[E036]In smartwatch war, Swatch goes for cheap, quick and China

The world’s largest watchmaker unveiled[公开] its riposte[还击；机敏的回答] to Apple Inc.’s smartwatch on Thursday, announcing a plan to put cheap programmable chips in watches that would let wearers from China to Chicago make payments with a swipe[猛击；偷窃；刷…卡] of the wrist[手腕；腕关节]. Swatch Group[斯沃琪集团（瑞士最大的钟表集团）] will start offering watches with near field communication (NFC) [近距离无线通讯技术;近场通讯]chips within two months, chief executive Nick Hayek said at a news conference on the company’s annual results, which were released last month. Apple’s move into watches would open up a market where Swatch was already well-positioned to compete, he said. The Swiss company’s strategy appears to revolve around[围绕…转动；以…为中心] including individual tech features in different models rather than going head to head with Apple, the world’s most valuable firm, to create all-in-one[一体化] smartwatches combining many functions.

We are the world champions of integrating[集成化；综合化] smart functions into a watch. We don’t want to produce a mini mobile phone on your wrist. Others can do that.

Nick Hayek, chief executive of Swatch Group

The Apple Watch will go on sale in nine countries starting in April, priced from $349 for the smaller model and $549 for the standard version to a high-end “Edition” watch, which will sell for at least $10,000. Both firms’ strategies could co-exist[共存] and succeed, Hayek said, before adding a dig[戳，刺；挖苦]at the bigger rival: “Upgrading software every year, that’s not our business.” Swatch is also launching a range of sports-themed Swatch Touch smartwatches, which will be able to “buddy up”[迎合对方；巴结] with a smartphone via a Bluetooth connection. The first model will retail at 135 Swiss francs (U.S. $135), about twice the cost of a regular Swatch watch with an NFC chip.

新闻原文摘自：【Yahoo News Digest】