Nokia's Moonraker smartwatch looked fit to become a micro version of Microsoft's Windows Phone 8, but it couldn't match the set of sensors inside the Microsoft Band. Microsoft therefore shoved a fork into the Moonraker, according to reports.
The Moonraker LS-50 was a smartwatch Nokia had been working on, until Microsoft acquired just about all of the former handset maker's business and killed the wrist-worn computer so that the Microsoft Band could thrive.
Proof of the Moonraker's existence appeared on a Tumblr account that has since been shut. The Tumblr, spotted by editorialist and avid leaker Evan Blass, is believed to have belonged to Pei-Chi Hsieh, who worked at Nokia before moving into the role of design specialist for Microsoft.
The above images were marketing materials, which evidence just how close the Moonraker was to completion before Microsoft executed it quietly. While compelling and blatantly inspired by Microsoft's Windows 8 metro tiles, the Microsoft Band's higher sensor count appears to have made it more practical to push as a smartband over the Nokia smartwatch.
Nokia had been shopping the smartwatch to potential customers during the 2014 Mobile World Congress and planned to launch the Moonraker alongside the Lumia 930, insiders told The Verge.
There isn't much expectation that Microsoft will canabalize much, if any, of the Moonraker's tech, though it may borrow some of the smartwatch's design elements.
Microsoft launched its smartband last fall, shortly after its existence was revealed through leaks. The company is expected to release a follow-up to the smartband soon and, a couple months ago, Matt Barlow, Microsoft's general manager of New Devices confirmed that Microsoft isn't just testing the waters of the wearables market.
"When we launched Microsoft Health and Microsoft Band, it was our first entry into wearable technology and just the beginning of a multi-year vision for the category from which we continue to build and grow," said Barlow back in March.
Barlow was announcing the expansion of Microsoft's wearables business, expanding outside the U.S. and moving down the company's traditional retail channels. Those channels include Best Buy, Amazon and Target.
"We made a commitment to build the experience jointly with our customers and partners, and that's a promise I'm happy to say we are delivering on," said Barlow.
