It’s the smartwatch. It’s one of the fastest rising tech devices today. But what if you could build your own smartwatch? Soon, you’ll be able to.
Thanks to a crowdfunding?firm called Kickstarter, you can. Kickstarter helps fund creative products and services, especially in the fields of entertainment and technology. They’ve funded everything from stage plays to video games. Now, it’s backing Blocks Wearable’s first modular smartwatch. This Blocks smartwatch kit includes a round watch face that is the main module. You can clip in other modules that will make up the watch band. This kit offers the same things an already made smartwatch does, like a physical fitness tracker, voice control, and various notifications. It isn’t a one size fits all kind of watch. This watch can be constructed and crafted to fit the needs of the individual building it. This Blocks build-it-yourself smartwatch is backed by Qualcomm and ARM. It’s their processors that most likely power your smart devices. It will run on mobile operating system Android Lollipop. It’s compatible with many Android and Apple products. This smartphone kit contains an extra battery module, GPS module, heart rate monitor, pay at the register availability, and a module that offers everything from temperatures to air pressure. There are two versions of this Block Kickstarter phone.
The core module will cost you $195, or five modules for $80 more. Kickstarter will offer discounts to early buyers. But pack the patience. These kits don’t ship out until May 2016. While the prices are competitive, I’ve seen smartwatches that are $100 or less, and you don’t even have to assemble them. Nonetheless, building your own smartwatch can be fun and educational. I can see parents doing this with their kids to get their handy and creative talents flowing. This can be a tool of learning how today’s technology works and learning different factors of technology. And it does offer the things a regular smartphone does. The people at Kickstarter pride themselves on investing in products that produce creativity. Have they succeeded here?