Hasta La Creative!

Intel has made a very big bet on wearables, announcing plans for a set of chips designed to support the category and buying Basis Science, maker of fitness-focused Basis Bands. But the category is in trouble if it doesn’t soon move past its typical look today, said Mike Bell, corporate VP-general manager of the new devices group at Intel. Nobody wants smartphones strapped on their wrists, he said.

“Fitness is an obvious area where wearables will succeed first,” Mr. Bell said, speaking Wednesday during the continuing Web Summit in Dublin. But a lot of the so-called fitness trackers on the market are “glorified pedometers,” he said: You could strap them on a paint can and they’d be fooled.

And design remains a glaring constraint, Mr. Bell added. “I don’t particularly like square faces,” he said. Marketers need to offer watches that look like traditional Swiss pieces but with smart features inside, he said.

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