Apple iWatch reportedly already in production
Apple’s (AAPL) rumored iWatch smartwatch reportedly is already in production. But contract manufacturers are having quality control problems in making the device, Taiwan tech news site DigiTimes reported Thursday. Apple’s (AAPL) iWatch and Qualcomm ‘s (QCOM) Toq smartwatch are seeing less than 50% yield rates “due to difficulties applying surface treatments on their metal injection molded (MIM) chassis,” DigiTimes said. “The MIM process is often used in the mass production of high-precision products with complicated industrial designs as it allows components to feature special shapes, but still maintain rigidness.” Some analysts say Apple will come out with a smartwatch in March to compete in the nascent market alongside Sony (SNE), Samsung, Qualcomm and startups like Pebble. Apple’s smartwatch is rumored to have a personal health and fitness component like Nike ‘s (NKE) FuelBand. Smartwatches, fitness bands and other wearable devices are expected to be a big theme at next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Ten companies are exhibiting in a special CES tech zone called WristRevolution, including Qualcomm, Burg, Dennco Brands, Kronoz, MetaWatch, Neptune Computer and Cookoo-watch maker ConnecteDevice.