Casio Aims to Outshine Apple With New Smartwatches

TOKYO—The president of Japanese watchmaker Casio Computer Co. said he saw shortcomings in the Apple Watch that his company could fill with smartwatch models tailored for specific uses.

Kazuhiro Kashio spoke in an interview Wednesday after introducing his company's first smartwatch, a $500 model that uses Google Inc.'s Android operating system and is targeted at outdoor enthusiasts with applications for hiking, cycling and fishing.

More models are planned, he said, including possible smartwatches for business applications. Casio already makes hand-held terminals for workers in warehouses or stores to keep track of inventory or scan packages.

Another possibility is a watch aimed at women, who are currently targeted by Casio's Baby-G line of traditional watches.

Mr. Kashio, the son of one of the four brothers who founded Casio, took over the top post at the company last year after leading the smartwatch development team.

He praised Apple Inc. for invigorating the smartwatch market but questioned whether its Apple Watch would ultimately be successful, saying users couldn't figure out what to do with it.

"It's doubtful whether smartphone users would want to wear existing smartwatches for everyday use," he said.

Apple couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The U.S. company has yet to release sales figures for its smartwatch, introduced last year, feeding the view among some critics that the device has yet to achieve mainstream appeal.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an interview at a Wall Street Journal event in October that its smartwatch had achieved customer satisfaction of 97%.

"You should give it a chance," said Mr. Cook, citing applications such as health monitoring and news alerts. "More and more functions keep coming."

Casio was a pioneer in introducing technology to watches, having entered the digital-watch market in 1974 with the release of the Casiotron. More recently, its rugged G-Shock line has enjoyed popularity. Still, some analysts say the company has stumbled by failing to get in earlier on the smartwatch trend.

Smartwatch shipments are expected to reach 34.3 million units this year from an estimated 21.3 million in 2015, according to research firm IDC. Smartwatches based on Apple's operating system totaled 13 million units last year, accounting for 61.3% of the market, the research firm said. By 2019, IDC expects that percentage to decline to 51.1%.

Casio's first device doesn't go on sale in the U.S. until April, putting it a year behind Apple's. Mr. Kashio acknowledged that his company lagged behind competitors but said there was still time to make a mark.

"I often hear from corporate customers that they would like a hands-free wrist device that can replace hand-held terminals they are currently using," he said.

The Casio smartwatch, which Mr. Kashio introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is designed for water resistance up to 165 feet (50 meters). Mr. Kashio said he wanted to make the device tougher, eventually matching G-Shock's specifications.

After starting in the U.S. and Japan this spring, the company is looking to expand sales of the new watch to Europe by the end of this year, followed by Southeast Asia and China, he said.

Cliff Raskind, who follows smartwatches at consultancy Strategy Analytics, said the challenge lay in offering a long battery life at a reasonable price.

"Android Wear entrants and the Apple Watch have mediocre battery life and often leave users wondering why the functionality is any better on their wrists than on their smartphones," he said.

Casio's first smartwatch offers more than a day of battery life in normal use and more than a month in timepiece mode. But Mr. Kashio said the company wanted to improve this so hikers could make overnight trips without a recharge.

Write to Megumi Fujikawa at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 06, 2016 05:35 ET (10:35 GMT)

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