After the big splash made by smartphones and then, albeit with less of an impact, tablets, various forms of smartwatches have tried to sneak in into everyone’s digital life. As companies like Google and Apple try to extend their reach with increasingly bigger ecosystems that attempt to lock users in, the smartwatch race may prove to be an important area, despite the generally lukewarm reception consumers seem to have so far given.
Indeed, much like with chatbots, companies like Microsoft and Amazon may be interested in having a part of their services used right on your wrist, and while not directly coming from the Seattle company, it looks like Alexa may be your next wearable’s digital assistant. iMCO and Chronologics, the two companies behind the project, seem to be on track to deliver the “CoWatch” smartwatch, and have started an Indiegogo campaign that already raised over $10,000 in the first day of debut…
While it’s not entirely clear how Alexa’s integration with CoWatch works — given Amazon’s apparent lack of involvement behind the project — the pitch is that the company’s smart assistant will essentially power the device, which runs on a custom “Chronologics OS,” built by a team which includes people like founder and CEO Leor Stern, a Google veteran in Israel.
The watch itself, while looking not particularly different from, say, a Moto 360 or the Huawei Watch, is indeed a looker; Chronologics says that it will come in ‘carbon black’ and ‘mineral silver’, with “a fracture-resistant zirconia composite ceramic body for excellent wireless signal” and a matching, swappable, milanese-like 22mm band with an adjustable clasp to accompany it (with a teased leather one to come).
The specs, too, are similar to other high-end smartwatches on the market today: an unspecified 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of flash memory, a 400×400 Super AMOLED display, and then the usual array of sensors alongside a gyrometer, an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a magnetometer.
The CoWatch also looks to offer an always-on mode, which the company claims can make the device stay off the charger for up to 32 hours, after which a convenient magnetic charging cradle will accommodate it for topping up. According to Chronologics, sixty minutes plugged in should boost the battery up to 70%.
While support for third-party apps should arrive with third-party developers’ integration in the future, the CoWatch is compatible with iOS (9.0 and above) and Android (from Lollipop onwards) out of the box. Built into the OS is a slew of applications like music, messages, a pedometer and weather, in addition to Alexa and a set of interchangeable watch faces.
The pricing options available on Indiegogo include “early” and “super early” adopters, with single as well as 2x combo packs at $179/$350 and $159/$310 respectively. The first 400 “super early risers” (and an additional 200 with the combo option) should supposedly receive their watch as soon as June, with shipping expected to start three weeks after the May 15 conclusion of the campaign, with the smartwatch entering mass production whether or not the $80.000 goal is met.
You can check the CoWatch promotion video below:
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