Show HN: Our Hackable E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android
kickstarter.com
kickstarter.com
It doesn't have bluetooth so this watch has an upper hand, but the chronos has a data transceiver for firmware upgrade, communication with health monitors and interfacing to the PC through an included RF dongle, along with xyz accelerometers , pressure for altimeter and temperature sensor. It's completely programmable with a provided IDE or msp430-gcc if you feel so inclined.
One of the models has 433MHz frequency which can, for instance, allow you to interface with many remote controlled devices (garage door).
On the link above and on youtube you can find a ton of videos with demonstrations.
I managed to scoop one for me and posted the daily deal on HN a few days ago, but it didn't gather much interest :)
I've looked at the TI, and it isn't really what i want. The previous version of this watch, the inPulse, was pretty good, but battery life was a concern for me.
This, however, is a much more attractive device, solely because of the very sexy display. The costs aren't in the same ballpark, but neither is the functionality.
I want it, in a way that I'd never want to actually use a Chronos.
I've met some of the inPulse guys in Waterloo, and interviewed for an internship in the past, that I didn't do. I have faith in their ability to execute a pretty great product.
Still, it's fun to hack with, and you can do some cool things with accelerometer data. Definitely worth the $25.
I bought one of the other programmable watches (forget the company name, I think it's a YC company?) that initially claimed iOS support, but the caveat was you had to jailbreak your phone and install some random stuff. Wasn't really feasible for my application.
I bought like literally the first one (still have it somewhere if anybody wants it).
Also, for skimmers, it's under PROJECT BY:
> Eric and his team have been designing smartwatches for 3 years. Their first product was the inPulse smartwatch for Blackberry (www.getinpulse.com). inPulse has been covered by Engadget, The Verge, Gizmodo, NYTimes and more.
I prefer to skim a page to get the relevant info, most video demos go way too slow for my preference and waste a lot of time on bits I'm not directly interested in.
If this is from the inPulse group I would have honestly expected that to be more prevalent on the page instead of a casual mention in the video.
This was presented, IMO, as if the "Pebble" was an all new thing... No mention of inPulse, Kickstarter campaign usually implies "new stuff", etc.
"Eric and his team have been designing smartwatches for 3 years. Their first product was the inPulse smartwatch for Blackberry (www.getinpulse.com). inPulse has been covered by Engadget, The Verge, Gizmodo, NYTimes and more."
There is no wear for eink, same as for lcds
Can't find lifetime specs on eink.com, though, only a claim that 90% of the displays will live 10y at typical usage, whatever that means (one page-flip per minute?).
I don't know enough about eInk to know if they have a certain "life expectancy", any clarifications by someone with knowledge on the topic would be great!
http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/genera...
http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#DOCUMENTATION/Miscel...
Unfortunately it was a gift out of the return period, so I couldn't get a refund.
What watch do you find attractive?
Did you mean "aesthetically"?
Here are some other options:
MotoACTV: https://motoactv.com
IM Watch: http://www.imwatch.it/
Meta Watch: http://www.metawatch.org
WIMM One: http://www.wimm.com/
Are there others? (iPod Nano watches not included since they don't connect to anything)
The watch is just a screen + radio, apps are entirely contained on the phone.
I started mine two days ago, I'm trying to raise the money to pay Twilio fees for giving my intelligent journal to 10,000 people in developing countries. Can't wait to see the success you guys have, Kickstarter is a great platform!
That being said, I think a Kickstarter is much more appropriate for physical products than it is software products. People like being able to get physical things, and being a part of the process.
so it looks like the funding is to take it from a working prototype to the finished product.
EDIT: Nevermind. I figured it out. Reading...
I can't say for sure, but the display appears to be this one: http://www.sharpmemorylcd.com/1-26-inch-memory-lcd.html or something like it.
It's an always on display with ultra low power consumption for static displays, so I think that is what they basis of the e-paper name. Seems a little dubious to me, but the watch still is very neat.
This is basically the best of both worlds approach. The getting your cake and get to eat it too: you get the capital AND keep all of your equity, with a healthy dose of knowing the demand of your product before beginning your first run.
There are clearly some people attracting angel or a-round sized capital via Kickstarter without giving up _any_ equity or control. This, the ZPM espresso machine guys, Wasteland2 - surely at least some VCs and angels are viewing those as "lost opportunities"?
I wonder if we'll start seeing "zero cash, very small equity" deals from firms like YC, for people using _other_ means of fund raising?
Good luck!
Any Kickstarter bonuses for the early inPulse adopters?
I think the reduced profile of the Pebble along with the increased battery life will be an absolute game changer. I hope to wear my pebble all the time.
Also looks like there's a "hacker" package available too which includes a prototype and early SDK access.
My wishes for a product like this:
1) built in apps should be as polished and optimized and biotin apps so its truly ready to go for the majority.
2) app functionality I've long wanted:
- I hope it comes standard with caller id app - weather feed - email notification as id like
Basically a subset of my smartphone features on my wrist.
Customizability wise, id love to be able to have an interface to build a dashboard.maybe someone will create a Web app that I can create my own data feeds and publish into an app on my watch.
Good luck, look forward to seeing it when it comes out!
I'm curious to hear what they are like...
disclaimer: I too succumbed to the Pebble deal on Kickstarter... Moooaaar gadgets!!
01:36 in the video.
Can someone please enlighten me?
Designed products fall into creativity.
But pretty much everything else is under NDA, unfortunately.
I would loooove to see a watch like this integrate NFC as well that could be used in applications. Think PKI in NFC on your wrist. Want to get in your office, dorm room, car? Just hold your watch up to the handle and it unlocks.
* It requires regular charging -- at least once a week, according to the kickstart page. Who wants more cables dangling from the desk or night table? Who wants to keep remembering to charge one more device?
* Apps for this watch are necessarily inferior to those already available for smartphones. (Indeed, the whole point of modern smartphones is that they 'appify' specialized devices like this watch.) Who wants to carry an extra device?
Instead of simplifying my life, this watch would make it more complex!
I'm... not really sure what to say.
A lot of people that read HN are bored at work.
The charging part is the #1 problem for me. I would buy a device which could be extracted from the wristband (ala ipod mini) and would not require cables (ie with a charging mat). I would even pay a premium for a device which would not have me remove it from my wrist for charging (don't know how it can be done, but it should!)
Having to care about battery life is just adding complexity for minor advantages compared to a standard dumb watch, therefore I'm not buying it, but please do not discard such arguments just because of some "negativity at work" theory.
Complex electronic devices need energy, most cheaply obtained from your wall. Radios specifically use a lot of energy, making regular watch batteries a poor value proposition.
I guess I've accepted that Kickstarter projects aren't going to change the fundamental laws of physics or invent something like a battery-size nuclear reactor for their project, so I don't get upset when an electronic gadget needs to be powered. That's all.
Without changing the law of physics, an eink device whose main function is to display time should be designed to work between 6 to 12 months on a single charge or battery (CR2025 and the likes) to get my money.
If it can't do that and have a fancy CPU and a fancy radio, remove the radio, use an AVR, whatever it takes.
Alternatively, an inductive charging mat were you can lay your wrist while typing or a device that can be removed from the wristband (like an ipod mini) doesn't seem impossible with todays tech.
That's just a watch. The e-ink adds no real value if you can't do interesting things with it. If this were "just" an e-ink display mimicking a mechanical watch, I'd personally rather an actual mechanical watch.
I'm hoping that much like how I don't for a second resent having to charge my smartphone every night in return for all the "extra stuff" it does over my perhaps once a week recharge requirements from my last non-smart phone, that this thing will do "new stuff" that makes it worth charging every night, and also happen to be a perfectly functional watch as well. (Much like my phone isn't so much a "phone" these days, its a "pocket web browser / email client / twitter client / gps mapper / casual game device" which also happens to make phone calls.)
IMHO, a smart watch can have a place, if only as a fashion accessory, as long as it doesn't add too much burden to the daily routine.
Look at how many people are still wearing watches around you and ask them why they do that when they have a smartphone - [and that's just without the charging burden]. You may be surprised: around me it either to look good or to still have time when the smartphone has been fully discharged.
For Saint-Exupery, perfection is not reached when every feature has been added but when any unnecessary feature has been removed.
IMHO daily charging and advanced features should both be removed or made as easy as possible for a true smartwatch success.
Then I would get very excited at a eink watch similar to the seiko SGDA003 but selling at a fraction of the price - especially if it was made of a good quality titanium alloy.
Added value is in the eyes of the purchaser : IIRC the Seiko sells for $1000 and doesn't do anything fancy : they just looks great (the display is gorgeous) and are rumored to be tough to damage.
Apparently such basic features justify enough value for the pricetag. Removing the radio and the power-hungry cpu, then aiming at a $200 pricetag with a device looking as good as the seiko should be possible - and I'd buy one!
But it seems like the company went into another direction, aiming at geeks who wants many additional toy functions (untested market) compared to the actual buyers of eink watches (tested market) who want something lees expansive, better looking and maybe also more open.
I'd have gone to the market were a dump watch selling at 1000k is flying of the shelves. http://www.seiko.fr/la_collection/collection_plus_info.php?c...
You charge your phone and your bluetooth handsfree. But would you also charge your watch? And your glasses? And other gizmos?
I think many people will be quickly fed up and just stil to charging the device that helps them the most (here: the smartphone) and replace the others by dumber and power-efficient devices.
You mean Jonathan Ive. Sorry, Albert Einstein. Wait, was that Graham Bell? Or Leonardo da Vinci? Maybe Mies Van Der Rohe? Damn.
FWIW, I meant my comment to be constructive: this watch would be a more compelling proposition for me if (1) it had much longer (say, one-year) battery life, and (2) it offered functionality (other than its smaller form factor) not available or difficult to implement on a smartphone.
Judging by your and others' reactions, I should have written my comment differently. Thank you for the feedback.
To me, this thing _isn't_ a watch, in the same way a smartphone isn't a phone - they occupy the same space as a cellphone/watch and they replicate all the functionality of what they're displacing, but they do _so_ much more as well. Would I give up my "whole internet in my pocket" that i get with my smartphone in return for going back to only charging my dumb-phone once a week instead of every night? _Hell no!_
Having said that, I do wonder whether I need _another_ smart" device to add at the bottom of the colo/cloudaccounts/homeserver/desktop/laptop/tablet/smartphone device chain. I didn't _think_ I "needed" my iPad when I bought it, I thought it would just be a cute tech-toy, but it's become an indispensable enough part of my life that I'd replace it the same day I lost/damaged it. It _may_ be that this "watch" carves out and fills some new niche in my life that nobody is really sure what shape it is (or even if it exists).
It _might_ end up being another gadget gathering dust in the drawer, it might like my Apple Newton be an idea a decade ahead of it's time, but it might also be a game changing new device category. For ~$100 I'll accept those odds. (I've certainly "wasted" that sort of money on far less worthwhile stuff in the past…)