MetaWatch and ex-Vertu designer Frank Nuovo announce a 'beautiful' smartwatch brand

Back in 2012, several ex-Fossil employees formed MetaWatch, a company that specializes in smartwatches. Its first wearable gadgets, the Strata and the Frame, were crowdfunded on Kickstarter and gained a decent market share, despite the fact that they were not-so-visually-appealing.

The company announced the launch of Meta – a subsidiary of MetaWatch, result of a collaboration between the parent company and Frank Nuovo, former lead designer of Nokia's Vertu line of luxurious mobile phones. The philosophy behind Meta is called “Art of the Glance” and its purpose is to produce a wearable device that will not only look good, but will also show the most vital information within a glance, allowing your smartphone to stay in your pocket. The focus is on the exterior, so the company has ditched cheap plastics for stainless steel encasings and genuine leather wristbands. The Meta premium watch is said to be much more comfortable to wear than any of its rivals.

Little is known about the software features of the Meta smartwatch at the moment. It is highly probable that the new company will use a modified version of MetaWatch's platform, though. This platform, which can be found on the Strata and Frame smartwatches, proved to be quite energy-efficient. What's more, for the sake of better readability in direct sunlight and even better power efficiency, the Meta's display will utilize the e-ink technology but will have a higher resolution than the displays of MetaWatch's wearables.

The Meta smartwatch is expected to hit the shelves at Best Buy sometime this spring. However, there is no official information about the pricing of the exquisite gadget.

source: Meta via The Verge (1, 2)