Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Swatch launches Bellamy, smartwatch easy to pay via NFC – PianetaCellulare.it

Swatch enters the market for wearable devices that can make payments at retailers, a clear challenge to the services ‘Pay’ offered by Apple and Samsung. The new watch for Swatch, presented in Shanghai, not ‘smart’, is not ‘smart’ so I can not call it to a smartwatch. The device is in fact equipped with only the NFC technology (Near field communication) that enables payments approaching the device to a Pos.

The clock, called Swatch Bellamy , will allow users to make payments in stores thanks to partnership with China UnionPay and Bank Of Communications. The debut is expected first in China in January 2016, and then expanded in the United States, Switzerland and Brazil through a partnership with Visa. The price? 580 yuan, equivalent to just under $ 100, according to the statement by the CEO of Swatch, Nick Hayek, at a briefing in Shanghai.

The watch will be available in four models , and can be bought exclusively at branches of Bank of Communications, and not in stores, because the completion of the purchase of the device must be enabled payment capabilities.

If there is a device Smart how the process of authentication of the payment? The watch incorporates a NFC chip for communication with Pos of the shopkeeper, mounted under the dial and works similar to a credit card or debit card.

The new clock Swatch Bellamy called in homage to the American writer Edward Bellamy, who in 1888 published the novel “Looking Backward, 2000-1887″ in which first assumed the replacement of cash with credit cards.

“It ‘ Swatch important to have its own conception of ‘smartwatch’, at a time when Apple and other technology companies are trying to build beachheads on the left wrist, “Luca Solca, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, wrote in a note.

Swatch Bellamy goes thus adding to competition from Apple and Samsung Pay Pay, their services for mobile payments of the Cupertino giant and South Korean. The wearable device market share is expected to reach 32.2 billion dollars in 2019, compared with 18.9 million dollars last year, according to an estimate of the market researcher IHS.

Known for its colorful and eye-catching line watches, Swatch was initially dubious about his debut in the business SmartWatch (the smart watches), CEO Nick Hayek said a few weeks ago in Bloomberg . But now the company is ready to compete against the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and a host of other manufacturers to get a slice of share of this growing market.

Hayek has always been skeptical about the potential of a SmartWatch. Two years ago, he said that he did not think the SmartWatch could become a “revolution” for the industry. He has repeatedly expressed concerns as ‘screens are too small to communicate’ and that ‘the smart watches need always to be loaded’.

And what might distinguish one smartwatch Swatch from other similar products? L ‘ Experience , according to Hayek.

Swatch is in the business of watches for decades, and could rise to create a smartwatch that could have long-lasting batteries, may be foldable and thin – features that are lacking in smartwatch actually on the market today. To take another example, the company Tissot already offers high-tech watches with touchscreen and other features from watches ‘intelligent’ as an altimeter, compass and sensors specifically geared for divers, but they are far from integrating smartwatch a mobile platform like Android Wear.

The SmartWatch Swatch will connect to the Internet “without having to be loaded” constantly said Hayek. It will also allow people to make mobile payments platforms and work with Windows and Android – it should be noted that Hayek did not mention support for Apple’s iOS.

The SmartWatch manufacturers have faced a number of challenges in creating consumer-friendly products. Issues such as battery life, product size, the overall comfort of the watch and its compatibility with smartphones are all factors that can determine the success or failure of the product. The years of experience of Swatch can lend a hand for the success of his smartwatch. But it will still be forced to compete with some of the largest technology companies and major competitors like Pebble.

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