I'll admit that this is vague, but I don't see those companies "pushing" smartwatches. They're making them, sure, but they're niche products out of the gate. None of them are trying to reach the masses the way Microsoft was trying to popularize tablets, Nokia was trying to popularize smartphones, or a number of companies were trying to popularize MP3 players.
Not really sure what you're looking for when it comes to "pushing", then. Beware the echochamber, maybe. All the android watches have been pushing out quite a few versions, ads on tv, I've even had one of the people at an AT&T store try to sell me on the samsung watch he happened to be wearing at the time and they conveniently had on sale.
I don't really know what I'm looking for either, I just know that these product categories looked like they had lots of companies that tried to make it big and failed (or somewhat succeeded in the case of companies like Blackberry, but not on an Apple scale), while watches look like they haven't really tried.
I saw almost nothing of smartwatches before Apple's. I think I saw one two or three times in the world, and always at technical conferences. MP3 players and tablets, while far from ubiquitous before Apple's entry, were things I saw at least semi-occasionally out in the world. Smartphones were relatively common, although of course nothing like how they ended up being after Apple came in.
Neither have I, but I haven't seen a single Apple watch commercial either. It is the media frenzy about anything Apple. Other OEMs cant compete with that even by making superior products. I guess this more than anything completely puts me off anything Apple.
I don't watch TV so I can't judge commercials, but I've seen friends I'd never peg as being Apple followers or hardcore techies ordering and wearing them.
I agree here. Apple is indeed early to the game with the Apple Watch, and they're putting more clout behind it than other OEMs.
Remember, Apple was incredibly late to market with the product that saved them from eventual bankruptcy: the iPod. There was no shortage of MP3 players when the iPod launched.
And there was Blackberry and Palm long before the iPhone.
So, yeah, Apple is early here even if a year late. And they're taking their smart watch more seriously than any of their competitors.
It's amusing to be called an "Apple fan" though.