HTC to launch a wearable device (smartwatch?) by the end of 2014

HTC hopes to turn its dwindling fortunes this year, but it won’t try to do that just by releasing new smartphones - like the long-rumored M8 / HTC One 2.

According to Bloomberg, which had a chat with two top HTC execs (CFO Chang Chialin and Chairman Cher Wang), the Taiwanese company will also bet on a wearable device and a fresh focus on marketing.

The first HTC wearable device should be commercially available before Christmas 2014. Reportedly, the company “started looking at smartwatches and wearables” many years ago. But it’s only now that it solved problems related to battery and “the LCD light.” HTC didn’t say if its first wearable product would be a smartwatch. But it probably is anyway. Speaking of which, the smartwatch seen on the left is not real, it’s a concept made by designer Eliott Copier.

Sony and Samsung are already deeply involved in the smartwatch market. Apple could also launch a smartwatch, dubbed iWatch, later this year. So it won’t be easy for HTC to succeed in this market. Even so, Chang Chialin declared that the company felt “positive and optimistic about 2014 when compared to 2013.”

Of course, before seeing any wearable devices from HTC, the company should officially announce its new M8 smartphone - this may happen before the end of February. We'll see then if HTC is off to a good start this year.

source: Bloomberg via Engadget, HTC smartwatch concept