Beyond Geek Chic

Computerworld - The latest in fashion gadgetry will hit boutiques in Europe later this month. For about $900, plugged-in consumers will be able to purchase a jacket equipped with a remote-controlled mobile phone and an MP3 player.
The jacket, the product of an 18-month marriage of engineers from Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV in Amsterdam and designers from Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco, is the first practical example of wearable electronics - clothing that comes with electronic equipment. And it's just the beginning of what could become the next technological frontier.
Philips is already working on prototypes of garments that connect to the Global Positioning System so wearers can be found, for example, if they have an accident while skiing. It has also created an experimental sports bra that can measure the heartbeat of the wearer. Company researchers are working on clothing made of conductive fibers that will allow wearers to warm or cool themselves on the fly.
"It's clear that people carry all of this equipment with them," says Ellen de Vries, a public relations manager at Philips. "If you make 'intelligent' clothing, automatically you have all of that equipment with you."
While the Philips/Levi jacket, called the ICD+ (Industrial Clothing Design+), is the first wearable device to be marketed to consumers, the companies aren't the first to try their hands at wearable electronics.
Students at MIT and the Atlanta-based Georgia Institute of Technology, for instance, have been experimenting for years with wearable computer systems that, although cumbersome, have proved that you can literally stay connected while on the go.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science in Cape Ferguson, Australia, meanwhile, has created a system with a private company called WetPC Pty. in Garran, Australia, that allows users to control a computer attached to a wet suit while underwater and transfer data to researchers on land.
And IBM researchers have developed the IBM Wearable PC. While the 233-MHz system isn't ready for sale, officials boast that it has the power of a ThinkPad 560X shrunk to the size of a Palm Pilot.
"Initially, we think the Wearable PC will find applications in business," said IBM researcher Russell Budd in a written release. "I think you'll see people using these at aircraft flight gates, repairing your copier or tuning your car's engine. Eventually - well, who originally thought people would wear radios, tape and compact disc players?"
A New Fashion Genre
But because Philips and Levi Strauss are the first to hit the market with a practical piece of electronic clothing,