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Remember the Cookoo smart watch? For those who don't know, 'tis an analog watch with a notification display plus Bluetooth 4.0 low energy connectivity, and it prides itself for its much longer battery life compared to other smart watches. We originally covered it as a Kickstarter project back in May, and seven months later we found ourselves at its humble launch event in Hong Kong. That's right, it turns out that ConnecteDevice, the company behind this gadget, is based in said city; though it did also emphasize its multinational effort on this project -- French design, American engineering, Indian plus European coding, and Hong Kong plus Shenzhen R&D on integration and manufacturing. Interestingly, the company decided to make a commercial debut in its home town ahead of the bigger launch at CES next month. Read on to see how we got on with this wearable -- there's a hands-on video after the break as well.
Continue reading Cookoo analog smart watch makes early debut in Hong Kong, we go hands-on (video)
Filed under: Wearables, Wireless
Source: Cookoo
I guess that since Pebble was so popular thanks to their highly successful Kickstarter funding drive, it’s only a matter of time before the market of smartwatches becomes flooded with new products. The Cookoo takes a unique approach by combining an analog watch with a smartphone interface.
The Cookoo was developed by Peter Hauser of ConnecteDevice. While the time on the watch uses analog hands, the backdrop uses an LCD screen to display information from your calendars, emails, messages, Twitter, Facebook and more. It can even remind you when your phone’s battery is low. The Cookoo connects with your phone using Bluetooth 4.0 and a dedicated app.
The watch comes with a command button on the right side that will allow you to control your phone by remote, such as remotely triggering the camera shutter or any other function. They also plan on developing more apps for Cookoo over time.
Like the Pebble, the Cookoo is part of a Kickstarter campaign. The first batch already sold out for a special discounted price of $50(USD), but you can still grab one for $80, which is still less than the proposed $100 retail price. They expect to ship out in November 2012. So far, the Cookoo project has amassed $109,000 out of a projected goal of $150,000 and there are 39 days left for funding, so it’s more than likely that it will be funded. But will it break Pebble’s record? They’ll have to beat $10 million, so I highly doubt it.
[via designboom]
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.
This is the cookoo, a smart timepiece created by former Microsoft product developer Peter Hauser. Connecting to your smartphone over Bluetooth, its analog face stands in front of a digital display that lights up when you've got a phone alert. Its USP is that it's a more cultured way to check if you've been tweeted than simply whipping out your phone every few minutes. It promises to last up to a year on a standard watch battery and the buttons around the bezel even allow you to check in to Foursquare. It's been designed to be so rugged, durable and waterproof that you can wear one all day -- even at the pool. You can pledge $50 to pre-order one (it'll retail for $99), but only if the company raises all of the $150,000 its set for a goal.
Continue reading Insert Coin: cookoo is the watch for geeks who want to keep it subtle (video)
Insert Coin: cookoo is the watch for geeks who want to keep it subtle (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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