Smartphone maker HTC is making a smartwatch based on the hardware and design of Qualcomm’s Toq smartwatch.
See also: Why The All-In-One Smartwatch Isn’t Happening Any Time Soon
Two Qualcomm engineers told ReadWrite in January at the Consumer Electronics Show that HTC had licensed the hardware and design of the Toq smartwatch including its Mirasol-based MEMS display and internal components. During CES, a Qualcomm product manager for the Toq project declined to comment on if HTC had licensed Toq.
Now Bloomberg reports that HTC will be showing off wearable devices to cellular carriers at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week along with a smartwatch based on Google’s Now semantic search services with an AMOLED display. HTC is also said to be planning as a touchscreen smart wristband music player.
HTC getting into the smartwatch game is not much of a surprise as every gadget manufacturer in the world appears to be exploring wearable devices in one fashion or another.
Qualcomm wants to place itself at the center of the wearable universe by supplying technology, software and components to wearable manufacturers in much the same way that it sells the computer processors that are embedded into smartphones and tablets. New Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said during a press conference at CES that the Toq was a proof-of-concept device to show off its technology (like the Mirasol display) to show off to its manufacturing partners. Qualcomm does not have major ambitions to enter the consumer gadget space on its own.
HTC is not announced plans for its potential line of smartwatches and Bloomberg reports that the wearable devices it will be showing to cellular operators at MWC next week will not be available for public display.
Top image: Qualcomm Toq by Dan Rowinski
