It is expected that they could soon become more popular than wearable fitness devices.
Wearable gadgets such as Galaxy Gear from Samsung and the smartwatches that are being designed by many major smartphone manufacturers could soon be providing the fitness device market with some considerable competition.
Many believe that these new devices, combined with the right apps, could outshine everything else out there.
It is expected that smartwatches could be a single gadget that could carve out the mhealth marketplace and – armed with the right fitness apps – may replace nearly all other forms of wearable fitness device. The Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is only one of a rapidly growing category of devices that can be worn. In the case of that specific device, it comes with several apps already built in.
The apps in those gadgets could prove to be highly appealing to fitness enthusiasts.
When paired with certain similar gadgets that have already been announced from other major manufacturers such as Sony, and that are expected to be announced from both Qualcomm and Apple, it may be that Galaxy Gear will have a sizeable influence on the mhealth app marketplace. Experts in the industry say that it all depends on the evolution of the technology.
At the moment, Galaxy Gear has approximately 60 apps available. This is notable, considering that the first of these gadgets won’t ship until September 25, 2013 and that their retail price will be $299. One of the apps that is likely to become quite popular among fitness enthusiasts who own this device will be the step-counting accelerometer. Its owners will also receive an Azumio customized app that can be used for measuring their calorie burning, monitoring their heart rate, and even snapping pictures of the foods that they are consuming, through the use of the camera that is built into the Gear.
These gadgets can be combined with other mobile communications devices – such as smartphones and tablets – and will then become capable of surfing the web, sending email, and accessing social media. That last feature is expected to be combined with certain apps that will “gamify” their fitness through sharing achievements in weight loss, walking, running, and other areas.
The reason that gadgets retailers are promoting the current iPhone 5 with massive discounts through old iPhone or other devices is that it is expected that the next version of the Apple smartphone will soon be released, and they are hoping to clear the older version of the product off their shelves before that happens. This type of promotion is starting to happen quite routinely as some of the leading manufacturers release upgrades to their previous generations of devices.