The smartwatch market is all set to heat up very soon, judging from the forecast numbers released by Canalys this week.
According to the latest Canalys forecasts, the worldwide smartwatch market will exceed 5 million unit shipments in 2014. Canalys estimates that more than 330,000 smart watches were shipped in 2012, led by Sony and Motorola. The forecasts represent a 900 percent increase over this year's possible shipments, and new entrants to the market will certainly be adding much stimulus to the growth numbers.
Canalys defines smartwatches as smart wearable bands, which are multipurpose devices that can run third-party computing applications and are designed to be worn on the body and not carried.
Unlike earlier products, these soon-to-be-available smartwatches will provide more sophisticated software and more elegant hardware. Rich information display, integration across sensors and hooks into web services will be key features. These companion devices will not replace smart phones, but rather complement them as "appcessories," said Canalys.
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