Apple’s smartwatch skewed towards geeks

Apple's smartwatch appears to be strictly for the geeks if initial reactions of the non-techie user are anything to go by.

The much-anticipated wrist gadget, priced from $349 to $10,000 has failed to impress women even though the device is customisable by colour, watch face and bands. The device, which pairs with the newer iPhone to work, has to be recharged nightly.

It might appeal to sports-minded female consumers, according to Allen Adamson, managing director of Landor Associates, a brand consulting firm in New York, Bloomberg reported.

He added, it felt clearly skewed to the geeky men's side of the population as regards functionality and from a design point of view – it was large and square. He said, among members of the opposite sex, its target market was ''the intense, athletic women, the fitness fanatics.''

That Apple was looking to attract women customers became clear when the watch was displayed at the Paris Fashion Week in September. During its debut on Monday, model Christy Turlington Burns appeared onstage with Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook.

Turlington Burns, an early tester of the device, which features health and fitness-tracking functions, used it as she ran a half-marathon in Africa earlier this month.

The watch it will be made available internationally for preview from 10 April across 9 countries including the US, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK.

The smartwatch would be open for purchase from 24 April. Google also announced a revamped MacBook range and a health-centred initiative 'ResearchKit.'

However, it is expected to debut in India only by the middle of the year and is likely to cost well over Rs30,000 for the base model.

"Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology and we think our customers are going to love it," Apple CEO Tim Cook said.