HTC confirms plans for wearable in 2014, says it will solve battery and LCD issues

 

 

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HTC confirms plans for wearable in 2014, says it will solve battery and LCD issues
2/6/2014 1:47:00 AM

HTC plans to release a wearable device by this year's Christmas shopping season, HTC chairwoman Cher Wang confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg.

"Many years ago we started looking at smartwatches and wearables, but we believe that we really have to solve the battery problems and the LCD light problems," Wang said in an interview with the publication. "These are customer-centric problems."

Wang didn't provide any details surrounding the wearable, though it's been rumoured for quite awhile. HTC CEO Peter Chou told Financial Times in October that the firm had worked on an intelligent watch with Microsoft, until it was ultimately scrapped.

"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," Chou told Financial Times. "That is an opportunity for us."

Bloomberg reported in October, citing unnamed sources, the HTC wearable would sport a camera and run Android as its OS when released in the latter half of 2014.

HTC will be entering a smartwatch market that has begun to boom, with existing players like Fitbit, Jawbone, Pebble, Samsung, Sony, and now LG, becoming even more serious about the ecosystem. Apple is also rumoured to take the market with the release of the iWatch later this year with a fitness focus.

HTC CFO Chang Chialin said an updated version of the One smartphone, its first wearable device, and a renewed focus on marketing will help boost the company's revenue in 2014, after it's declined over the last two quarters.

"We feel positive and optimistic about 2014 when compared to 2013," Chialin told Bloomberg.

When contacted for more information about its upcoming wearable, HTC had nothing to add. 

 

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