Just a couple of days after some rumblings of a possible Microsoft smartwatch popped up on our radar, another report is claiming that the Redmond firm is hard at work on a smart piece of wrist gear. According to a source that The Verge describes as "reliable," Microsoft has been cranking away on its wristwear for a little over a year, with the product currently in the prototype phase of development.

Details on the device are light, but it is said to include a 1.5-inch touchscreen as well as a removable band. One of the test designs is also said to feature a magnetic connector that's similar to Apple's MagSafe product and can transmit both power and data to the smartwatch. However, it's not known if this connector will make it into the final product.

This new smartwatch isn't Microsoft's first foray into the wristwear market, as the company actually helped to put out multiple smartwatches back in 2004 under the Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) brand that could display information related to weather, news and more. Sales of these watches ceased in 2008.

Now it looks like Microsoft is ready to get back into the smartwatch game, and with the advancements that've been made in technology since 2004 and the rising popularity of smartwatch products from Pebble and Meta Watch, I'm looking forward to seeing what Microsoft can whip up this go-around. Considering Microsoft's continued push to get Windows Phone established in the mobile market, it'll also be interesting to see what kind of integration the company's smartwatch will have with its mobile operating system. What kinds of features would a smartwatch need to include to convince you to buy it?

Via The Verge