14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is believed to be working on its very own smartwatch, but only little is known right now, even though some recent patent filings more or less confirmed that such a device was being developed in the Redmond campus.
WMPowerUser came across a brand new patent filed by Microsoft that provides us with more photos (all of them available by clicking on the header image of this article) of the alleged smartwatch that could be released sometime this year.
As you can see for yourselves in the pictures included in this article, the smartwatch looks more like a fitness band that could be used as a tracking devices by athletes and those who'd like to track their progress when exercising.
Again, details are missing from this document but, according to the abstract section of a previously filed patent, the smartwatch could include an assembly that would allow owners to remove the watch from the band and recharge it separately in a dedicated dock.
Here's what the previous patent pointed out:
“A personal information system is provided. The system may include a portable information device having a housing including a top surface defined at least partially by a display, a bottom surface configured with a central region in which an optical sensor, electrical connector, and data connector are positioned, the housing enclosing an internal volume in which a processor is provided, the top surface and bottom surface being coupled by a perimeter side edge extending there between, and a mounting structure formed at least partially around the perimeter side edge of the housing.
“The system may further include a frame, which may be connected to a band, the frame surrounding a void and configured to receive the mounting structure, the frame and mounting structure being releasably securable via a tongue and groove connection. The system may further comprise a dock to which the information device may be connected. “
According to previous reports on a Microsoft smartwatch, Redmond could launch it as soon as this year, in order to compete with the other companies that are expanding in the wearables industry, including Google and Apple.
People close to the development plans suggested that a Windows-based version of this smartwatch could also be released with a touch-capable display measuring a few inches in size. Microsoft is already working to make Windows run on smaller devices, and the company confirmed on several occasions that it wanted the operating system to be installed on as many devices as possible, so a smartwatch coming out of Redmond would really make sense.
