ZTE is developing its very own exclusive wearable gadget with features comparable to Gear, but at a lower price
Smartwatches may not have gained a strong foothold yet, but the technology is sure to feature heavily in the future. Along with the leaders in the market like Samsung and Sony, small timer Pebble and chipmaker Qualcomm have also joined the race. Due to the competition, the technology is seeing some cost-effective advances.
And in true Chinese fashion ZTE has entered the race with a low-cost trendy smartwatch.
The Chinese phone maker ZTE is promising a product cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Gear. In an interview with Wall Street Journal, ZTE Marketing Lead Lu Qianhao said that the company's first smartwatch will be launched in the first quarter of 2014 and be available in the following quarter. He further explained that the ZTE smartwatch will be "focusing on the mainstream market" with features comparable to Gear but at a low price.
The only downside to the product would be its support for only ZTE handsets. The smartwatch will be developed upon Android-based platform, but its limitation to only ZTE devices can pull down the demand for the wrist-slab. The smartwatch, however, may boost the sales of ZTE phones in its home country.
Besides the smartwatch, Lu also revealed plans of further expanding into the wearable tech bazaar. The company is looking into the possibilities of developing smart-glasses and "smartphone connected shoes." While the other wearable accessories will definitely take a long time to come, it will be fun to watch ZTE take the smartwatch competition to another level.
