Kickstarter is becoming THE place to find smartwatch projects. We’ve seen some great smartwatch proposals so far, but now there is one that deserves a closer look from possible investors.
It’s from Irvine, CA company Martian Watches, and it’s called, of all things, the Martian Watch. What does it have to set itself apart from the other smartwatches? You can actually talk to it.
Once you connect a Martian watch to an iPhone or Android device via Bluetooth, you can use the watch’s integrated microphone to issue commands to your smartphone. You can also talk and listen directly to callers via your watch. (Hey! Dick Freaking Tracy!)
How compatible is the Martian with various smartphones? Apparently, if you can pair a Bluetooth headset with your smartphone, and use it to place a call by saying a name in your Contacts list, or answer a call, then Martian will work with your phone.
If you have an Android phone, and it came with an integrated Voice Command app, it’ll work with Martian. If the Android device didn’t come with a Voice Command app, it’s still possible to use it with a Martian Watch via the “Vlingo InCar” app.”
As far as the iPhone lineup, the Martian watches already works great with Siri, and also the stock voice commands that are built-in on the iPhone 4 and 3GS.
The Martian watches all have mechanical analog faces, and a one-line OLED display where caller information, text messages, and emails are displayed. It also has a vibration motor and a notification LED to notify the user when various events happen. A green flash means you’re getting a call, a blue flash tells you that you just received a new text message.
The idea behind the Martian watch lineup wasn’t to replicate your smartphone’s screen and features on your wrist, but to compliment the phone and make it easier to do phone-centric tasks.
The Martian team is looking to collect $200,000 in Kickstarter funds, and at the time of this article, they have collected $129,823 in pledges with 22 days to go to reach their goal.
The watches will be made in three styles: the G2G, Victory & Passport.
Pricing for the three styles runs from $95 to $125. If the Kickstarter project funds, these watches should be on user’s wrists by early 2013.
This is a great Kickstarter project, and is well worth your time to go over to the website and take a look at. All you have to lose is the frustration of looking for your phone every time you get a call, or want to answer a text or email.
