The Smartwatches of CES 2014

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Pebble SteelWherever you went within the cavernous halls of CES 2014 one word showed up with at times distressing regularity-- "wearables," most times in reference to any number of announcements of smartwatch-style devices taking place at the show.

Even Intel caught the wearable electronics bug, presenting a miniature computer called Edison perfect for powering smartwatches, as well as smart earbuds and smart baby onesies. However, for the sake of brevity this feature will only cover smartwatches, meaning we won't talk of app-connected fitness trackers such as the Razer Nabu, LG Lifeband and Misfit Wearables' Shine sensor. Sorry, fellas!

The first CES surprise is a high-end update on Kickstarter success Pebble. The show saw the nicer-looking Pebble Steel, replete with stainless steel and Gorilla Glass construction. The Steel ships with leather and metal straps and features an anti-fingerprint coating and an RGB LED to indicate charging status.

Internally it remains identical to the original, plastic Pebble and is compatible with all apps currently available for the device. Likewise it still requires connection to a smartphone to be of any use (beyond overpriced timepiece, at least).

Another high-end smartwatch seen at CES is the MetaWatch Meta. Designed by ex-Vertu designer Frank Nuovo, the Meta features a dual-hinge strap that supposedly "flows" around the wrist, a higher-contrast display and sensors from MetaWatch partner Memsic.

neptune pineA current smartwatch design trend dictates such devices should look as minimal as possible. One clear winner in the minimalist stakes is the ConnecteDevice Cogito. Looking more or less like a large-ish analog wristwatch, it features a display behind regular analog arms providing just enough space to check the more essential of smartphone-pushed notifications.

On the opposite end of the design spectrum is the Neptune Pine, a massive number that amounts to a miniature last-gen smartphone with a wristband. It runs on Android and features a micro-SIM slot, meaning users can do like Dick Tracy and make calls from their wrists.

A final smartwatch for our list is the Wellograph, a smartphone-connected device of potential interest to more health-aware customers. A plain facade features an integrated heart rate monitor, allowing it to track how hard the wearer is actually training and push more accurate biometric data to a companion iPhone app.

All the above-mentioned smartwatches should hit the market sometime during 2014. A question remains though-- will such devices manage to usher an exciting new era of commercially successful wearable electronics?

Go Pebble Steel

Go MetaWatch

Go Neptune Pine

Go Cogito

Go Wellograph