Asus smartwatch may use voice, gesture commands

Asus has plans for wearables, and those plans involve voice and gesture commands. Asus CEO Jonney Shih revealed over the weekend that the company's first wearable device, assumed to be a smartwatch, will complement smartphones with alternative control methods. However, Shih admitted at a National Taiwan University job fair that "more breakthroughs are needed in these areas," Focus Taiwan has reported. Shih also said Asus is addressing battery concerns and hopes to get its wearable to a tenth the power consumption of smartphones. Slap on the wrist It hasn't been confirmed that Asus is working on a smartwatch, but Shih was hinting as far back as last summer that the company has an interest in wearable tech. Given the buzz around smartwatches at the moment, it seems likely that that's what Asus has brewing. Samsung's Gear 2 is leading the pack right now, but there are plenty of up-and-comers from the likes of Huawei, Pebble and even Motorola nipping at its heels. -TOI