The smartwatch market is increasing with every new release, and newly released smartwatches seem to be coming out every week. But most new smartwatches seem to have one thing in common – none of them really work to eliminate the need for a smartphone. They all seem to work in conjunction with a smartphone, and are essentially notifications devices for your smartphone. While we might not see a mainstream device that will completely replace the smartphone for a while, we should at least see a device that completely eliminates the need to take it out at all – you could leave it in your bag or pocket and never need to take it out. That’s what the HOT Watch by PHTL aims to do.
Not only is the HOT Watch one of the first smartwatches to be able to offer all the features that it does, but it also recently smashed past its funding goal of $150,000 and ended up raising a total of $616,231! Not a small amount of money by any means!
The thing about the HOT watch is that it essentially turns your wrist into a phone, and it allows for you to not have to take your phone out for almost anything, including taking phone calls. This is more than a lot of other “smartwatches” can say. Many of them don’t even include a microphone.
The HOT Watch is not only able to take phone calls, but it can also send and receive text messages, and even includes support for some smartphone apps. Furthermore, it allows integration with your social media apps, mostly for their messaging features, and it also includes an SDK for custom apps for the device. And, of course, the watch can tell the time.
Unfortunately the device is not completely a standalone device, and it does require a Bluetooth connection with your smartphone. However that smartphone can be up to 20-30 feet away, so it will definitely be able to reside in a bag or pocket while you access all your notifications and messages on your smartwatch.
The HOT Watch also includes a number of hardware features that could come in handy for a variety of different applications, such as fitness tracking. The device includes an accelerometer and gyroscope and so using the device for all your fitness tracking needs will not be unheard of, though it may not be able to track your heart rate. It also features Bluetooth 4.0, which will come in handy for energy conservation.
Not only is the device quite powerful, but it is also slim and compact, and rather sleek and stylish. It also comes in 4 different models – Curve, Basic, Classic and Edge, with the models being priced a little differently. Each model of the watch is also waterproof, although the rating at which it is water resistant is still to be announced.
The HOT Watch is on a strict timeline, and is currently undergoing final touches on the hardware and software. It is expected to ship in December of this year. As mentioned before, the watch has already undergone crowd funding and reached over $616,000. When compared to its funding goal of $150,000, that’s a lot of money! Who knows, we could see the HOT Watch on a shelf at our electronics stores in the near future!
