Since the release of its first E-ink watch in 2007, Art Technology’s Phosphor brand has steadily added a number of wristwatches boasting E-ink display technology like that used in eReaders, such as Amazon’s Kindle. For the latest addition to its range, however, Phosphor has eschewed the E-ink display in favor of an “always on” LCD display with capacitance touchscreen technology that allows access to the watches’ various functions with a swipe or a tap.
Along with standard digital watch features including stopwatch, alarms, world time and calendar functions, the Touch Time also includes a calculator, reminders, phases of the Moon and horoscope functions. All these can be accessed by tapping the relevant icon on the display, with the touch interface replacing the myriad of physical buttons often found on traditional digital watches.
Users can also switch between 14 different watch dial faces, ranging from oversized digital to analog, with a swipe of a finger. There’s also the ability to customize the language displayed, with support for English, French, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, and German.
Like traditional digital watches, the Touch Time is powered by a replaceable coin cell battery, which should keep the “always on” 144 x 168 pixel LCD display with LED backlight running for over a year. The watch is also water resistant up to 30 m (98 ft) and will be offered in a number of different silicone strap and bracelet versions.
Phosphor is seeking funds via Kickstarter to get the Touch Time to production and has already blitzed its US$50,000 goal, raising over $170,000 with 34 days still to go. The minimum pledge remaining to secure a Touch Time watch is $99. However, to score an 18k gold-dipped case Kickstarter special edition you'll need to shell out $499.
The Touch Time Kickstarter video pitch can be viewed below.
Sources: Phosphor via Kickstarter
