Huawei takes wraps off its smartwatch
BARCELONA: Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co on Sunday launched its first smartwatch, a roundfaced device that works with Android phones, joining a crowded market weeks before the introduction of the highly anticipated Apple Watch.
At an event tied to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the company unveiled its Huawei watch line in classic, business and sporty versions, while at the same time across town, Korea’s LG Electronics Inc launched a similar roundfaced model.
Both are following the lead of Motorola Mobility, which has drawn favourable reviews for its more fashion-conscious alternative to the dozens of bulky, square smartwatches that characterised the first generation of these devices.
Wearables shipments are expected to jump 158% this year to 75 million, analysts at CCS Insight estimate. By 2018, almost 350 million wearable devices will be worn worldwide.
The Huawei Watch is 42 mm in diameter, slightly larger than Motorola’s futuristic rival, the Moto 360.
Pairing the device with a smartphone running Android, users can receive textmessage notifications, emails, calendar reminders or incoming phone alerts.
It is not, as some analysts has hoped for, a watch which can operate independently from a smartphone, using its own SIM card.
Forrester Research Inc analyst Thomas Husson said whether a smartwatch or wearable device could operate independently from a phone is irrelevant: “Smartwatches will complement, not replace smartphones” for at least the next two to three years.
Huawei also launched the second generation of a fitness tracking band, dubbed TalkBand B2, which allows the users to remove a wireless, Bluetooth earpiece to talk on their mobile phone
The TalkBand B2 is the successor of the TalkBand B1. Built on a metal dock instead of plastic or rubber, the TalkBand B2 comes in two flavours: A cheaper version, $169, with plastic straps and less aluminium, and a slightly premium version with leather straps ($199). The core of the device can pop out of the wristband and be used as a Bluetooth earpiece.