Why Japanese watchmakers have no time for smartwatches

April 25, 2014

If the Rufus Cuff smartwatch is anything to go by, some people want a lot of hardware on their wrists.The crowdfunded watch is truly massive: 8 centimeters wide, with a 3-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi, GPS and other features that make it seem like a smartphone strapped to your arm. The US$279 behemoth might look unwieldy to some, but backers love it. They’ve pledged over $230,000 to Rufus Cuff’s Indiegogo fundraising campaign, more than meeting its goal of $200,000.From grassroots campaigns to big manufacturers like Samsung, Sony and possibly Apple, smartwatches are starting to compete with traditional timepieces for wrist real-estate. The smartwatch industry was worth about $700 million in 2013 and is expected to reach $2.5 billion this year, according to Zurich-based research firm Smartwatch Group.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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