Apple's iWatch is of course the worst kept secret in the tech world. Yet no Apple execs have acknowledged its existence. Well not until now..

Bill Campbell, Apple board member and Silicon Valley veteran, gave a talk to employees at Intuit, the software firm to which he acts as chairman where he shared his views on wearable tech. The speech was recorded by Business Week here.

In his talk Campbell stated that there were "a lot of things going on with the application of technology to really intimate things. When you start to think about glasses or watches, they become as intimate as the cell phone was."

Campbell had already mentioned Google Glasses in his speeches, but watches!? Is an Apple board member seriously going to big up a product format that the company is not going to be involved in but its deadly rival Samsung has already announced plans to launch into?

Thought not...

I read the note from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster earlier this week in which he plots Apple's upcoming year.

It revolves around tweaks to existing products - iPhone 5S, a cheaper iPhone and an upgraded iPad and iPad mini.

Munster believes that Apple will leave the innovation until the end of the year when it will unveil its core new product - the iWatch.

If Munster is right then I think that the iWatch could be a very important project for Apple this year and here is why they, along with Samsung, LG and lots of start ups, are eagerly eyeing up the smart watch market.

1 It is a market with huge potential

The phone may have replaced the watch for many people but it is still a massive market. If you are going to break into a new market then it is best to break into one (and even better innovate) where there is already a huge amount of business.

2 Smartphone sales are flattening

One of the reasons why Apple shares have tanked a little recently is that there is a fear that smartphone sales are starting to flatten. If you live in the western world and you wanted a smartphone chances are you would have bought one by now. The future is all about upgrades. With sales starting to slow to keep investors on board Apple, and to a lesser degree Samsung, need to be looking at a new market.

3 Locking people into platforms

With the sales of smartphones slowing it is imperative that Apple doesn't hemorrhage customers to Samsung and vice versa. It is important to lock people into using an operating system so that when it comes to an upgrade they don't desert your brand. If you create a watch that only works with one kind of platform and someone invests in it, then they are even more likely to stay with that platform in the future. The interesting question is whether the Samsung watch will be Android only. In theory they could produce a watch that worked with Apple iOS and Windows handsets.

4 Possibility of new rivals establishing themselves

If we accept that the smart watch is going to be an important area moving forwards - as is the wearable gadget sphere - then Samsung and Apple both need to watch their backs.

They could face all kinds of competition in the space. Off the top of my head - Nike and other sports brands could deliver watches that work with handsets in a similar way to the Samsung/Apple offerings, but that major on fitness/health items.

Casio already has a smart watch on the go and has innovated in this space several times before. Who know what they have up their sleeves. Sony could produce a watch that majors on entertainment features as could Amazon. Then of course there are the watches that are onsale already from Pebble etc some of which are very good.

If Apple and Samsung want to dominate the smart watch space they need to move quickly

5 A need to innovate

As I mentioned in the intro this is essential, especially for Apple. With this year dominated by upgrade products it needs to show that it can still create something magical and new to wow the cynics and give its fan people something to brag about.

Samsung could in theory drive a road through Apple's 2013 strategy by getting there first with an impressive smart watch. Imagine if the watch went on sale before the iWatch, was better specified and more stylish and worked with iPhones as well as Android devices. Apple could look like an also ran.

Conversely if Apple can get the smart watch right and deliver somethign that is significantly in advance of what Samsung offers it will reclaim its crown as consumer electronics' key innovator.

Here's an interesting prototype from British maker Plastic Logic. The company, which these days specialises in high quality flexible plastic displays, have been parading a prototype of a watch that may give us a few clues as to what might be Apple's sleeve with its iWatch.

As you can see from the picture the flexible display means that the watch can curve around the owner's wrist - something that Apple is rumoured to also be working on. The maker also claims that the plastic which houses the screen is virtually indestructibile.

The prototype uses an E-Ink screen (like some of the Kindle range) which means that it can show any data that is fed to it, yet at the same time is low power, saving on battery life. In theory the maker claims that you could integrate Bluetooth into the device and then pair it up with a mobile phone and the watch could run for at least a week before it needed recharging.

Plastic Logic envisages that people could use the watch to make and receive calls, check info like the weather etc and offer other standard smart watch features,

So would you fancy one of these it it teamed up with your iPhone?

So it is official. Samsung have confirmed to Bloomberg that it is working on a watch that will work with its range of smartphones.

And apparently it isn't just a knee jerk reaction to recent gossip emanating from Apple HQ that it will, launch an iWatch sometime this year.

"We've been preparing the watch product for so long," Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung's mobile business, said during an interview for Bloomberg in Seoul. "We are working very hard to get ready for it. We are preparing products for the future, and the watch is definitely one of them."

However at the moment there is no news on what the watch might look like and what it might do.

Interestingly though analysts are already suggesting that Samsung will have a big advantage over its Apple rival in at least one area

Samsung may be able to undercut Apple on price because the Korean company makes its own displays and chips, said Will Stofega, program director at International Data Corp. in Framingham, Massachusetts. Samsung also is the world's largest maker of TVs and memory chips.

So this year's big tech battle is starting to take shape.

Another day, another smart watch. This one looks a bit different from the rest though with as it seems more flat. In fact the maker says that its thickness of 8mm makes it as much as 30% more skinny than some of its rivals.

It is called the Buddy and does everything you'd expect it to, namely displaying emails, text messages, GPS, phone calls, social media notifications, controlling your music and much more.

The screen is also tactile which makes a change from some watches so you can control it by tapping it.

The watch works with iOS, Windows (which is also quite unusual) and Android phones, has a pretty impressive 8gig of memory on board. Its battery lasts 10 days or 2 weeks standby and it is water resistant to three metres.

The only downside is that its not available just yet. It can only be purchased via Indiegogo, and you'll get the watch delivered to you in August. If you invest $150 will get you a watch which apparently has a retail value of $249.

More info here.

Heres' an interesting new addition to the range of smart watches that may go on sale soon.

Smartfitty is an inexpensive-ish (it should retails for around £80) watch that its maker hope will be available in September 2013. What set it apart is that it has two key features. Firstly, unlike some rival watches, it has a responsive touch screen. This really does make watch easier to control!

Secondly it has been optimised to appeal to fitness freaks who want to track everything from steps taken though to hours slept.

So the basics then... It is a standard smart watch which can be teamed up with the iPhone or Android handsets via Bluetooth and deliver the usual stuff - notifications for calls, email, text messages, iMessges, calendar reminders, Facebook Twitter etc.

You can also customise the watch's fascia too.

But it pairs that up with a whole raft of fitness features including sleep cycle tracking, running speed, calories burned on your run etc And there are apparently a load more to come too.

Also interesting is an integrated security feature, so if you are concerned about the environment you are running in the Smartfitty has an emergency option which when activated sends an alert and your GPS location to your SOS contact list.

The company behind the watch are also encouraging tech heads to make apps for the device so if it takes off then all manner of extra features could be on board soon.

It comes in two versions- one for blokes that is brushed stainless steel casing with black leather strap and one for women that has White ceramic casing with white leather strap.

If you are ultra sporty you can also opt for a rubber strap.

The watch is currently on Indiegogo and the company are looking for funds to deliver the project. Here's hoping that it makes the cut as it looks like a stylish and smart watch.

More on smart watches and the Apple iWatch here.

Personally I have not had a great experience of smart watches, they seem fiddly to set up and tricky to use (though admittedly I haven't seen this one yet). In short as a concept they are just begging for a company like Apple, or Samsung, to create something that not only looks beautiful but works in an intuitive way too.

There's plenty about smartwatches and how Apple might approach them here. What we do know though is that Apple is experimenting with some innovative bendy glass and that appears to have been the inspiration behind this gorgeous mock up from Yanko Designs.

In addition to the bendy glass, its design is clearly inspired by the iPhone 5 and note that apple trademark single button.

There's more here along with the words of the designer Esben Oxholm.

For more on the iWatch and its rivals go here.