The Blocks smartwatch, which has the distinction of being the first modular wearable device, was a huge success on Kickstarter, reaching $1.2 million in crowdfunding. They will now be heading to the US and they are partnering with AT&T who will be their official carrier in the country. They also have several new agreements and partnerships, bringing even more customizable options for those who want their smartwatches to become their own creation (well, sort of).
Aside from the AT&T deal, they have also struck deals with several companies to bring more options should the features they offer is something you need or will appeal to you. You can have an advanced heart rate monitoring module which includes a tai-led pulse sensor, courtesy of Pixar Imaging. BioConnect Entertech Systems will enable your smartwatch to have Biometric Authentication through a fingerprint module. Design-wise, they’ve also struck a deal with British luxury jeweler, Tateossian for customizable and removable covers for your wearable.
What’s great about Blocks is that, aside from being modular, it is open platform so that means anyone can develop modules for it. The first phase has already started, bringing in these consumer and enterprise companies into the fold, as evidenced by the deals struck with the aforementioned brands. The second wave will start after the first shipment of products, scheduled for May of next year, and this will be opening up public access for even more variety of modules.
This open design, open hardware, and open software platform is truly innovative for this brand, and given that they reached their $250,000 funding goal in just 56 minutes and then $1 million in just a week, it looks like a lot of people need a smartwatch like this. Let’s see when the actual device hits the market whether or not people will be truly satisfied.
VIA: Talk Android
