Like most of Apple's product launches, the imminent arrival of the Apple Watch has brought an avalanche of hype, and a ton of fawning reviews.  An unintended consequence, though, is the attention it gives to competitors' wearables launching around the same time--some of which are much cheaper.  "Apple (has) left room for the competition with their fairly high price," Nick Spencer, senior practice director at ABI Research, said. "I think this enables the consumer scenario of, Apple has launched a smartwatch, therefore I need one, but don't want to pay $349, so I'll buy a (cheaper) Android watch instead."  One example: The Alcatel ONETOUCH Watch, which works with both Android and iOS, and is available for pre-order now at $149.  The watch stands out with a USB plug in the wristband that allows charging without extra cables, and has a stated battery life of two to five days.  Read MoreApple Watch will be huge by the end of 2016: Pro  The round-faced watch with an old-school metal clasp won Tom's Guide's "top smartwatch" from CES this year. The device offers fitness tracking, app alerts and remote control of a phone's camera and music player. It connects with Android or Apple iOS phones through bluetooth and syncs the data through a custom app.  It's about "what can we do to democratize smart watch technology. It's not just about the early adopter or geek. Part of our innovation is being disruptive in pricing," Alcatel spokesman Jason Gerdon said. "I imagine that as we find success with the watch we're going to see others come into this space."
The Apple Watch launch boosts the entire smartwatch category, including some wearables that cost half the price, reports CNBC.