With two weeks to go, Vachen Smartwatch has achieved 66% of its $100,000 Kickstarter crowd funding campaign goal. Catering to both iOS and Android smartphone users, the bluetooth connected, wifi enabled smartwatch is hoping for a last minute subscriber rally so that its unique feature set can join the ranks of wearable computing devices currently vying for that coveted bare spot on your wrist. Good luck Vachen smartwatch!
Drawing inspiration from Apple’s 6th Generation iPod Nano, the Vachen smartwatch presents a classical wristwatch design, substituting a 1.54″, 240×240 resolution, TFT LCD, 65k color, touch panel display for the traditional dial. Contrary to most of its competitors, the watch also boasts integrated 2.4 GHz wifi in addition to the standard bluetooth connection. This is an interesting touch as it will allow the Vachen smartwatch to function independently of the user’s connected smartphone. The lack of wifi integration has been a common complaint about many smartwatch offerings currently on the market as it requires the watch to be constantly tethered to a smartphone for it to function. Inclusion of wifi cuts that tether. Power is supplied via a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, claiming 48 hours of usage or 120 hours of standby and is replenished by micro USB connected to a charger or to the user’s computer.
The Vachen smartwatch will possess standard functions currently available on comparable smartwatches, such as downloadable watch faces, call, SMS, and email notification, stopwatch and timer functions, a compass, altimeter, pedometer, moon and tide graphs, and Google calendar integration. What is unique to the Vachen is its action control for smart tv. Although we have not observed this functionality as of yet, we assume that it will allow the user to, at a minimum, control channel selection and volume level on connected smart tvs. While seemingly a simple task to incorporate such home automation technology into a current generation smartwatch, it has yet to be officially offered by any other manufacturer. The only similar installation so far has been on the Pebble Smartwatch by makr.co with their proof-of-concept home automation hack. We have been waiting for such technology to be developed and integrated into a shipping smartwatch and hope that this implementation will be as seamless and successful as possible.
Interested in picking up a Vachen smartwatch at a reduced pre-order price? Well then mash the link and head on over to Kickstarter to pick one up for a cool $169 before the retail price kicks in.
Source
Vachen Smartwatch: [Company Website]
