“Two sources from the ‘supply chain’ told Chinese tech blog TGbus.com (relayed by the usually reliable Netease / Tech.163) that Apple and Intel are jointly building a Bluetooth-equipped smart wristwatch that can connect to other iOS devices, most notably iPhone and iPod devices,” Robin Wauters reports for TNW. “According to the same sources, the Apple smartwatch could find its way to the market in the first half of 2013 and sport a 1.5-inch OLED display with indium tin oxide, aka ITO-coated glass, made by Taiwanese PMOLED panel manufacturer RiTdisplay.”

Wauters writes, “Think about it: a small computer – or a custom version of the iPod Nano if you will – that you can wear on your wrist, connects to your iPhone like the Nike+ Fuelband and plenty of other products can, and supports Siri voice control. It would make sense.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: And, if this is real, Apple needs Intel for what, exactly? Their unmatched ability to sap battery life at exponential rates? Smartwatches shouldn’t require cooling fans.

And, seriously, who under age 50 wears a watch anymore, anyway? That said, Apple could be looking at a staid industry in desperate need of revival as a suitable target for Apple innovation. Still, the Intel connection mystifies.

Take this one with many grains of salt.