Sony Turns To Crowdfunding For Its Stylish Next Smartwatch

Sony has revealed it is working on a new smartwatch, but is looking for crowdfunding support in order to get it released onto the public market.

The Wena Wrist device appeared on Sony’s own First Flight investment site last night, showing off a stylish wearable that looks to offer a different proposition than other devices available today.

First Flight was set up by Sony as an outlet for its employees to publicise and get funding for their own personal projects.

Flexible

A shortened version of ‘wear electronics naturally’, the Wena device looks to differ from many of the other wearable devices currently on the market by packing its technology into the strap, which has been designed by Japanese watchmaker Citizen.

Available in two versions, the Three Hands ($287/£186) and Chronograph ($576/£374) , Sony hopes to raise 10 million yen (£53,500) via its crowdfunding portal before beginning to ship the Wena in March 2016.

Inside, there’s an NFC chip that supports the Japanese FeliCa standard and a battery which should last about a week between charges, and have a lifespan of around three to five years.It also features a seven-color LED for notifications, vibration alerts, fitness tracking and is water resistant down to around 30 meters.

Interestingly, the Wena will only work with Apple phones, as Sony seemingly looks to steer clear of this one. This means it will work with any smartphone or tablet running iOS 8 or above.

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