Between its third quarter loss, executive departures, legal woes and component shortages, there's no doubt that HTC had a bit of a rough 2013. That hasn't stopped the Taiwanese firm from keeping hopeful about the new year, though, as HTC executives speaking to Bloomberg say that they feel "positive and optimistic about 2014 when compared to 2013."

HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang says that her company is planning a three-pronged attack to make its 2014 better than its 2013. The first step in that effort is a renewed focus on marketing, which Wang says that HTC has never seen as very important. "This is really not very good," she explained. Wang wouldn't reveal whether or not HTC plans to step up its marketing spending in 2014, saying instead that how you spend marketing money is more important than the amount.

There are also two pieces of hardware that HTC will look to to help it rebound in 2014. The first is an "updated" version of its 2013 flagship One, which is expected to debut next month. The second is HTC's first wearable device. HTC has been looking into smartwatches and other wearables for years now, but Wang explained that the company felt that it was necessary to solve "consumer-centric problems" such as issues with batteries and LCD lights before it actually released a product. Apparently HTC has come up with a solution, because Wang told Bloomberg that an HTC wearable is due out by the 2014 holiday season.

Wearable tech has exploded in popularity recently, with products like the Pebble smartwatch and Google Glass eyewear starting to gain some real recognition from mainstream consumers. Quite a few major tech firms are currently rumored to be prepping new wearable products, including Google, Apple and Samsung, and so it's no surprise to learn that HTC is planning its own wearable offering. Details on the device are still light at this point, but considering the quality design and construction of its One smartphone, I'm betting that many folks will be looking forward to whatever wearable that HTC ends up bringing to market.

Are you interested in wearable tech? If so, which upcoming wearable device are you most looking forward to?

Via Bloomberg