And there's another benefit, says Patrick Sweeney, CEO of Odin Technologies, a maker of radio frequency identification systems in Dulles, Va. His workers use wrist-mounted Zypad wearables from Arcom Inc. in Overland Park, Kan., that cost about $2,500 each. "We find that people tend to leave handheld equipment lying around," he says, "but when it is strapped to your wrist, you are not going to lose it."

Wearing thin

At least one vendor has found wearables wanting -- so much so that it has pulled out of the market despite having originally pioneered the wearable field in the early 1990s.

"The technology is simply not there for truly hands-free wearable use," says Perry Nolen, CEO of Xybernaut. "We are moving away from the field until such time as the technology does improve, and then we will look at how we want to re-enter it.

"With voice, it is difficult to scroll up and down -- anything that involves more than a couple of commands poses problems," he explains. "As for head-mounted displays, outside the military, we have found that when they are used, they are typically in an R&D role rather than a true functional requirement. As for a full display, one with a slim design and an eight-hour battery life is not there."

Five years ago, the firm began offering a handheld mobile device for its customers, who are mostly involved in outdoor maintenance and inspection. It still has stocks of wearable systems but has seen little demand for them, Nolen says.

"We love the wearable market and wish we could stay in it," he says. "But there were not enough proven applications that would let us evolve and grow."