• Reuters, Wednesday, November 11, 2015 2:49 PM

LVMH's Tag Heuer became on Monday the first Swiss watchmaker to offer a "smartwatch" to customers that combines Swiss design with U.S. technology, seeking to tap a growing market for wearable devices amid flagging sales of traditional watches. Co-developed with Google and Intel, the "Tag Heuer Connected" will cost $1,500. One thousand units are immediately available in 15 stores across the United States, with Britain, Germany, and Japan following in the coming days. With its titanium casing, black rubber strap and digital watch hands, it is designed to look like a classical watch. But Connected houses an Intel Atom processor beneath its touchscreen that lets wearers connect to the internet, stream music and run applications via Google's Android Wear platform, from existing favorites such as Google Fit and Google Maps to customized lifestyle and sports apps. The watch, which electronically tethers to a phone, responds to voice commands and finger swipes. It can give the weather, set up a calendar reminder or tell the wearer how many steps she or he has walked that day, for instance.

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