Carbon is currently the only watch for charging smartphones. It's being financed through Kickstarter and doubled the initial target of $15,000 in five days
The arrival, implementation and democratisation of smartphones involved the implicit and generalised acceptance of a new premise when understanding the device that connects us to the world and that we carry with us at all times: usually, batteries no longer last more than one day of use. There are a few notable exceptions, which are increasing with each passing month thanks to the combination of Snapdragon 800 or 801 processors in high-end handsets, along with batteries with ever-increasing capacities, more than 3,000 mAh and in some cases, up to 4,000 mAh, as in the case of the handset from the Spanish brand bq, the Aquaris 5.7.
But in general, the experience still isn’t quite what is was in the old days, when our handsets could easily go three or four days without being plugged into the charger. Aware of the problem that this new situation poses in many cases, all types of people in the mobile industry and its satellite sectors have been looking for ways to correct or at least lessen this problem. This includes the people working for the Carbon team, which is trying to create a watch that is able to charge a smartphone.
They start with the idea that a watch is an accessory that was designed to be worn twenty-four hours a day, without taking it off ever, or hardly ever, which eliminates the risk of leaving home without it. They’ve also given Carbon an invisible design to make it discrete when you wear it on your wrist. The solar cell is integrated into its display, so you don’t have to depend solely on connecting it to power to ensure that there is sufficient battery power stored up; Carbon can recharge by solar power and is optimised for both outdoor and indoor settings.
The button that activates or deactivates Carbon’s limited functions is on the edge of the metal box, next to the charge door, and the multicolour LED that shows the battery-charge level, or the small flash that it includes to provide a little light if you need it in the dark.
Carbon is currently looking for financing on Kickstarter during the month of May in order to produce it commercially. At this point, it functions with a very large number of devices, not just smartphones, and is also water-resistant. In the first five days of the campaign, it doubled its initial target of 15,000 dollars, so you’ll have to keep your eye on this product to see if it can maintain the interest that it attracted in this first round. Will we be seeing coworkers and friends with watches like the Carbon anytime soon?
