2014: the year of “Healthwear”

Today's post comes from Bill Drummy. He is the CEO, Heartbeat Ideas & Heartbeat West.It’s been predicted before (pretty much every year for the last five years or so) but this year it may finally be real: The explosion of intelligent, health-oriented devices may have reached escape velocity, propelling this trend into industry-shifting orbit. Among the biggest stories coming out of last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is the proliferation of health-oriented “wearables” (time for a new name: “Healthwear”) – devices that monitor your well-being while either attached to your clothing or (soon) serving as clothing themselves.Fitbit, Jawbone, and Nike have had products on the market since the Bush Administration, but this year, in addition to major upgrades of their own devices, they have been joined by a slew of competitors, big and small. Here is what is sure to be an incomplete list of the newest entrants:Garmin VivofitiFit ActiveLumo LiftLG Lifeband TouchMisfit Wearables ShinePolar V800Sony CoreWithings PulseMost of these devices offer what have become ”the basics:” movement tracking, calorie counting and sleep monitoring. While a few are adding more ambitious features: Heart rate monitoring (Garmin Vivofit and Withings Pulse) and even posture awareness (Lumo Lift). As the category continues to expand, the biggest challenge may be coming up with a clever name that isn’t already taken (the Apple iObsess, anyone?)And on the horizon lurk p...
Source: ePharma Summit - Category: Medical Marketing and PR Tags: ePharma ePharma Summit Healthware Wearables Source Type: blogs