Swatch, the Swiss watch maker has announced it will be releasing a new smartwatch this spring that will never need to be charged, ever! Swatch CEO Nick Hayeck told Bloomberg the new watches will be compatible with both Windows and Android software. Instead of the typical Bluetooth pairing, the SmartSwatch (or whatever it may be called) will use the short field wireless technology, Near Field Communication (NFC). How, exactly, it will draw its power so that it never requires charging is still a mystery at this stage.
Swatch is thought to be competing with Apple, due to release its own smartwatch in April. Although in reality, the smartwatch manufacturer Pebble, which produces brightly colored plasticky watches similar to the Swatch style, is the company that will be the most worried about Swatch's competition. Swatch is already testing the waters in technology-driven time pieces, with its range of Swatch Touch watches, as pictured below:
The company will join others, such as Timex, Fossil and Mountblanc, in joining the smartwatch revolution. Analysts predict the smartwatch market will be worth at least $10 billion by 2018.
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