• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, December 3, 2015

The number of wearable devices is growing, by a lot.

The number of fitness trackers and smartwatches shipped around the world in the last quarter is about double the number shipped a year ago, according to the latest IDC Tracker report.

Leading the category are fitness trackers by Fitbit followed by the Apple Watch.

While there’s clear growth in the number of wearables, there doesn’t seem to by any cannibalization of the market, since fitness trackers and smartwatches both grew in scope.

A total of 21 million wearable devices shipped last quarter, an increase of 198% from the same quarter last year. Of those, 5 million were Fitbit devices and 4 million were Apple watches.

While the number of Fitbits and Apple watches is relatively close, the prices are not.

For example, the average price of a smartwatch is just over $400 and the average basic watch/band is $94, according to IDC.

However, smart wearables are expected to surpass the lower-priced, less functional basic wearables, as I wrote about here a few months back (Wearables & Messaging: Up Close & Personal).

In either case, wearable devices will have more smartphones to which they can send data. The number of smartphones shipped this year will total 1.4 billion units, 81% of them Android and 16% Apple, according to the IDC phone tracker index just out.

Interestingly, before Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, IBM Watson Trend identified the Apple Watch as the number one item on holiday shoppers' lists. The watch has now dropped to second place (behind Samsung TVs), which may mean that many people have already acquired them.

In the Health category, Watson Trend currently lists Fitbit as the number 3 item being discussed in the context of holiday gifts (Nike Running Shoes and Nordic Track treadmills take the top two spots).

Whether fitness tracker or smartwatch, more consumers will be walking around wearing Internet-connected technology.

And that will be a new communication network, always in motion.