Casio (NASDAQ: CSIOY) is one of the oldest electronics corporations out there, with a big name mainly for its watches and calculators. It is a company that definitely maintains a low-profile in the tech scene since it does not participate in trending markets like the mobile and more recently the wearables one.
The smartwatch era commenced back in 2013 with the KickStarter-funded Pebble, and ever since then it grows at incredible rates. Front-running players of the industry such as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung (NASDAQ: SSNLF) have made waves in this new market, with more to follow suit.
According to a report from Wall Street Journal, sources close to CASIO suggest that the company has an actual smartwatch in the works. Though, don’t get your hopes up for something fancy like the Apple Watch and alike, since the company’s new chief, Kazuhiro Kashio, has told the publication that the company will focus on durability and simplicity rather than high-tech features we are used to be seeing in the latest smartwatches. More or less, something that is easy to put on and to use. The same person mentioned that the device will be aimed to men that enjoy the outdoors.
Kashio’s respective statement to the Journal was:
“At times we just showed off with quirky features and then pulled those products when they didn’t sell well,… We are trying to bring our smartwatch to a level of watch perfection: a device that won’t break easily, is simple to put on and feels good to wear.”
In terms of pricing, the company is looking forward making a rather affordable gadget, that will retail for around $400 or ¥50,000 – $50 more expensive than the entry-level Apple Watch. The report adds that discussions about pricing have not reached to a conclusion yet. CASIO chief stated that the company’s ambitions are to hit the $80 million benchmark as soon as possible and from there on it will develop the next-gen smartwatch.
“We will aim to achieve about ¥10 billion [about $80 million] in smartwatch sales as soon as possible and expand the business from there,” Kashio said.
The device is expected to be launched in March, initially available for the US and Japanese markets.