27.12.2013 14:20 Uhr, Quelle: Macworld UK

Top vendors like Google, Apple hope to take smartwatches mainstream in 2014

When International CES opens in Las Vegas in early January, a flood of wearable computing devices, including smartwatches, will be on display.The fledgling smartwatch market is tiny compared to that for smartphones, or even wearable devices like Google Glass or smart bands that cater to fitness and health-monitoring needs.The Galaxy Gear smartwatch from Samsung.Still, the smartwatch phenomenon promises to blossom in 2014 as experts expect Google to launch a model by summer followed by Apple sometime in the fall. Even Microsoft is reportedly working on one.To achieve any degree of greatness, though, these major tech innovators and their smaller competitors must overcome some significant hurdles.For instance, most of the smartwatches unveiled to date are too expensive, at $200 to $300 each, for widespread adoption. Most of the devices also require a connection to a smartphone via Bluetooth, which implies that users face the added cost of the smartphone and a wireless servic

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