Wearable tech is a rapidly evolving industry with lots of potential, especially when it comes to smartwatches. FMTwo Game saw the opportunity to create a product for a niche market – gamers – and seized it, creating what they describe as “the first smartwatch for gamers”: the Gameband.
Although their kickstarter might have started out with a lofty goal of $75K, FMTwo were able to secure funding in less than a day, with the total amount raised currently sitting at almost double the original goal. Gameband is a smartwatch with smart design, combining Atari classics like Pong, and indie hit Terraria with a sophisticated modern interface. Designed by Matter Global, it promises great durability, advanced functionality, an intelligent storage system which uses a Micro SD Slot, and more:
- 1.6″ Square AMOLED 320 x 320
- Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100
- 512MB RAM, 4GM ROM (EMMC)
- 3-axis Accelerometer, Gyro Sensor, Light Sensor
- Wifi 802.11 b/g/n Dual Band, Bluetooth 4.2
- 400mAh Battery
- Micro SD Slot + USB Type-C
In terms of software, Gameband will be running on Android Marshmallow 6.0.1, and come pre-loaded with the following apps:
- Calendar
- Contacts
- Phone Dialer
- Weather
- Alarm
- Alexa (voice AI)
- Music player
Those interested can back the project today. Starting from $149 (the early bird $99 tier is no longer available) you can score yourself a Gameband, Atari or Terraria edition of the smartwatch.
The hybrid niche of ‘classic meets modern’ seems to be gaining a lot of momentum as of late, with the announcement of hardware such as the Super Retro Boy and even Super Nintendo themed sneakers. Watch this space.
