[jyl]

Think of the progression of computer and communication technology.

Computers and telephones used to be tied to your desk: you went to a fixed place in your home or office, and sat down to use them.

In the 1980s and 1990s they moved to your briefcase: you carried them around on your shoulder, found a place to sit down and used them.

In the 1990s and 2000s they merged into one device and moved to your pocket: you carry it in your purse or pocket, take it out and hold it in one or both hands to use.

The step being taken in the 2010s is to move to something you wear on your wrist (or your forehead i.e. glasses): you don't need a pocket to hold them, and don't need to hold anything in your hands to use them.

The limitations of technology mean this transition will take time, just as it took time to go from laptop and briefcase phone to smartphone. There were intermediate steps along the way - brick phone, flip phone, palmtop, etc.

The current smartwatches are an intermediate step, because they can't fit all the tech into such a small package, the watches are still a peripheral to a main unit (the smartphone). Google Glass is trying a bigger leap, being a standalone unit, but the technology may not be quite ready for that.

In 10 years, we may no longer carry smartphones in our pockets.