14 DAY TRIAL // Last week, we showed you a wearable concept that might come out of Nokia, in the form of a smart ring that wraps around your index finger and allows you to place calls. But while in the realm of speculation, why not wonder, what if Nokia would put out a smartwatch too, just like everybody else?
Apparently, this is exactly what’s coming our way. Since the smartwatch ecosystem is slowly getting increasingly populated, Nokia and a Windows Phone alternative should not be counted out.
We have just seen Samsung launch its latest batch of smartwatches and fitness band running the company’s own Tizen OS platform and the announcement of Android Wear took the wearable industry by storm.
Especially since it was announced, LG and Motorola will soon put out new smartwatches running the platform.
So Nokia might have a niche to fill here. Granted, Microsoft hasn't been making any comments about how Windows might become implemented in wearable devices, but even so there’s no doubt something along these lines will happen.
A pretty strange Nokia smartwatch prototype made rounds on the web some time ago, but now new information posted by WPcentral’s editor-in-chief on Twitter seems to indicate wearables coming from the Finnish company are bound to arrive in the second half of the year. His Tweet reads:
“Wearables from Nokia won’t be until later this year, not at Build. Buy they may make some app announcements.”
The Microsoft Build developers conference is coming up next week, so he suggests we might be seeing some dedicated apps or hinting towards a wearable being announced there.
At this moment, there’s not much we could tell you on what to expect out of the purported Nokia wearable. We’ll have to remind you Nokia’s Device and Services division will function under the Microsoft pavilion, starting somewhere next month, when the acquisition is finally expected to be finalized.
But earlier rumors seemed to indicate Nokia wearables won’t be part of the Microsoft deal at all, which can only mean Nokia will be releasing the devices per-se and not Microsoft. This might also mean the devices will not be running Windows at all. Will Nokia be jumping in the Android Wear bandwagon? Highly unlikely.
The smartwatch prototype we saw leak back in 2013 didn't seem too interesting and lacked the Nokia vibe altogether, so we certainly hope the wearables coming out of the company would sport a more appealing look.