Building Your Own Smartwatch Could be THIS Easy
Hey, Goldilocks! We know, we know, this smartwatch is tooooo athletic. And this smartwatch has toooo many bells and whistles you don’t need. And this one is just toooo… not cute enough. We may not be as picky as you, but everyone’s dealing with smartwatch option overload at this point. If you’re still on the hunt for the wrist wearable that’s juuuust right, we’re about to hook you up with one you can soon design yourself: Blocks.
Inspired by Google’s Project Ara, which will make it easy to create a customizable smartphone, a UK team set out to fulfill the same dream for smartwatches. Forget the myriad options — Blocks is a modular wearable you can build to be totally personalized with (what else?!) “blocks.” Snap on exactly what you want and change or upgrade any time.
Training for a half marathon? Add the heart rate block, an activity tracker, an audio jack for all those workout playlists and top it off with a simpler screen.
Crazy into camping? Use a GPS block as your compass, a camera to snap pics of all that scenery, an energy-saving e-ink screen and an extra battery to conserve juice while you’re in the wild.
Want to look cool at SXSW? Pick the sweetest screen and add gesture control, a spot for your SIM card, plus a microphone block to record notes and dictate Tweets.
Once Blocks launches, you’ll be able to build your dream smartwatch in the Blocks Store, their online marketplace that will let you customize down to the color of your band and what apps you want. Blocks is an open platform so companies and individual developers will be welcome to fill it up similar to Pebble’s new app store.
This awesome idea is still in the development stage so you can sign up on their site now for updates on progress and eventual availability. GoldeeLox86 [at] fairytale [dot] net…
Do you and Goldi have a lot in common when it comes to wearables? How would YOU build your Blocks watch?