Are you satisfied with your regular old watch, but pine for some of those cool features that those new-fangled smartwatches have? One possible way to get the best of both worlds might be Rifft’s CT Band, which, as its name implies, is a watch band with smartwatch capabilities.
All of the necessary components are enclosed within the band, which comes in a variety of styles. All you need to do is detach your current watch strap and attach CT’s, and you’re good to go.
The band was unveiled at CES and will retail for $149; it features a smartphone app compatible with both iOS and Android. The band contains a 3D accelerometer, bluetooth connectivity, and a microphone. Various notifications and data are displayed on a small screen on the watch band itself.
More extensive information is available through the app, which covers health, fitness, and climate data, the company says.
Sensors in the band measure speed of movement and steps, along with heart rate, blood oxygen rate, elapsed activity time, and distance traveled, for health-conscious individuals. Several environmental sensors are also included, such as temperature, humidity, and UV exposure.
The lack of a large screen like your standard smartwatch also helps the CT Band far exceed the battery life of those devices. Rifft is advertising 24 to 48 hours of battery life depending on usage, which is about two to four times the battery life of most major smartwatches on the market. You won’t want to swim with the band, though — Rifft says that the band is just water-resistant for now.
While we’re not sure about an exact time frame for an official launch, the CT Band will be sold both online and through retail partners. Rifft plans to sell it at a variety of retailers including supermarkets, sports shops, and traditional retailers like Walmart and Best Buy. It also plans to sell the CT Band in specialty watch shops, which are an obvious outlet given the product is intended to supplement rather than replace the traditional watch.
