Intel & Opening Ceremony Introduce MICA – A Fashionable Wearable Device

Leading chip manufacturer Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and fashion company Opening Ceremony will unveil the smart bracelet developed from their collaboration – MICA (My Intelligent Communication Accessory) – at the upcoming Opening Ceremony Spring/Summer 2015 fashion show this week. MICA is a feminine fashion accessory, designed by Opening Ceremony and engineered by Intel, with communications capabilities. MICA enables women to stay connected via SMS messages, meeting alerts, and general notifications delivered directly to the wrist, with additional features and functionalities. The two companies announced their partnership at the 2014 CES conference at Las Vegas in January. Intel released the first images of MICA earlier this week. The device will go on sale at Barneys and Opening Ceremony stores for the 2014 holiday season. (Read Intel’s Press Release)

Intel, which is a leader in PC and server microprocessors, was a late entrant in the mobile computing space and for this reason does not (yet) have a very large presence in the market. The company reported operating loss in excess of $3 billion from its mobile and communication division in 2013. However, the computing giant is keen to become an early entrant in the what is touted to the be next big wave in computing – wearable technology. Juniper Research estimates the wearable computing device shipments will increase from 15 million units in 2013 to 150 million units by 2018. ABI Research forecast the figure to cross 450 million units during the same period. ^[1]

Intel’s Foray In The Wearable Technology Market

Earlier this year Intel acquired Basis Science which specializes in wearable device technologies for health and wellness applications. Intel did not disclose the terms of the deal in its press release, but according to TechCrunch the company paid approximately $100 million for Basis Science. Basis Science is one of the leaders in health tracking for wearable devices and accounts for around 7% of the market. ^[2] It manufactures the Basis band, the world’s most advanced health tracker,  which helps analyze sleep patterns, motion, heart rate, caloric activity, perspiration and skin temperature. As per Tech Crunch, Intel’s CEO recently announced that Basis Science will release a new version of its device sometime this year. ^[3]

Last month, Intel partnered with the The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to create the technology and software to better monitor and treat Parkinson’s disease using wearable devices. The company has also partnered with renowned rapper 50 Cent to create fitness-tracking headphones. ^[4]

The wearable device market is still at a nascent stage and is quite competitive with everyone from Qualcomm, Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) to startups vying to grab a share of this fast growing market. With the launch of MICA, Intel is the latest company to focus on making health sensing wearable devices more fashionable. By making the wearable devices look more like a fashion accessory, Intel feels confident of expanding its footprint in the wearable technology space.

We believe that accelerating its entry in wearables augurs well for Intel’s long term growth potential.

Our price estimate of $33 for Intel is just a bit below the current market price.

See our complete analysis for Intel

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1. Broadcom Targets Wearable Tech Role, TechWeek Europe, August 30, 2013 [↩]
2. Basis Goes To Intel For Around $100M, TechCrunch, March 3, 2014 [↩]
3. Intel’s CEO Envisions A Future Where Wearables Don’t Look Like Wearables – And It’s Not That Far Away, Tech Crunch, August 30, 2014 [↩]
4. Intel Is Covering Its Bases In The Wearables Market With A New Wearable For The Fashion Conscious, Forbes, September 3, 2014 [↩]