Foxconn showcases its own smartwatch ahead of Apple’s iWatch

apple-foxconn-watchCould Apple’s largest contract manufacturer also become a competitor? Foxconn’s parent company, Hon Hai, unveiled a smartwatch that connects to your iPhone, displaying phone calls and Facebook messages. The news comes as the Taiwan-based assembler of iPhones seeks ways to diversify income as the  industry undergoes some uncertain times.

The watch, unveiled by Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou Wednesday, appears to compete against the iWatch, a rumored device that Apple may introduce. Despite not being an actual iWatch, Foxconn reportedly received 1,000 orders for its product…

The device, which connects wirelessly to the iPhone, can also be used to “measure the user’s vital signs such as respiration and heartbeat,” reports the site WantChina Times.

Gou told a shareholder’s meeting that the watch will also include fingerprint recognition and offer advice on ways to improve your health.

The wearable computing device can be used to measure the user’s vital signs such as respiration and heartbeat, as well as to check phone calls and Facebook posts, Hon Hai executives said while showing the watch at a shareholders meeting.

If the measuring results are not within optimal range, the device will automatically give suggestions to the user about how to improve them, the executives said.

Wednesday Gou said Hon Hai must diversify its sources of revenue beyond Apple, which supplies around 60 percent of the Taiwan-based firm’s income.

Potential revenue options include licensing patents, as well as creating accessories for the devices Foxconn makes for numerous consumer electronics brands.

Since Google introduced its Google Glass eyewear, wearable computing has been a hot topic. For months the possibility of Apple offering a smartwatch has been bandied about, including potential patents, projected designs and analyst estimates of arrival.

Which brings me to my question of the day: is Apple going to reveal a smarwatch?