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Innovation

When will Microsoft finally roll out its smart watch 2.0?

Will this be the year Microsoft debuts its long-rumored successor to the SPOT watch?
Written by Mary Jo Foley, Senior Contributing Editor

The rumors about Microsoft trying its hand again at fielding a smart watch have been circulating for a couple of years.

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Earlier this month, there was another rash of stories about it, based on a Microsoft patent application, dating back to October 2012.

On Thursday, yet another report — this time from Forbes — claims the Microsoft smart watch will sync with not only Windows Phone, but also iPhones and Android devices. For anyone following Microsoft's new cross-platform software push as of late, this isn't too surprising. (That said, it will be interesting to see if support for Windows Phone trails the other two phone platforms, given its smaller market share.)

According to Forbes, some of Microsoft's Kinect engineers are involved in developing the new watch. Yep: Seems believable, given Alex Kipman, one of the main Kinect designers, is believed to be spearheading work on Windows for wearablesMicrosoft's Internet of Things team also is supposedly working on wearables as part of its mission.

My biggest question about Microsoft's smart watch 2.0 is when the company will finally announce and start shipping this thing. Hopefully the delta between those two dates won't be far apart. Maybe the Softies are just waiting for Apple to go first?

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