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Qualcomm's smartwatch entry not what you think it is

It's time for the onslaught of smartwatches.
Written by Rachel King, Contributor
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Not to let Samsung entirely hog the spotlight today, Qualcomm has unveiled its own smartwatch made in-house.

Dubbed "Toq" (sounding like the latter half of tick tock when said outloud), Qualcomm's digital wristband actually looks a little more enticing than the Samsung Galaxy Gear, which arguably isn't that hard to do.

For starters, we know immediately that Toq runs Android 4.0.3 -- on more than two devices on top of that.

Sure, it's still flaunted as a companion device for smartphones, but the processor giant's entry also isn't exactly what you think it is at first glance.

Looking closer at the Toq, it's basically a showcase of the latest mobile technology coming out of the San Diego-headquartered company -- namely the Mirasol reflective, low-power display and WiPower LE wireless charging technology.

Qualcomm admits as much -- as far as the showcase is concerned -- in the announcement.

For the short term, Qualcomm could be looking to make some scores with consumers when Toq ships during the fourth quarter of 2013.

But the end game is really about selling this hardware to larger tech industry players and establishing partnerships along the supply chain, making itself integral in this burgeoning industry going forward.

It's quite similar to what Broadcom executives talked about during a Q&A session with the tech press in San Francisco last week, except Qualcomm is taking things a step further by producing a complete device of its own.

Image via Qualcomm

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