Vector, the smartwatch with a 30-day battery, will arrive in September
Vector is seeking to stand out in the competitive smartwatch market through its battery life: while the Apple Watch can't go 24 hours without a charge, Vector watches have a battery that lasts 30 days.
The watches also have a more classic watch look than other connected timepieces, using higher-end materials such as stainless steel, sapphire glass, and tactile leather straps. Steve Jarvis, who worked on the Nike Fuelband, oversaw the design.
The startup wanted to make a genuine watch, rather than a small screen that users stick on their wrist and connect to their smartphones.
"You need to look at it and say: this is a watch, it's not a smartwatch. And then it can be smart," Vector's CEO Joe Santana told ZDNet recently.
Unlike other smartwatches on the market right now, Vector watches have a black-and-white screen, which isn't touch-sensitive. The watch features fitness apps like calorie counting, distance and step tracking, as well as sleep monitoring, and notifications can be discarded with a 90-degree flick of the wrist. The watches are also water resistant to a depth of 50m and can be paired with iOS, Android, and Windows Phone handsets.
Limited edition versions of Vector's round-faced Luna and square-faced Meridian can be pre-ordered until June 19. They come with the option of a nylon or leather strap, and a matte black or brushed gunmetal casing. The Meridian is priced at $199, while the Luna is available for $349.
The company has registered orders from all over the world since it opened up its pre-sales channel in March, with the US, UK, and Australia taking the lead. Those who have preordered the limited edition watches can expect to see them arriving in August.
This week, the company revealed its full collection of Vector Watches - encompassing 12 different models - will be sold in the US, UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Romania from September, and the prices for different editions of the smartwatch will be confirmed in the coming weeks, the startup told ZDNet.
Tech specs for the Vector watches have yet to be revealed.
The smartwatch industry will skyrocket this year, according to GfK . The German research institute estimates that 26.1 million units will be sold this year, compared to just four million in 2014. Vector's Santana told ZDNet that the company hopes to sell around 400,000 smartwatches during the first year.
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