Cupertino testing the waters to see if it can sell fashion items outright, report says

Dec 19, 2011 13:36 GMT  ·  By

Apple is reportedly prototyping wearable devices that boast curved glass, have Siri installed on them and can communicate with your smartphone.

After reporting on Apple’s rumored television plans back in October, the New York Times' Nick Bilton now claims to have talked to a person with knowledge of Apple’s roadmap who allegedly spilled the beans over the company’s plans for future portables.

Specifically, this person told the journalist that a “very small group of Apple employees” is working on some “wearable devices”, some of which are curved glass iPods that would wrap around the wrist. This is just one idea being discussed, he said.

The devices also have Siri integration, this person said. Siri is a personal assistant application embedded in the iPhone 4S enabling everyone to carry out a multitude of tasks by just asking with their voice.

The report continues with Bilton reporting that Apple has been toying with prototypes that talk back to the iPhone, presumably using the low-power Bluetooth 4.0 spec which Cupertino has been touting a lot lately.

The author appropriately points out that Apple already encourages iPod nano enthusiasts to wear the players as watches.

Numerous iAccessory vendors sell wrist bands that accommodate the nano to make it a fashionable time keeping piece.

Not accidentally, the latest iPod nano software updates delivered a number of stylish clock faces (pictured left).

 And Apple is known to have bought some pretty expensive equipment for making curved glass designs, which further supports the theory that the tech giant may soon be selling more fashionable products.

Of course, you don’t need a New York Times reporter to tell you what Apple is interested in . The company’s attempt to sell the nano as a dual-purpose gizmo is almost identical to their hobbyist attitude towards the still fledgeling Apple TV.

Once the company senses there is enough demand to seriously throw some resources into their advanced development, you can expect both to materialize.

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Non-official Apple watch
Apple marketing the iPod nano as a wearable item
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