Tag Archives: windows smartwatch

A Microsoft Smartwatch Could Launch in November

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Android smartwatch

As their competitors continue to take steps into the smartwatch market, according to reports, Microsoft could be set to launch a wearable of their own.

The Apple Watch; you might have heard of it? Apple’s shiny new wrist decoration is preparing to take the wearable market by storm at some point early next year. The problem is, the Apple Watch has yet to prove itself and the only ‘killer’ feature that it has is a navigational dial that lets you zoom in and out of its display. Hardly worthy of a back of the box mention. On the other hand, Android-powered smartwatches the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Moto 360 boast fitness features and mobile phone interactivity for a much lower price but the awful battery life makes them a hassle. Leave to a Microsoft smartwatch to right their wrongs then as the company is reportedly set to launch a wearable soon.

According to Forbes we’ll see Microsoft’s smartwatch on the market soon and it will be packing some killer features too. Its biggest selling point will likely be its heart-rate sensor. Using technology similar to the Xbox One’s Kinect 2.0 camera add-on, the Microsoft smartwatch will reportedly be able to passively measure your heart-rate. Other than being a really nifty thing to show off to your friends, that sensor could lead to actual health benefits. If your heart rate has been a bit low and you want some tangible proof to show your doctor, if you want to make sure you’re getting the most out of your workouts or if you just like to scare yourself silly by watching it rise and fall during the day, the sensor will allow you to do all of that.

Other key features include the fact that the device will work across many platforms including iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Given that the Apple Watch only works with iOS devices, a Microsoft smartwatch would certainly have a larger target market but it also means that we can sync our data no matter which phone we have. Microsoft’s rumoured device also wins in terms of battery life as it’s said to last for two days without being charged whereas the Apple Watch, the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Moto 360 can only last for one. All good things to hear so we’ll keep you posted once the device is officially announced.

Source: Forbes

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Microsoft’s Smartwatch Could Look Stunning On Our Wrists In Q4

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Microsoft Smartwatch

Looking to rival an Apple device once more, Microsoft’s smartwatch device could launch sometime during Q4 of 2014.

First thing’s first, Microsoft aren’t calling their wearable, wrist-positioned device a ‘smartwatch’. It beats me why but that’s their story and they’re sticking to it. Instead, Microsoft totally-not-a-smartwatch gadget will be a highly compatible wearable that looks sleek and sophisticated on our wrists as it connects up with almost all of our gadgets. Compatibility is probably a huge feature (and could be its headline offering) as there just aren’t enough Windows Phones for Microsoft non-smartwatch to be exclusively compatible as Windows Phones take up less than 10% of the mobile market whereas Apple and Google’s iOS and Android operating systems are responsible for 20% and 60% of the market, respectively.

But how else can Microsoft’s device go up against the rumoured Apple iWatch and Samsung’s Galaxy Gear Fit smartwatch? The report from the generally reliable insider Paul Thurrott suggests that actually, Microsoft’s device doesn’t really have a whole lot of ‘uniqueness’ to offer us. Rumoured features suggest that Microsoft’s upcoming wearable will let us see notifications from a connected smartphone as well as sensors that track heart rate and steps, in case consumers were really at a loss for fitness providing gadgets that amongst iOS8-running Apple devices or any of Samsung’s Galaxy line.

Microsoft won’t have long to turn things around either as Thurrott also explains that the device could launch sometime in Q4, in time for the holiday sales rush as well as the mad dash for lifestyle improving products that always happens in the New Year, because losing the turkey gut we all develop over the holidays is no easy feat. That’s the same time period that the iWatch is rumoured to launch in too which means the pressure is at boiling point for Microsoft to work something out, but as ever we’ll keep you posted once we know more.

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