Intel's luxury bracelet will connect users to Facebook, Google and Yelp

Unlike Apple's Watch, Intel won't need a smartphone for connectivity as it has its own AT&T data plan

Intel's luxury smart bracelet will connect users to Facebook, Google alerts and Yelp, using US carrier AT&T's data plan.

The chip maker, which is focusing its efforts on several new devices, including wireless PCs, is teaming up with luxury fashion retailer Opening Ceremony to release the bracelet, dubbed MICA, which is aimed at fashion-conscious women.

"We really approached this first and foremost about why would a woman want to wear this everyday, and how can it be incorporated into her wardrobe," Humberto Leon, creative director at Opening Ceremony, told Reuters.

Crucially, the bracelet will not need to be connected to a smartphone (like Apple's Watch) in order to make the most of the internet, as it will reportedly come equipped with a 3G radio.

The bracelet will be designed using lapis stones, obsidian and an 18k gold coating, and notifications for text messages, calendar items and events from Google and Facebook, as well as recommendations from Yelp, will be sent on a curved, sapphire glass touchscreen display.

In line with Intel's efforts to make devices wireless, the luxury wearable will be able to be charged wirelessly too (or via USB). Users will be alerted by a vibration rather than a noise. The bracelets will be sold starting in early December at Opening Ceremony and Barney's department stores for a reported $495. There is no news regarding if and when the item will be sold in the UK and Europe.

Merging mobile and PC
Meanwhile, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich is attempting to revive the company's fortunes in the mobile sector by merging the mobile division with its more successful PC group.

"The market continues to evolve rapidly, and we must change even faster to stay ahead," he told staff in an internal email.

But the company is struggling in the mobile market, with its mobile and communications group losing more than $1bn in Intel's latest quarterly results, and $3bn since the start of the year. But Krzanich will be hoping that by merging the division with the PC Client Group, which posted profits of $4.1bn in the last quarter, the company can keep up with its competition.

The head of the PC division, Kirk Skaugen, will become chief of the newly-formed Client Computing Group. The mobile group head Hermann Eul is to help with the transition and will then move to a new role early next year.

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