly.

First, we had the incredibly foolish Google effort called Glass. Then Apple decided to toss out the brilliant product, marketing and naming strategies that resulted in the iPod, iPhone and iPad and created the Apple Watch. While still powerful enough to set an industry trend, the move almost terminally destroyed what we now consider to be the smartwatch market.

You see, with the iPod, iPhone and iPad Apple defined the products themselves. But when you call something by a name that’s already defined – like “watch” – that name then defines the product. But the Apple Watch wasn’t a “watch” – it was more of a wearable iPod. 

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