Following up on previous rumours, it looks like Microsoft's smart watch is closer to production, and will come with colourful wrist bands and transparent material, if a new report is to be believed.
According to
AmongTech, the smart watch prototypes are currently being tested internally within Microsoft. It will come with removable wrist bands expected to be available in a variety of colours including Blue, Red, Yellow, Black, White and Gray. The report mentions that the watch's outside housing will be made of Oxynitride Aluminium, a type of aluminium which features 80 percent transparency but is four times harder than glass.
While the report adds that Microsoft has assigned the smart watch its own team and that it isn't part of the Xbox team any more, another
report by The Verge claims that prototype smart watch testing has now been assigned to the team behind Microsoft's Surface tablet, citing sources familiar with the company's plans.
The Among Tech report also claims that the smart watch prototypes being tested by Microsoft run a modified version of Windows 8, as the company intends to integrate the device with other Windows-based devices.
It adds that the watch won't need to be tethered to a smartphone and will come with 4G LTE connectivity and 6GB of internal storage. However, users would have the option to connect it to a smartphone for playing music or receive notifications.
The report speculates that the watch is likely to be launched in late 2014.
Previously, it was reported that
Microsoft has been working on a wearable smart device for more than a year and that that the teams who have worked on Xbox accessories and on the Kinect sensor had been involved with the development of the device.
It has been rumoured that Microsoft's smart watch prototype will have a 1.5-inch touch display, and will include a five-pin magnetic power connector that can transmit both power and data, which is also found on Microsoft's Surface tablets.
Apart from Microsoft, LG, Samsung, Google and Apple are also said to be working on smart watch. As per earlier
rumours, Google is said to be developing a smart watch in its Android unit instead of its lab, which indicates that this device is beyond the prototype stage and may be launched soon.
Samsung, on the other hand is
working on a smart watch as part of its Project J lineup.
According to grapevine, even Apple is
working on a smart watch, which might be called iWatch and is expected to release this year.
In the month of March, there were also
rumours indicating that LG is looking to get into the smart watch space. Analysts too are
pegging 2013 to be the year of smart watch.