Smartphone maker ZTE: working on smartwatch

Chinese smartphone maker ZTE will join the rush of companies making a smartwatch and bring out its own low-cost version, The Wall Street Journal reported. Expected at the beginning of next year, the ZTE watch will be similar to devices already offered by companies such as Samsung, with its Galaxy Gear watch, but aimed at a more money-conscious crowd, the Journal reported. "We are focusing on the mainstream market," Lu Qianhao, ZTE's head of handset marketing strategy, told the newspaper. When introduced the smartwatch will only be compatible with ZTE's own line of affordable smartphones, but reportedly that could change after the device's launch. Smartwatches already on the market cost anywhere from $150 to $350 from companies such as Samsung, Sony and Pebble, and both Apple and Google are said to be working on designs of their own. ZTE's smartwatch is expected to be sold in China first before becoming available in the U.S. and European markets.