14 DAY TRIAL // Smartwatches are pretty cool, but they're also pretty expensive, and ultimately, unnecessary if you already have the habit of taking out your phone and checking it every few minutes. And then there are mechanical watches.
Mechanical wrist watches are very expensive because they are very sophisticated and hard to make. We could probably write a whole treatise on the excellence of Swiss watches, but we won't even go there. Especially since there are a bunch of them already out.
Essentially, people who own a mechanical wrist watch aren't likely to switch to an electronic smartwatch any time soon.
Knowing this, Kairos has created a set of smartbands that will give the same capabilities to any watch they already own.
Kairos initially considered releasing them as options for its own mechanical smartwatches, but ultimately decided to make adapters that render them compatible with many other types of wrist watches, even electronic ones.
The company has grouped the products into the Tband series and started a crowdfunding campaign for them on Indiegogo. There are three models.
The Three Tbands
Tband ND provides basic notifications for text messages or incoming calls by means of vibrations and a multi-color LED indicator. Fitness tracking and a Galvanic Skin Sensor (GSR, to detect skin temperature and sweat) are also included. The battery life is of seven days.
Tband HD is the second model, featuring a simple LED panel under a thin membrane that hides it when inactive. It shows basic information in alphanumeric form, but otherwise has the same specs as the Tband ND. Just 3 days of battery life though.
Finally, the Tband OD has a curved, full-color OLED display of 11 x 25 mm size and 170 dpi resolution. Hardened mineral glass protects it from scratches, while an ARM Cortex-M4 processor runs it and the onboard microphone with speech-to-text.
Social media apps can be accessed through it as well, and links can be maintained with tablets, phones, PCs, digital cameras, etc. You can send preset messages, control a digital camera remotely, monitor a car, etc. Battery life wasn't mentioned here, but it's probably of 1 day or so at best.
All three Tbands have a 9-axis gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, optical sensor, a lithium polymer rechargeable battery, and a Pogo pin USB charging port. Also, all use a clasp locking system.
Availability and pricing
The Kairos Tbands will be up for sale starting April 2015, but can be pre-ordered already through the Indiegogo campaign for $129 / €129 to $179 / €179. Combos with mechanical watches can exceed a thousand though.
