For Wearable Computers, Future Looks Blurry

May 30, 2013, 7:29 p.m. ET

For Wearable Computers, Future Looks Blurry

At the D11 Confab, the Silicon Valley Elite Debate Google Glass’s Mainstream Appeal

By EVELYN M. RUSLI

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif.—If you haven’t heard, the future is wearable computing. But how that future—seen through Google GOOG +0.05% Glass specs—will go mainstream is still out of focus.

At the D11: All Things Digital conference here, the tech elite buzzed about the promise of microcomputers that attach onto humans. They opined not just about fitness-tracking bands, which are already becoming ubiquitous, but also about multipurpose mobile gadgets that we can strap onto our wrists, heads or other body parts.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc., AAPL -0.41% which is reported to be working on a watch-like device, said wearable computers will likely be “another key branch” of the Apple tree. But in reference to competitor Google Inc.’s Glass headgear, Mr. Cook said high-tech eyeglasses would be “difficult” to pull off as a mainstream product. On stage, he wore a Nike+ FuelBand bracelet that tracks physical activity.Mary Meeker, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, said wearable computing would be the star of the “third cycle” of the Web. In her annual report on the state of the Internet, she said the world was already entering a cycle of “wearables, driveables, flyables and scannables.”

Even companies that few would consider high-tech were eager to plant a flag in wearable computing. On Wednesday, Tom Staggs, the chairman of Walt DisneyDIS -2.43% Parks and Resorts, trotted out MagicBand, a wristband that stores information about consumers’ identity and preferences, so that Disney characters can greet guests by name.

Despite the promise of wearable computing, attendees also acknowledged that there was a very large gulf between the current technology and mass adoption.

“This is kind of like the flying skateboard,” said Jared Fliesler, a general partner at venture capital firm Matrix Partners, referencing the still-not-here hoverboards from the “Back to the Future” trilogy. “The single-purpose device is very straightforward, they have been in market at scale. But the thing that hasn’t been solved is a multipurpose device,” he said.

Google Inc.’s Glass headgear is seen by many as a pioneering, all-in-one wearable device. A handful of attendees wore them here, using them to tweet during sessions and take photos of colleagues. However, these Glass wearers stuck out, their telltale frames with conspicuous rectangular pieces making them easy to pick out in the crowd.

One executive, who asked not to be named for fear of upsetting his peers, said these people looked a bit silly and borderline obnoxious, using a term that is a colorful play on the word “glass” and a curse word.

Facebook Inc. FB -0.82% COO Sheryl Sandberg, who tried Glass for the first time last week, said she liked it but would have to get used to it. She added that her team was one of the first to develop for the device and would continue to do so.

The reality is that complex wearable computers still seem very far off from mass market consumption. “We are just about to take a piece of rock and, maybe, etch it into the first wheel,” Patrick Chung, a partner at venture-capital firm New Enterprise Associates.

Atheer, another wearable computing startup, debuted its software and prototype hardware, which amounted to a bulky pair of glasses that allowed the user to switch between maps, newspapers and games with gesture controls.

While the technology itself was novel, how it would function in the real-world was less obvious. “Where do you use this?” asked Kara Swisher, the host of the conference.

Still, among the digerati, real-world uses for wearables are emerging.

Loic Le Meur, co-founder of the LeWeb conference, spent much of the conference wearing Glass, shooting photos to his social networks and responding to Twitter messages through the voice commands.

Mr. Le Meur, who said he had a “love, hate and now love” relationship with Glass, said the product could appeal to a mass audience—if Google improves the design or creates a novel experience for users. He said he hit a tipping point once he realized it helped him see important tweets he would have missed.

“It has to offer enough value that you don’t mind the social awkwardness,” said Mr. Le Meur, who was briefly not wearing his Glass at a cocktail event.

Asked why, Mr. Le Meur said one attendee asked him to put it away.

All Things D and The Wall Street Journal share a parent company, News Corp NWSA -0.96% .