The departure of Hugo Barra from Google sparked a huge amount of rumour and speculation as to the exact reasoning for him leaving, the end result is that Xiaomi have acquired a technically brilliant businessman who know’s how to market a device and his name alone being associated with the company, will almost certainly assist in raising the brand awareness and company profile.
It seems from the report at MyDrivers suggesting Xiaomi have a smartwatch in the works that Barra has already had an influence on the company’s strategic direction, pushing them to jump on the latest and greatest in consumer tech train rather than coming behind the big players and picking up the leftovers.
The smart watch said to be manufactured by Millet, with very few specifics of it’s specs or in fact anything about the device is rumoured to be “in line” with the current Xiaomi pricing strategy which suggests that we’ll see something significantly cheaper than other alternatives; the Pebble being one of the most popular at sub AUD$200 but only just!
Mere speculation is suggesting that to get full functionality from the device you may need to pair it with a Xiaomi phone.
Regardless of the actual specs, for consumers who want a budget conscious smartwatch this offers an exciting alternative to the more expensive Sony, Samsung and Pebble devices as well as the rumoured Nexus Smartwatch.
Does wearable technology excite you when it’s catered to a reasonable budget?
