Omate's Different Take On The Smartwatch Generates $260k On Kickstarter In Two Days
Kickstarters seem to love smartwatches, and the latest one to emerge and quickly rack up thousands in crowdfunding is the Omate TrueSmart. At first blush it seems completely uncompelling to see yet another smartwatch crop up, but this one is a completely different take on the concept, which could set it apart from the numerous competitors on the market.
The Omate TrueSmart is essentially a smartphone on your wrist; almost every other smartwatch venture, from other Kickstarter-backed projects such as the Pebble to impending designs from juggernauts Apple and Samsung, is more of a second screen for your smartphone.
That’s all well and good--being able to leave your phone in your pocket and answer phone calls and perform other activities with a wrist-mounted device is great. But the Omate TrueSmart--though it can function in tandem with a smartphone--is its own beast.
The smartwatch runs on a dual-core Cortex A7 (1.3GHz) processor with Android 4.2.2 (and a special Omate UI), 4GB of onboard storage (expandable to 32GB with a microSD card), GPS, 5MP camera, speaker, microphone, and a 1.54-inch (240x240) LG TFT multi-touch capacitive screen. For networking, it has a microSIM card and sports 2G GSM, 3G WCDMA HSPA, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0.
The 600 mAh battery promises 100 hours of standby time, and there’s a G-sensor, e-compass, gyroscope, and IP67 waterproofing. The device has a handy SMS/MMS/email/SNS messaging hub as well as a smattering of Android apps such as Facebook and other commonly-used apps.
And of course, it tells time. The group behind the project was looking for $100,000 in crowdsourced funds, which it quickly surpassed. Currently, the amount pledged stands at $262,163 and counting, with 27 days to go.
The Omate TrueSmart is essentially a smartphone on your wrist; almost every other smartwatch venture, from other Kickstarter-backed projects such as the Pebble to impending designs from juggernauts Apple and Samsung, is more of a second screen for your smartphone.
That’s all well and good--being able to leave your phone in your pocket and answer phone calls and perform other activities with a wrist-mounted device is great. But the Omate TrueSmart--though it can function in tandem with a smartphone--is its own beast.
The smartwatch runs on a dual-core Cortex A7 (1.3GHz) processor with Android 4.2.2 (and a special Omate UI), 4GB of onboard storage (expandable to 32GB with a microSD card), GPS, 5MP camera, speaker, microphone, and a 1.54-inch (240x240) LG TFT multi-touch capacitive screen. For networking, it has a microSIM card and sports 2G GSM, 3G WCDMA HSPA, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0.
The 600 mAh battery promises 100 hours of standby time, and there’s a G-sensor, e-compass, gyroscope, and IP67 waterproofing. The device has a handy SMS/MMS/email/SNS messaging hub as well as a smattering of Android apps such as Facebook and other commonly-used apps.
And of course, it tells time. The group behind the project was looking for $100,000 in crowdsourced funds, which it quickly surpassed. Currently, the amount pledged stands at $262,163 and counting, with 27 days to go.
