Sony turns to crowdfunding for the launch of this unusual Wena Wrist smartwatch

Whether they have circular, or rectangular designs, all current smartwatches feature touchscreen displays. Sony wants to change this with a brand new smartwatch dubbed Wena Wrist. Revealed in Japan via Sony's own crowdfunding platform (called First Flight), the Wena Wrist could be released as soon as March or April 2016.

The Wena Wrist is different from other smartwatches because, as you may have guessed, it does not have a touchscreen display. In fact, we can't say that it has a display at all, instead offering an analogue watch face akin to those of traditional timepieces. And yet the Wena Wrist is a smartwatch, thanks to the fact that it features an integrated NFC chip for mobile payments, phone notifications (via vibration, or a dedicated LED), and activity tracker (data can be seen via an app, but this is only for iOS devices).

The Wena Wrist watch has two variants, both water-resistant, and both coming in silver or black: Three Hands, and Chronograph (this has dedicated dials for hours, minutes, and seconds). Prices start at about $287, and go up to $576.

If you like the Wena Wrist watch, we have bad news: most probably, the timepiece will be released only in Japan. However, if the Wena is successful there, perhaps Sony will want to launch similar watches in other markets.




source: Wena Wrist (translated) via The Verge, Xperia Blog