Microsoft is planning to enter the wearable computing market with a smartwatch, according to Forbes. The smartwatch, expected to release over the summer, will have fitness features, like measuring and tracking heart rate.
According to the report, Microsoft’s smartwatch will be designed to sync wirelessly to applications in smartphones, including those running on Android and iOS. The wearable will have a design similar to the Samsung Gear Fit and will have a touchscreen positioned on the inside of the wearers wrist.
A spokesman for Microsoft, however, would not comment on the details. “We have nothing to share,” he said.
Market tracker IDC has predicted that the sales of wearable tech items would triple this year to 19 million units worldwide and by 2018 will reach 111.9 million units. The competition in the wearable technology space is gearing up, Samsung is also planning to launch a smartwatch in the summer that will be able to make calls independently. Apple’s iWatch is also expected to be released later this year.
Earlier this week Samsung unveiled its new wearable health tracker called ‘Simband’ at an event in San Francisco. The device monitors the human body, by monitoring blood glucose levels, oxygen levels, heart rate and much more. The wearable uses a variety of sensors and utilizes Samsung’s new SAMI platform for data analysis. The Simband has a 28 nanometer 1GHz dual-core ARM A7 processor and supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Samsung says that the health smartwatch is an “investigational device” and has a long way to go.
Source: Forbes