If you’re always trawling the pages of Kickstarter looking for a unique project to back, the Omate TrueSmart might strike your fancy. Its creators bill it as the world’s first water-resistant, standalone smartwatch. That is to say, a smartwatch that doesn’t need to be paired to a phone.
While the Pebble Smartwatch, the most successful Kickstarter campaign of all time, needs to be linked to your iOS or Android device using Bluetooth, the TrueSmart is a self-contained Android device. Inside that waterproof casing (with an IP67 rating) sits a 1.3GHz dual-core processor, GPS, cellular, wireless and Bluetooth radios, and even a 5-megapixel camera. It’s all powered by Android 4.2.2, which means it’s essentially an Android phone you can strap to your arm – take that, James Bond.
Omate points out that the TrueSmart can also be paired with Google Glass, which makes for an interesting proposition. Google’s wearable computing device is best when used with an Android phone, but here you’ll have two bits of wearable tech that complement one another. There’s just the question of whether Omate’s choice of a 600mAh battery will stand up to all-day use, especially when hooked up to Google Glass. The company claims a 100-hour standby time, though, but that can vary depending on network conditions.
Want in? All you need to contribute is $179 (around R1 800) and add a few bucks for shipping. Not bad for a fully-fledged Android phone.
