With smart watches expected to be the next playground in the mobile space, Microsoft is readying its own offering that will support both Windows Phone and Android smartphones.
Many people don't realize that Microsoft is actually a pioneer when it comes to wearable wireless devices on wrists. I actually owned a "smart watch" smartphone made by Swatch that ran Microsoft's Smart Personal Object Technology, or SPOT. What this meant was that the watch was able to connect to FM radio waves and offer text-based information wherever you wore the device. Just like the line of Pebble watches, Microsoft had an area where you could pick out different watch faces that would magically be beamed to your wrist.
Microsoft was truly ahead of its time and SPOT offered many of the same things smart watches of today provide, except for notifications and a few other features. You could get the weather on your wrist, latest headlines, and more. Microsoft eventually killed SPOT off.
A new report from Forbes says that Microsoft is preparing to once again enter the smart watch market with the likes of Apple, Samsung, Google, to name a few. The wearable device will reportedly inherit some talent from the Xbox team for use with its rumored continuous heart rate monitor. The site's source says that the battery life is on par with Samsung's Galaxy Fit, which will last for about two days with normal use on one charge.
One way Microsoft is going to try an ensure its success in the smartphone world is by using a move it just performed. Now that Microsoft owns Nokia, Microsoft makes Android and Windows Phone, being equal opportunity.The device will reportedly work with Windows Phone, iOS, and Android. Microsoft clearly wants to get its watches on as many wrists as possible, so supporting its rivals can only help potential sales.
The smart watch will be designed to use a smartphone's cellular or Wi-Fi connection to access and display different notifications and other information on the display. It's always better to try and please as many as possible out of the gate, and Microsoft is showing this is true.
