3:13 PM

BW Online | June 21, 2004 | Your Lapel Is Ringing:

In the coming year, you’ll see cell phones that are cleverly disguised in watches, bracelets, jacket lapels, backpacks — any imaginable place that will make gabbing a fashion statement (see accompanying Photo Essay for examples of several wearable devices discussed here). In the past year, European and Asian consumers have had a taste of wrist watches, pendants, and powder cases — all doubling as cell phones. Such wearable devices already account for between 1% and 5% of all cell phones sold worldwide, says analyst Michael King of consultancy Gartner. U.S. consumers, always behind the Old World in most things wireless, have been left out.

Now that’s changing. Wearable cell phones will start making their way into the U.S. over the next 12 months — and by 2007, 20% of U.S. cell-phone users will likely be donning haute couture phones, says King.