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BARCELONA, Spain -- HTC's smartwatch is indeed real, and it'll be here in time for the Christmas shopping season.

That's according to HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang, who confirmed to CNET that the company is working on a smartwatch and that it will be ready for the holiday season.

"It's natural for us to have wearables because we're a design company," Wang said.

Wang agreed with this reporter's assessment that many of the current smartwatches in the market lack aesthetic appeal, and promised that HTC's offering will be fashionable.

"People think watches are jewels," she said, making the point that any wearable would have to match that design standard.

HTC knows a thing or two about design, and its metal-clad HTC One is considered one of the best-looking smartphones in the market, in some ways outdoing even the iPhone 5S's nearly all-metal body.

In addition to aesthetics, Wang said that HTC will focus on battery efficiency, noting that people don't want to have to take off their watch to charge it all the time.

Wang added that HTC's smartwatch will likely tether to a smartphone via Bluetooth, rather than work independently with its own cellular radio.

Another area that HTC is looking at is tablets. She said it makes sense for the company to be in this area, and that it is something we could see this year.

Wang and CEO Peter Chou held their Mobile World Congress press conference to unveil two new mid-tier phones, the Desire 610 and 816, which the company hopes will make it more competitive with consumers who are more budget-conscious.

Many, of course, were hoping for the successor to the HTC One. But the company made it clear it will launch the phone at a separate event on March 25. Wang declined to give any details on the next phone, only asking for a little bit of patience.

Another HTC executive did note that the next flagship will be significantly different than the HTC One, although the person noted that it won't be as big of a jump as between the HTC One X and HTC One.

Check back with CNET for our live coverage of HTC's event next month.