More models, more applications: 2015 set to be the year of the smartwatch

An estimated 36m smartwatches are predicted to be sold by the end of 2015, as more consumers allow smart techonology to grace their wrists

It is the smartwatch that broke crowdfunding records, with more than 78,000 people pledging over $20m in support of the Pebble Time - a digital watch evolved to transplant the bings, bongs and vibrations of your phone from your pocket or bag to your wrist. This week those funders have begun to receive their smartwatches, as the Pebble Time entered an increasingly competitive and crowded field.

With smartphones at saturation point, and failing to dramatically improve, tablets only getting marginally thinner, and cameras, music players, portable gaming consoles and satnavs killed by smartphones, wearables are currently the most innovative area of consumer technology. While fitness trackers led the way, 2015 is the year of the smartwatch.