Wearable tech has been the top gist in tech lately, starting with the Google glasses, to the Samsung and iwatch, just about the time we felt we had seen the peak of it, Microsoft decides to come on board in a new dimension with plans to offer a sensor-rich smartwatch that measures heart rate and syncs with iPhones, Android phones and Windows Phones according to Forbes.
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The device will draw on optical engineering expertise from Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect division to continuously measure heart rate through the day and night, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the company’s plans, while the battery will last for two days, roughly on par with Samsung’s Gear Fit.
The timeline for the watch’s release date is unclear but Microsoft could be gunning for as soon as this summer.
Crucially, it appears the smartwatch won’t just tie in with Windows Phone devices, but will also work with both iPhones and Android smartphones.
“Microsoft needs to run across Apple and Android platforms,” said a recent research note from Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund which collated advice from industry peers on how Nadella should “fix” Microsoft. The company, which derived about half of its 2013 sales of $77.8 billion from Windows and Office software products, needs to make shifts as fundamental as IBM’s move towards becoming a services business, Sherlund said.
We add this to our list of expected gadgets for 2014.