My theory with accessory tech (Stuff you wear or use in public) is that adoption is far more driven by whether or not it works within the existing social framew

My theory with accessory tech (Stuff you wear or use in public) is that adoption is far more driven by whether or not it works within the existing social framework and rules of interaction we all tend to abide by in public. Things like google glass and bluetooth headsets have this problem, and it stems from the fact that they don't properly signal to the people around you that you are occupied. We've all had that moment when we think somebody in line at the coffee shop is talking to us, but it turns out they are on a bluetooth headset. There aren't any social norms set up to handle dealing with that yet, so the technology quickly gets equated with being an asshole. You might argue that smartphones buck this trend, but actually we have a long history of social norms built up around reading in public, and all the same cues and responses apply to smart phones. Walkmen and ipods fit nicely into the existing rules of interaction because there's an obvious visual cue that the person is occupied (headphones). Smart watches also suffer from this problem - wrist watches have been accepted accessory products for a long time, and the only sure way to use one offensively is to check it while in a conversation with somebody. So one of the major use cases is something you can't do without being rude.