Nokia could have had its very own smartwatch that competed with offerings from Apple, Samsung and Sony - if only Microsoft had not killed the wearable prior to its launch.
A slew of images have surfaced online and reveal a smartwatch dubbed Moonraker, which allegedly both Nokia and Microsoft were working on.
The images were posted on the Tumblr account said to belong to Pei-Chi Hsieh - a designer with Nokia who later shifted to Microsoft post the former's acquisition by the latter. The Tumblr account a.peggy may have been deleted now, but not before Moonraker was spotted by noted leakster Evan Blass who goes by the pen name @evleaks.
On Friday, June 12, Blass posted the picture of the supposed Moonraker smartwatch from Microsoft and Nokia on Twitter.
Behold, the Microsoft Moonraker (via https://t.co/f9wmwd8k8c) pic.twitter.com/k2cRZdS1md
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) June 12, 2015
The images of the unannounced smartwatch do not reveal any specs, but reveal them in several hues. It seems that these leaked images were meant for marketing purposes and are not concept images and would have probably accompanied the Moonraker's announcement.
The leaked images also reveal that the Moonraker bears the product number LS-50 and the wearable's UI looks similar to the Metro design used by Windows Phones, similar to that of the Microsoft Band.
The apps are in a series and seem to scroll vertically rather than horizontally as on the Microsoft Band. The home screen also bears resemblance to the Microsoft Band's display.
According to The Verge, anonymous sources have divulged that the Moonraker was the brainchild of Nokia and was slated to be unveiled at the MWC 2014. However, Microsoft killed off the device as it had purchased Nokia by then. Moreover, the Microsoft Band had more sensors than the Moonraker. The wearable also allegedly had the ability to switch on the screen when a user raised their arm and switch it off when they lowered the arm. However, this feature did not hold much ground in front of the ability of the sensors on the Microsoft Band.
The publication's sources also reveal that the images are not concepts and Nokia planned on unveiling the Moonraker along with its Lumia 930.
Perhaps Microsoft did not want the Microsoft Band to face competition from another company offering and chose to do away with the Moonraker before it could even see the light of day!
To see the complete gallery of the Moonraker you can see the web cache of the Tumblr post.
