Barriers

Technical barriers are something that wearable devices have in common. There also remains skepticism whether the devices worn on body can meet consumer needs and create a big market.

Samsung'Galaxy Gear has a battery capacity of 315mAh, which the company claims can run for around 28 hours. It means users should recharge the smart watch almost every day, hampering the convenience and appeal of the product. Voice recognition cannot work on noisy environments.

Lack of technology in parts and components limited rooms for more fashionable design. The Galaxy Gear looked bulky and clunky in design, with rectangular display and camera loaded. Samsung, a tech-product manufacturer, has ingrained limitations in sense of design.

The Google Glass can offer limited legibility of ambient information and cause dizziness for wearers when putting on the eyewear for a long time. In addition, wearing eyeglasses itself can be inconvenient for consumers. "Consumers may choose to have a single smartphone rather than wear the Google Glass and the iWatch while holding another smartphone,"said Suh Keeman, a research fellow at LG Economic Research Institute (LGERI).

Potential

Samsung's Galaxy Gear will highly likely act as a high-priced accessory to other mobile devices for the time being."Galaxy Gear is a companion device, which operates various functions like a companion. It would take a very long time (for Samsung) to show independent wearable devices,"said Shin.

It would the best strategy for wearable devices to jump on the bandwagon of smartphone boom as it can reduce burden for overcoming technical barriers and costs for commercialization.

If Samsung can remedy shortcomings in technical barriers and unveil more fashionable designs, consumers could start to see wearables as their main gadgets rather than an accessory to smartphones. "If consumers can use sufficient wearables that they like, they may not give any significance to smartphones,"said the researcher in LGERI.