In the never-ending war of one-upsmanship, we have a Bloomberg report
that Samsung is also working on its wearable devices line by developing
a wristwatch. This confirms rumors from last month about a Samsung
watch in the making.
During an interview in Seoul, Korea – Lee Young Hee who is E.V.P of
Samsung’s mobile business said “We’ve been preparing the watch product
for so long…we are working very hard to get ready for it. We are
preparing products for the future, and the watch is definitely one of
them.” Hee did not give a glimpse behind the curtain regarding features
or pricing. Some attest Samsung’s disclosure about their watch to based
on reports that Apple has about 100 product designers working on
everything from shape of the glass and housing to map capabilities,
bio-sensors, and a complete iOS.
According to rumors coming out of the Cupertino campus, Apple wants
to introduce the iWatch (unofficial but makes sense) later this year. If
that happens, they can set the market with a price that can capture the
initial influx of consumers who may turn out to be loyalists to their
platform – outside of the present Apple loyalists of course – for the
smart watch. In that regard, Apple would have an advantage on pricing.
Then again, if Samsung were to deliver the goods first the advantage
could lie with them just as easily as many would be expecting an OS much
akin to the Android platform.
WEARABLE DEVICES
Considering that both Samsung and Apple are fully aware that
smartphone sales are slowing down (analysts project growth will slow to
9.8% by 2017 down from 27% this year) the race for a smart watch is on.
Wearable devices are expected to be big business especially if an item
like a smart watch can sync with already owned devices such as a tablet
or smartphone. The key will be ease of use and style.
A new product line is needed and the first to deliver wins. For now at least.
