Intel partners with Fossil to produce a fashionable line of smart watches and moving forward, the pair will explore other investment opportunities to develop additional wearable tech.
Intel is no stranger to wearable tech. The Intel partnered with Opening Ceremony to introduce a smart bracelet a few days before revealing its partnership with Fossil and the chip maker's has a standing challenge to consumers, asking for new ideas and prototypes for wearables.
As indicated by it luxurious bracelet and its partnership with Fossil, Intel wants to wrap wearable tech in fashion. Mike Bell, vice president of Intel and general manager of its New Devices Group, said Intel and Fossil will play off of each other's strengths in the partnership.
"The combination of Intel's technology and Fossil Group's ability to design innovative fashion accessories and to create, market and distribute globally is why we are confident about this initiative," said Bell. "We are focused on identifying trends and emerging uses of technology and accelerating wearable technology innovation worldwide."
Kosta Kartsotis, Chief Executive Officer of Fossil Group, echoed Bell's sentiments, stating that the partnership has the potential to place them atop the wearable market.
"We are very excited about collaborating with Intel and working to develop the next innovation in the emerging wearable technology space," Kartsotis said. "Combining our fashion lifestyle brands with Intel's expertise in technology, hardware and innovation will position us to be a leader in this segment."
Intel's smart bracelet places compromises a bit on the technological side in favor of making a fashion statement, according to Aysegul Ildeniz, Intel's vice president and general manager for business development and strategy. Ildeniz said Intel has classified the bracelet as a communication accessory, designed for women who want a constant link to their loved ones.
"Today what we see on the market is very technology oriented in the sense they're either connected to a cell phone and there's a ton of functionality crammed into this device, or it's very geared toward fitness and sports," Ildeniz said. "[It's] definitely meant to be a luxury statement jewelry piece and not so much a health monitoring device."
Intel has been attempting to overcome two of the biggest barriers for the emerging market of wearable tech. Deploying the tech in innovative ways has been one of the larger challenges and making them aesthetically appeals has also been a huge obstacle.
For Ralph Lauren, the challenge has been finding the right tech to push its line of fashionable clothing and accessory forward. Working from the opposite side of the equation form Intel, Ralph Lauren and Omsignal recently revealed its sensor-fitted Polo Tech shirt and shared their dreams of seeing the gear as standard as a t-shirt is today.
