Best Smartwatches of CES 2014

At CES in 2013, smart watches were still very much a niche product with the Kickstarter-backed Pebble grabbing all the headlines.

12 months later and smartwatches are much more mainstream, with Apple reportedly putting huge resources into a mythical iWatch, and dozens of new devices launched at CES 2014.

Here we pick our five top smartwatches launched in Las Vegas this week.

Pebble Steel

Grabbing the headlines again this year, Pebble has launched its second smartwatch, with the Steel offering a more premium look for those not enamoured by the sporty look of the original.

The new watch has a metal frame and strap and comes in two versions, Brushed Stainless and Black Matte, both of which are smaller and thinner than the original though slightly heavier.

The new watch costs $250, which is $100 more than the original, and can be pre-ordered now.

Intel SmartWatch

More a proof-of-concept than an actual product, Intel showed off its own smartwatch at CES 2013, which has all the features you would expect from a typical smartwatch.

However it has several unique features, including having its own network connection, meaning it can work without a smartphone connected.More a proof-of-concept than an actual product, Intel showed off its own smartwatch at CES 2013, which has all the features you would expect from a typical smartwatch.

It also has smart geo-fencing which will track the user's position and, for example, alert a parent if their children leave a pre-defined area - such as their route to school.

Neptune Pine

This is more of an ultra-small smartphone which sits on your wrist than a smartwatch. With a relatively powerful processor and (for a smartwatch) hue 2.4in screen, the Neptune Pine is the first smartwatch which does much more than alert you to when you have missed a call.

The Neptune Pine uses a SIM card meaning it can become a completely stand alone device, making and taking calls, browsing the web and playing games.

It also features a camera, up to 32GB of memory and a large 810mAh battery. It is available to order now and will cost from $335.

MetaWatch

MetaWatch was another big presence at CES 2013, and this year it returned with a new look, and a new range called Meta.

The big difference is the focus on design, with the company working with a designer who used to work at high-end smartphone company Vertu.

The change of focus means the Meta range features premium materials such as metal and leather, and MetaWatch has also upgraded the display to an ePaper display also seen on the Pebble.

Meta watches will be going on sale this spring in the US but no pricing has been announced yet.

Cogito Smartwatch

The Cogito smartwatch looks like any other watch you might see, but offers subtle alerts for wearers.

The circular analogue watch has a range of icons inside the clock face to give you alerts about emails, text messages, missed calls and up-coming calendar events.

The watch vibrates once when the notification comes in and a flashing icon will remain until the user dismisses it.

The Cogito is the least smartwatch-looking smartwatch I saw at CES 2014, and for some that will be its big selling point. It is available for pre-order now and will cost $179.

For all IBTimes UK coverage from Las Vegas, make sure to visit our CES 2014 hub.