The 80's called and they have a smartwatch for you
For those who grew up in the 80's there are many things that stand out, and some we wish we could forget. There were Polo shirts worn with the collars up, Members Only jackets and the dreaded parachute pants -- leg warmers as well if you are female. But one thing from that era has endured -- Swatch. The company never went away, it just lost favor among the "in" crowd. But that piece of hardware on your wrist back then meant everything.
Call it retro or nostalgia, but the company is enjoying a bit of a resurgence. So much so that, apparently, the watch maker feels emboldened to jump into the smartwatch market. Swatch has a unique take on things -- a mechanical version of this latest craze.
Before you get too excited, the company isn't out to compete with the likes of Apple Watch and Android Wear, but instead will offer its own unique take on this budding industry. What the company has in mind appears to be a mechanical watch, but according to the BBC it will contain both NFC and Bluetooth.
Swatch claims it has already made arrangements for payment systems, citing China UnionPay, though Visa could also be on board.
It's all very interesting and certainly seems destined for the market, though time and pricing remain unknown. It's hard to say how many it will sell, but the brand still has market pull, despite the name having seemingly disappeared with Dexy's Midnight Runners.
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