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Google Now smartwatch reportedly one of three upcoming HTC wearables

Google Now smartwatch reportedly one of three upcoming HTC wearables

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HTC will demonstrate the first of three upcoming wearable products next week, a source tells Bloomberg. The Taiwanese manufacturer will show a smartwatch prototype to carriers at the Mobile World Congress trade show. The source says the watch, which HTC has "no plans to show publicly" in Barcelona, will be based on Qualcomm's Toq smartwatch, and will use that company's Mirasol display. The source also said the HTC watch will feature Bluetooth connectivity and a music player.

Bloomberg's source also says HTC has two other wearable devices in the works, including an electronic bracelet that plays music, and another smartwatch based on the Google Now service. While the concept is promising, no Google Now smartwatches currently exist. A source told The Wall Street Journal last October that a Google Now watch could be "ready within months," but didn't reference HTC, suggesting instead that Google would be likely to create the first such device itself.

HTC reportedly has three wearable devices planned: two smartwatches and a music-playing bracelet

HTC has been hit by sliding profits and a decreasing market share in recent years, but it sees wearable products as a way to stop this decline. Peter Chou, HTC's CEO, said last year that wearables were "critical" for the company, but that its planned smartwatches had to meet a need to stop them being gimmicks. Cher Wang, the company's chairwoman, said earlier this month that the Taiwanese manufacturer would release a wearable device by the end of 2014.