Wearable devices aim to get a grip

Although the hardware does not include a display like the one on Google Glass, Baidu obviously has high hopes to the device.

"This is like an extension of your eye, a third eye or second brain," said Gu Jiawei, the designer of Baidu Eye. "For our company, the shopping mall is the most attractive business scenario. Consumers will be able to see detailed product information and get online comments with the help of this gadget."

Lenovo Group Ltd, a company best known for personal-computer and laptop products, is also navigating its way into the wearable-devices market.

Lenovo teamed up with Vuzix, a US smart glasses manufacturer, to bring the M100 Smart Glasses to the Chinese market.

Targeting high-end Chinese consumers, the glasses will be co-branded and will include mapping, voice recognition, Mandarin, and local cloud services.

Vuzix CEO Paul Travers said China is a significant milestone both for the US company and for the wearable industry.

He eyes a deeper partnership with the Chinese company, saying Lenovo's global channel networks will help Vuzix sell Smart Glasses outside China.

Chen Xudong, senior vice-president of Lenovo, explained why Lenovo chose to roll out wearables with partners instead of developing its own products.

"We cannot make all the products even though we know some of the devices are clearly profitable," Chen said, adding that the startups in the "Internet of things" sector will help Lenovo to build a market and simultaneously enjoy returns.

Lenovo is planning to buy in shares or set up joint ventures with global startups in order to introduce more wearable devices and wirelessly connected products, challenging Apple and Samsung Electronics Co.