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Google Gem smartwatch to launch on October 31: Rumour

Google Gem smartwatch to launch on October 31: Rumour

By Anupam Saxena | Updated: 7 October 2013 19:30 IST

Smartwatches are the latest fad in the world of gadgets, and Google has been rumoured to be working on its own smartwatch for quite some time now. While there's been no official word on the existence of the watch, leave alone a launch date, a new rumour predicts an October 31 launch for a Google Nexus watch, codenamed Gem.

According to Artem Russakovskii of Android Police, Google could announce the Gem smartwatch together with Android 4.4 KitKat, when it also expected to launch the successor of the Nexus 4 smartphone. Russakovskii clarifies that the date was leaked about a month back so there could have been some changes in the Mountain View giant's plans.

Earlier this year, Android-focused website, Android Authority, had said that the watch was ready for release after it was last demoed at Google's Mountain View campus after being showcased at its Berlin and Manchester offices.

The web publication cited sources to inform that the smartwatch would be made by Motorola and that its functionality would be similar to Google Glass with an interface that resembled Google Now's cards. It had also said that the watch will need to be tethered to a smartphone and that the apps meant for the watch were being dogfooded or being internally tested.

In March, it was reported that Google was indeed working on a smartwatch. The report had indicated that the watch was beyond the prototype stage. It had also mentioned that Google had filed a patent application for a "smart watch" in 2011. According to the patent, the smart watch sports a dual-screened display and has an interactive user interface. It will be interesting to see if these things will be incorporated in the final product.

Device makers like Samsung and Sony have already launched their new smartwatches in anticipation of Apple's much talked about counterpart, iWatch.

Chipmaker Qualcomm also recently unveiled the Toq, a smartwatch that can play music and handle phone calls and messages, and said it would start selling the device in the fourth quarter, marking an entry into the emerging arena of wearable computing.

Competition in the "smartwatch" market is heating up, with Microsoft also reportedly racing to develop its own watch-type wearable computing devices.

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