Is Microsoft playing catch-up in the wearable technology playground? It looks like it. A recent patent application filed by Microsoft shows the software company now plans to break into a burgeoning market with its own "wearable personal information system."
The patent, which was filed way back in 2012 but only released by the U.S. Patent Office on May 1, unveils Microsoft's plans for a fitness-tracking smartwatch, with features for detecting heart rate, pulse and calories burned. The patent also shows Microsoft is planning to incorporate calling, messaging and music playback into its smartwatch.
According to the patent, the yet unnamed Windows smartwatch will have a detachable computing unit that can be removed from the band. This allows users to clean the band from sweat after exercise.
"One problem with such devices is that they are exposed to the user's perspiration, and can become soiled. Some prior devices have incorporated removable hook and loop fastener fabric wristbands that are washable; however, removing the fasteners for washing can be cumbersome and cause wear and tear on the hand as it is repeatedly inserted and removed from securing ring," writes Monique Chatterjee, who heads the team of inventors of Microsoft's smartwatch.
The patent also shows the computing unit could be connected to a separate dock for charging.
Former Microsoft then Nokia chief executive now back in Microsoft as new vice president of devices and services Stephen Elop will head the smartwatch project, if it exists at all.
If its new smartwatch comes to fruition, Microsoft will still have to compete with the likes of Samsung's Gear 2 and Gear Fit smartbands and Kickstarter star Pebble. Apple is also rumored to be developing its own iWatch.
Microsoft has always dropped hints that it is working on its own offering in the smartwatch industry.
"So some of the things we've been talking about - you see all these fitness devices that people wear on their wrists and they do some interesting things. What's the extension of that? Just as the mouse was an invention, touch was an invention, there will be the next new way to interact. And that's why we've been focusing on natural user interface for a while, working on that," said then devices chief Julie Larson-Green at the UBS Technology Conference in November last year.
At that time, Microsoft's Surface team was said to be testing prototypes for the smartwatch. Reports have cropped up that Microsoft wants to buy 1.5-inch displays from component makers and will be using oxynitride aluminum, an expensive type of translucent aluminum, to house the smartwatch. The rumors also coincide with the information gleaned from the patent that Microsoft will use removable wrist bands in multiple colors.
In 2004, Microsoft unveiled SPOT, short for Smart Personal Object Technology. SPOT was a smartwatch that used FM radio signals that allowed its wearer to send messages, read the news and get the latest information on stock, gas prices and weather forecasts. However, SPOT didn't match up to the competition posed by smartphones and died an unceremonious death in 2008.
