With health tracking and VR gaming stealing wearable tech headlines at CES 2015 so far, smart jewellery has to do something special to get noticed. If it delivers, LookSee could be pretty special. It’s a bracelet that connects to iPhones via Bluetooth to display images and notifications on the curved, E Ink display. Android support is in the works.
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The always on screen shows images and notifications, which can be filtered via keyword, in black, grey and white. The companion LookSee app also includes a library of patterns and photography to customise the look of the bracelet. LookSee Labs’ website states that the bracelet can display text, photos, clockfaces, maps, QR codes and boarding passes. From the app, you can also send images to another LookSee though it’s not clear whether the e-ink screen has touch functionality to interact with what’s being displayed.
Thanks to that E Ink screen, LookSee Labs quotes one year of battery life on a single charge with an update once per hour. Updating every ten minutes, the life of the unspecified lithium polymer unit drops to a still impressive two months. When the battery runs out, the bracelet displays the most recent image pushed to the device until charged.
We don’t have any firm dimensions or materials yet but the display is described as ‘ultra-thin’. The whole thing is water resistant, but not fully waterproof, and there are small, medium and large sizes available. You can currently register your interest on the LookSee Labs site.
LookSee Labs CEO Per Ljung said at a recent demo: “We have been standardised into using these little black boxes but we are not standard. We believe it’s time for technology to reflect and empower our individuality.”
The LookSee reminds us of Sony’s stylish FES watch which has a customisable e-paper strap. Both these devices tap into the idea of personalising fashion accessories with tech, sure to be a crucial area for wearables in 2015.