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Sony teases new smart watch as Apple 'iWatch' speculation lingers

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Sony has begun hyping the debut of a smart watch wrist-worn accessory at next week's Mobile Asia Expo, potentially expanding its role in a nascent market that Apple is also rumored to be eyeing.

Amongst other promotional Twitter posts advertising products from the Xperia line of devices, Sony's official Xperia account reminded users this week of the company's heritage with "wearable tech" — namely, the Walkman. The tweets also mention their existing wearable Android device, the SmartWatch, calling it the "only wearable device with 200 #firstgen apps on @GooglePlay."

The Japanese electronics maker then tweeted a statistic that found found that one in three people are looking for a wrist watch that would pair with their smartphone.

Though potential watches from Apple, Google and Samsung have made headlines for many months, Sony has been offering a watch product since 2007. In 2010 the company released the Sony Ericsson LiveView, a device which was panned by most critics and did not feature a touch display.

Last year Sony replaced the LiveView with the Xperia SmartWatch, a device which pairs with Android devices running the LiveView app and can run other apps from the Google Play Store.

Sony's Tweets suggest the next watch to be released could fit in the existing Xperia lineup. One of the Tweets relives the timeline of these products: "Pocket watch / wristwatch / digital watch / LiveView / SmartWatch / ? #itstime #MAE13."

An earlier Tweet simply reads: "Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock #itstime #MAE13" and is accompanied by a picture of the existing Xperia SmartWatch.

AppleInsider was first to discover an Apple patent filing describing a watch design with flexible display.

Save for a few comments from Tim Cook during the 2013 All Things D conference where he called the idea of a wearable device "interesting," there has been no official word about an Apple-branded wrist watch. There have, however, been several reports citing people familiar with the matter who claim Apple is working on a device that's been dubbed an "iWatch."

Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities indicated last month that Apple is allegedly planning to launch its own smart watch in late 2014 that will integrate with iOS devices like the iPhone. He believes the device will sport a screen size between 1.5 and 2 inches, and will focus on utilizing biometric data collected from the user.

The smart watch space has been heating up with options like the Pebble, MetaWatch, I'm Watch, and existing Sony Smartwatch currently available. Reports have claimed Google, Samsung, Microsoft and LG are also working on new wrist-worn hardware accessories.



34 Comments

ursadorable 11 Years · 74 comments

Still won't buy one, be it Apple or Sony. I don't wear a watch, and I can't see absolutely any reason to when I have my iPhone. Perhaps I'm not a a futurist with some grandiose vision how a smart watch is suddenly going to improve my life, I just don't see a hidden market demand for it.

shigh 11 Years · 27 comments

Ill buy one. Then i wont have to pull my phone out as much. But im waiting for apple. I have an iphone. Apple tv. Ipad. I have already invested in the ecosystem.

crowley 15 Years · 10431 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider 

The Japanese electronics maker then tweeted a statistic that found found that one in three people are looking for a wrist watch that would pair with their smartphone.
 

Seriously?

 

Did they ask more than three people?

rot'napple 17 Years · 1839 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ursadorable 

Still won't buy one, be it Apple or Sony. I don't wear a watch, and I can't see absolutely any reason to when I have my iPhone. Perhaps I'm not a a futurist with some grandiose vision how a smart watch is suddenly going to improve my life, I just don't see a hidden market demand for it.

 

 

 

I had very similar sentiments when Steve Jobs introduced the iPod and we were screaming for Mac computer updates.  
 
And while I have never owned an iPod and never purchased one single song from iTunes, it seems a lot others have and has been very good, financially, for Apple.
 
I too, don't wear a watch, don't intend to with iWatch, but who knows there may be a lot others who will...

jessi 13 Years · 302 comments

I didn't see the point of the iPad before it was released, now the iPad mini is my ideal device.  (iPhone is too small, iPad is too heavy).

 

I don't wear a watch either, and probably won't start, but maybe Apple has a compelling use case for it that will convince me. 

 

I'm open minded, but see no reason to consider anything from google/motorola or sony.  And the pebble seems like a joke.  Sorry, don't want an e-ink display.