Going on a report on the Bluetooth website, ASUS is preparing a wearable device called the “VivoWatch HC-A01,” which has Bluetooth 4.0. It’s described as a watch with an emphasis on health management, containing a heart rate monitoring function and a sleep data acquisition feature. We don’t yet know the other specifications of the device such as screen size, processor type and internal storage. It’s not clear if the Asus VivoWatch is running Android Wear or not.
To date, Asus’ Vivo brand has been used for a number of Windows tablets so it’s interesting to see a smartwatch carrying this moniker. Could this mean that Asus are releasing a smartwatch running Windows? This seems unlikely, but I also have to wonder about the likelihood of an Android Wear device being launched with a Vivo brand. It’s not clear what Asus are doing here and until they officially announce the new smartwatch, we likely won’t know. Perhaps Asus have developed their own smartwatch operating system, designed to be paired up with a Vivo Windows tablet, rather than using Google’s off-the-shelf Android Wear solution? It is also possible that the Asus smartwatch is in reality a fitness band that has been labelled as a smartwatch.
As for when the HC-A01 is announced, it seems likely that they would pick the Mobile World Congress, or MWC, coming up in March. Perhaps Asus will have an event a little before or after the event in Barcelona. Perhaps there are other things that need to happen… will Microsoft be revealing a wearable-optimized version of Windows at the Mobile World Congress and if so, will it be similar to Google announcing Android Wear and then three showcase devices running the software? I am speculating, but it might happen.
At this stage, I have far more questions than answers. It looks like I’m going to have to wait for another leaked document, or perhaps until the full show. Meanwhile, what do our readers think? Do you think a wearable flavor of Windows is a possibility in the short term and if so, would the VivoWatch be of any interest? Let us know in the comments below.