More Details are Revealed about HTC's Upcoming Smartwatch & More

[dgstorm]

Yesterday was a busy day at HQ in the afternoon, so we didn't quite get to one last story of the day. HTC is planning to launch their own smartwatch competitor to the Galaxy Gear. They are also apparently coming out with a new tablet which they claim will be "disruptive." Today, more details were released by Bloomberg on HTC's plans. We are taking this as an opportunity to share the news for those who might be interested.

As business has continued to deteriorate for HTC, they are grasping at straws for any opportunity to get a product to gain headway in the market. Their newest efforts will be this smartwatch device and tablet. While we won't comment on the tablet, because that is simply too bold of a statement to be credible, we can share Bloomberg's news on the smartwatch. Here's a quote with a bit more,

Dwindling market share for HTC smartphones led to the company’s first quarterly loss and a 54 percent slump in its share price this year as it loses ground to Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), the world’s biggest producer. The smartwatch will join a growing segment of wearable technology that already includes devices from Samsung and Sony Corp.

Here's another quote from CEO Peter Chou in a BGR article,

“It has to meet a need, otherwise if it’s just a gimmick or concept, it’s not for people’s day-to-day lives. That is an opportunity for us,” Chou said of smartwatches. “People laughed at us when we came out with the first smartphone… Now everyone has a smartphone. I’m pretty sure wearables will be the same, but don’t judge from what is in the market [now].”

What do you guys think? One, can HTC really make a tablet that is truly "disruptive?" Also, will a smartwatch from HTC get your attention?

Source: Bloomberg

 

[gadgetrants]

As a new HTC One owner (read: I now enthusiastically grasp straws!) I think I see something hopeful in Chou's statement. I won't repeat here the prognostications I've already made on the forum, but just reiterate that (a) I don't think smartwatch-as-cellphone-satellite-display is the right direction to go, but (b) rather smartwatch-as-Fitbit-on-steroids, that is, as a device that tracks and manages as much biometric data as possible. So I'm hoping that is what Chou means, because the smartwatch concepts we've seen so far have been pretty dumbwatch concepts if you ask me.

-Matt