14 DAY TRIAL // At some point in the past it was revealed that Nokia was looking to bring out into the wild a bunch of outdoor consumer products under the HERE “Everyday Adventures” banner.
The company was said to be preparing to re-launch into consumer hardware with something codenamed “Project Crystal.”
Apparently, the phone maker has an alternate product team operating under HERE and is said to be preparing a few wearable and location-based lifestyle products.
Anyway, a new uncovered job listing that has since expired sheds some light on these top secret products coming from the Nokia garden (as seen at NokiaPowerUser).
This is the part you should be paying attention to (emphasis ours).
“HERE is looking for a Head of Marketing for the Everyday Adventures vertical which is currently developing a stealth product intended to launch in the US for holiday 2014. Under the HERE brand umbrella you will develop the full marketing mix and launch a unique consumer experience around the motivations and needs of an active outdoor lifestyle community globally.”
When connecting all the dots, it seems sensible to assume that Project Crystal will mark Nokia’s re-entry into the consumer hardware space under the “HERE” banner and this will include a wearable device of some sort.
The device is said to be launching in the US during the holiday season.
At this point it is way too early to tell what the first wearable to come out of Nokia will be. Judging by the references to lifestyle, we can speculate that the device is probably a fitness band or health tracker of some sort.
Surely this scenario doesn't annul the possibility of Nokia brining a smartwatch product as well from its HERE division.
Back in March, the theory according to which Nokia would be putting out a smartwatch until the end of the year started making the rounds online.
While we're on the topic, we'd like to the take this opportunity to remind you of the Nokia smartwatch prototype concept designed by Omar Pirela.
The Lumia Smartwatch Mark II teased the possible incarnation of a Nokia wearable. The device sported a firm magnesium ceramic body with a screen bundling AMOLED technology.
There’s another interesting point we should mention here. If it does become a reality, the Nokia smartwatch might as well become the first device of its kind to run Windows Phone on top.
The concept was detailed in a video and we got to see how future users might soon be accessing Twitter, Facebook, and the eMail app.
The Lumia Smartwatch Mark II is only an idea, but at this point we can be more than sure Nokia wearables will indeed become a reality soon.