Microsoft may be gearing up to enter smartwatch race: Report

Microsoft may be gearing up to enter smartwatch race: Report

Microsoft may be gearing up to enter smartwatch race: Report

 A Wall Street Journal report that quotes some Microsoft suppliers as saying the company was sourcing components for the prototype of what could potentially be a “watch-style device”, has prompted speculation that the company could be joining Apple and Samsung in the race to create a ‘smartwatch’. (The article is here, but you need subscription access to read it)

According to the report, the company had requested 1.5-inch displays from component makers for the prototype. However it is not clear if the company will decide to go ahead with the watch.

The concept of the smartwatch which is garnering great interest, may just be the future of mobile and consumer electronics.

Sony already markets a watch that has the ability to sync with your Android phone and allows users to read SMS, and email, set calendar reminders, and receive social networking updates from Twitter and Facebook. The watch also comes with a bluetooth headset that allows users to receive or reject calls.

It is available for Rs 6,299 in India.

Apart from Sony, Pebble has also begun marketing its own smartwatch that connects to iPhone and Android smartphones using Bluetooth, alerting you with a silent vibration to incoming calls, emails and messages.

And with tech giants Apple and Samsung reportedly working on their own smartwatch devices, things could only potentially get bigger in that sphere.

There is a team of 100 people working on making an Apple watch, according to a Bloomberg report.

A report on Business Insider said that “Features under consideration include letting users make calls, see the identity of incoming callers and check map coordinates, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. It would also house a pedometer for counting steps and sensors for monitoring health-related data, such as heart rate.”

Samsung is also reportedly working on a similar device.

A Google Watch which can be linked to all Google services, will reportedly be able to give directions, retrieve product information, and display e-mail notifications like Google Glass. (More on that here)

Microsoft has not commented on the Wall Street Journal report, but according to PC World, it might make sense, as the company has seen its “key PC market under threat from smartphones and tablets, and the failure of its new Windows 8 operating system to boost sales significantly. IDC said last week that first quarter PC shipments totaled 76.3 million units, down 13.9 percent compared to the same quarter last year. (The decline was worse than the 7.7 percent previously forecast by the analyst firm, and the market could be headed into further contraction, the research firm added.”