Microsoft may launch its own Google Glass rival next year, according to comments from one analyst.
Speaking to investors, Brian White said he believes Microsoft has plans to introduce a wearable Google Glass-like device in 2014 and emphasised that Google’s launch of its glasses product ‘will kick off a major push into the field of wearable electronics’.
Apple is also said to be working on an iWatch while Samsung has confirmed it’s making a watch device too, though whether it will be Android based or bear the Galaxy brand name isn’t known.
White cites his discussions with people in the Asian supply and manufacturing network as the source of his analysis. He claims Google will ship Google Glass in late 2013 and Microsoft’s competing device will appear in the first half of the following year.
Microsoft has previously filed a patent for a wearable glasses device in late 2012, although reports of that patent suggested that, unlike Google Glass – which Google designed to be worn for long periods of time – Microsoft’s specs appear to be more of an ‘entertainment enhancement’ device to improve the experience of going to concerts and sports events.
What’s not clear, however, is whether this is only one specifically tailored dimension of Microsoft’s product and if it may feature many other capabilities similar to Google Glass. It’s not exactly a huge leap to suggest that a revolutionary new product from Google might inspire rivals to launch their own competing versions, especially as there’s already talk of other wearable devices from other manufacturers.
But at the same time it’s difficult to gauge the public perception of these devices. There’s plenty of buzz from tech enthusiasts and developers, but the question remains if the average phone user in the street – the ones who bought all those iPhones and Galaxy S3s – are actually excited by the prospect of wearable tech.
What are your thoughts on smart glasses and smartwatches? Would you buy wearable devices? Let us know in the comments.
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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