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Fitness bands to drive wearables market, bullish report says

Research firms are still trying to get a handle on the emerging wearable device market. Some think it will be huge, while others think it’s way overhyped. A report Thursday by IDC is in the former camp. IDC predicts that wearable device shipments will reach 19.2 million units worldwide in 2014, more than tripling last year’s sales. From there, the market will swell to 111.9 million units in 2018, resulting in a compound annual growth rate of 78%, IDC said. IDC divides the wearable computing market into three categories: complex accessories, smart accessories and smart wearables. Complex accessories include fitness bands from Nike (NKE), Jawbone and Fitbit. They are designed to operate partially independent of other devices, but fully operate when connected to a smartphone, tablet or PC. Demand for such devices is growing as users embrace their simplicity and low prices, IDC says. “Complex accessories have succeeded in drawing …

Samsung, Sony update smartwatches, but all eyes on Apple

The tech industry is buzzing about smartwatches and fitness bands this week at the Mobile World Congress, just like it did at the Consumer Electronics Show last month. But once again, speculation turns to Apple (AAPL), which is rumored to be working on a product for the emerging category. Samsung Electronics on Sunday unveiled its second-generation smartwatches, the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The South Korean company used consumer feedback about its first smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear, released in September, when designing the follow-on gadgets. It also introduced a fitness band watch called the Gear Fit, which would compete with products like Fitbit, Jawbone Up and Nike’s (NKE) FuelBand. Also in Barcelona, Sony (SNE) unveiled its SmartBand activity tracker. The device will measure steps taken and calories burned during the day and sleep cycles at night. It’s expected to be available

Apple iWatch reportedly already in production

Apple’s (AAPL) rumored iWatch smartwatch reportedly is already in production. But contract manufacturers are having quality control problems in making the device, Taiwan tech news site DigiTimes reported Thursday. Apple’s (AAPL) iWatch and Qualcomm ‘s (QCOM) Toq smartwatch are seeing less than 50% yield rates “due to difficulties applying surface treatments on their metal injection molded (MIM) chassis,” DigiTimes said. “The MIM process is often used in the mass production of high-precision products with complicated industrial designs as it allows components to feature special shapes, but still maintain rigidness.” Some analysts say Apple will come out with a smartwatch in March to compete in the nascent market alongside Sony (SNE), Samsung, Qualcomm and startups like Pebble. Apple’s smartwatch is rumored to have a personal health and fitness component like Nike ‘s (NKE) FuelBand. Smartwatches, fitness bands and other wearable devices are expected to be a big theme at next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Ten companies are exhibiting in a special CES tech zone called WristRevolution, including Qualcomm, Burg, Dennco Brands, Kronoz, MetaWatch, Neptune Computer and Cookoo-watch maker ConnecteDevice.