Petite, pulsing and machined in sleek aluminum, the iNecklace Wearable Electronic Pendant is the newest open source accessory from Adafruit Industries I think will be on every geek - and especially Apple nerd - girl’s wish list.
Luckily, I got to be a beta tester for the stunning aluminum pendant, which sits just at the collarbone on a delicate silver chain and silently pulses with the rhythmic white throb of an Apple power button in ’sleep’ mode.
Like the iCufflinks, the iNecklace default pattern is reverse engineered from the Apple “breathing” LED on Macs, MacBooks, iMacs, and more.
Wearing it to parties was an attention-getter. At August Capital, the mostly male VC and startup partygoers all wanted one for their significant others. Later that weekend while at an EFF cocktail party, discussions raged about Google+ real name policy while passionate arguers stopped to admire the necklace’s smile-inducing glow.
It’s exquisite, delicate and completely beautiful.
The iNecklace finally hit Adafruit’s store yesterday, September 1 and is $75 (two batteries included). It sold out on the first day, but you can sign up for the next available shipment here. The iNecklace will be back in stock on September 7.
The necklace pendant is CNC machined from the finest 6 series aluminum for durability and beauty. The iNecklace is a remarkable accessory. Machined with a “screw in backing” that allows easy access to the battery using a coin.
Each iNecklace pendant contains a circuit board with pulsating LED and battery. The pendant comes strung on a 18″ long sterling silver 1.6mm diamond-cut curb chain that has been treated to inhibit tarnishing. The necklace is placed in a black velveteen box, ready to given as a gift.
Truth be told, I want to get a second one for my cat’s collar. (If only he was that easy to power down.)
They arrived in a small box lined with black velvet, and was glowing when I took it out. I’ll admit that was exciting. It had been running on it battery for over 24 hours. The pendant was powered continuously for another day.
The iNecklace is completely open source. The source code, circuit board files, schematics and CAD files are posted on GitHub. Mod & Hack away! The iNecklace can be reprogrammed to any pattern you’d like.
Before your fancy event, just pop the battery in, screw the backing on and your iNecklace will gently pulsate for up to 72 hours. Each order comes with 2 batteries, one for immediate gratification, and one spare. Simply replace it when the LED is too dim to see.
So many of you loved Adafruit’s original open source iCufflinks (they were released for Father’s Day this year), I had to share the iNecklace as soon as it came out.
Perfect for the Mac enthusiast and lady disruptor. I especially love that they’re made by a lady maker that has done a fair bit of hardware hacking disruption herself, Limor Fried.
Photos courtesy of Adafruit Industries.
