Kairos Mechanical Smart Watch Hybrid - the shape of things to come?

[soundood]

its getting close, soon we will see a Rolex/Omega/insert high end brand here, Hybrid watch along these lines, I must admit I like it and I am seriously thinking of pre-ordering one.

what do you think guys and gals?

pre-order here - www.kairoswatches.com

[PJ S]

what do you think guys and gals?

It's crap – nice music and rendered video withstanding!
A watch does not now, nor ever need to be, part of any aspect of product convergence.
It's one thing to make a phone into a camera phone, and another to allow it to connect to the internet and car to play music, etc – but I'll be buggered if I can figure out any useful aspect to having a watch you need to plug into the mains to recharge a battery, just so that you read shite about someone "famous" having a sandwich for their lunch!

Mind you, I did manage to abstain for a fair while when both the iPhone and the iPad were originally launched, but ended up succumbing to them – let me know when Seiko introduce the Grand Seiko model, and I'll maybe think about joining the revolution at that point.
'Til then…….."No deal, Noel!"

[hellominky]

It's definetly clever, but I can't help thinking a bit pointless to combine the technologies. I presume it needs charging daily so why have an auto movement when you could incorporate the power source for the computer gubbins inside?

I realise that is completely missing the point of the artistry involved but I can't help thinking its like having a fancy dan jet fighter plane that still uses morse code.

[Meinessex]

.....so why have an auto movement when you could incorporate the power source for the computer gubbins inside?

Err..... So you can still tell the time after your battery has died?

No matter how fancy these smartwatches get, telling the time has got to be their primary function hasn't it?

Its a great idea to have a hybrid, but I think personally I will wait until they come out with a version that doesn't need charging at all, and will run all its smartwatch functions either from an automatic movement or from solar. I just don't need another gadget that needs charging everyday.

[Broussard]

Offering upgrades from $99 is interesting. Is this the first of the Sandbender-style #smartwatches?

[Space Traveller]

I saw the video for this, and was tempted, but kickstarter stuff worries me, especially when you see what a mess Hyetis are making of their PR and communicating with people.

[Eoin]

I quite like it. They claim 5-7 days battery life for the electronic part of it. It could end up being a whopper size; their concept pics say that the size may change in production. I still can't think of a use I'd have for it though.

[TikTokTrev]

In my eyes it's neither fish nor fowl.....doubtless very clever, but why bother with hybrid.

[Henk Hoving]

Nope, thanks, I'll pass.

[Umbongo]

Somewhere down the line, the products' electrical power source would inevitably become smaller and more refined and the automatic movement could be used to provide charge for the battery.
I think that people who put on the fear blinkers and completely rule out future big watch brand involvement in such projects are ignoring history and possibly in for a shock/surprise.
It would only take one of the big boys to rise to the challenge and, if the thing sold in any significant number, there'd be a following of suit from many of the others I think - watch houses hate to be outdone by one another...

[Seamaster73]

I'm reminded of something Steve Jobs once said about the key to good design being devices that are "true to themselves".

This one's a non-starter for that reason alone.

[Meinessex]

There were rumours a while back that the Apple watch was going to be a hybrid, so I suspect when it finally comes, the iWatch will be something like this.

Combine that rumour with other stories coming out, such as Apple trying to poach staff from companies such as Hublot, its not a big leap to assume that maybe Apple will be using the same movements as Hublot? What else do Hublot have that Apple could possibly want?

[Umbongo]

There were rumours a while back that the Apple watch was going to be a hybrid, so I suspect when it finally comes, the iWatch will be something like this.

Combine that rumour with other stories coming out, such as Apple trying to poach staff from companies such as Hublot, its not a big leap to assume that maybe Apple will be using the same movements as Hublot? What else do Hublot have that Apple could possibly want?

Designers. Wealthy customer base. Brand ambassadors. Image.
It wouldn't be the oddest coupling out there...

[Seamaster73]

There were rumours a while back that the Apple watch was going to be a hybrid, so I suspect when it finally comes, the iWatch will be something like this. Combine that rumour with other stories coming out, such as Apple trying to poach staff from companies such as Hublot, its not a big leap to assume that maybe Apple will be using the same movements as Hublot? What else do Hublot have that Apple could possibly want?

If Apple's watch is even remotely like that, I'll bare my arse in Fenwicks' window.

[gamingdave]

I think there are some good ideas here.

The idea that the watch part will function even if the battery for the digital has run flat is a bonus. Being separate also means you can always glance at the time without either having to have the digital display on all the time (which would be a battery drain) or by interacting with the watch.

Committing to allowing the electronic brains to be upgradable with a service at a reasonable cost it a definate bonus. Though without it a smart watch of this cost would be outdated too quickly considering its price.

Of course the dual functionality comes at a cost of increased size.

I'm not a big fan of the design of the watch itself so wouldn't be looking to order and would definitely need to see how well the screen works and if it is bright enough for use outdoor and also doesn't blur/mask the viewing of the watch underneath when not engaged. It's also too big for me, both diameter and height, which i could see increasing at least in it's first incarnation.

It's an interesting space though and I can definitely see myself with one at some point, probably to wear on my right wrist whilst still wearing a traditional watch on my left. The wrist is a perfect place for notifications (email, sms, social, diary alerts and alarms) as well as navigation data and media playback controls. I'm not going to surf the web on one but there are plenty of times in the day I take my phone out my pocket when a glance at my wrist would suffice.

[RobinMasters]

I'm struggling to work out who this would appeal to. The problem with normal smartwatches is that they look gimmicky, geeky, and childish. I don't see that this solves that.

[Eoin]

I imagine it's aimed at people who would like a normal-ish looking watch with the "smart" stuff as a feature, rather than a wrist computer with a clock display.

[KAS118]

I can't see the point when your phone does the 'smart' bit and your watch tells you the time

[Eoin]

I can't see the point when your phone does the 'smart' bit and your watch tells you the time

Well yes, I'm struggling to find a use for it in general.

But there could well be a large amount of people who actually do want the functionality but with a form factor that's much closer to a normal analogue watch.

If the price wasn't so high, maybe someone who would consider the likes of a Tissot T-Touch etc. I'm sure most of those people have a phone that can do all the watch can - and more - yet clearly there's already a demand to have it in their watch.

[christech81]

Bit late to the party here but I've just read about this watch and watched the video ... Wow! The computer style design is funky.

Is it real? It looks like a concept or idea rather than pre production, especially as they are accepting discounted pre-orders.

I like it!

[GrandS]

Don't like the watch, messy with flimsy lugs. The other stuff, well, they can keep that too. Awful website.

[Filterlab]

Dreadful website which seems to use all the features Adobe Muse has to offer, interesting watch though.

Don't know why but I expected it to be more like the Bvlgari watch on Minority Report (which was cool):

[Broussard]

Always been amazed that they managed to get away with that... Surely Omega would have got just a *little* bit grumpy?

EDIT - seems they didn't (get away with it). OOC settlement, according to a quick Google.

Don't know why but I expected it to be more like the Bvlgari watch on Minority Report (which was cool):