Several tech titans including Google have been testing modular devices, although the latest one is a British startup company that recently raised $250,000 on the Kickstarter crowdfunding site, to develop a modular smartwatch. The new "Blocks" wrist wearable includes functions on basic smart watches such as color touchscreen, voice control, and phone notifications, but module add-ons snap in to add extra features including heart rate monitoring, GPS support, and extra battery.
Many fans of smart timepieces will be satisfied with the base model's features including activity tracking. For others, extra bells and whistles such as Near Field Communication (NFC) support; and tracking of temperature, air pressure, and altitude is available via special modules, according to PC Mag.
The Blocks modular smartwatch contains a Snapdragon 400 chip, 512 megabytes of RAM, 4 gigabytes of storage, a 400 milliampere hour (mAh) battery, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support. It also includes a microphone and accelerometer.
The new intelligent watch also includes a circular 1.35-inch touch screen with 360 pixels x 360 pixels resolution. Color options include black, red, and white.
Blocks can run as a standalone device. However, it will also operate on mobile OS platforms including Android 4.0 and above, iOS 8 and above, and Windows Phone.
Shoppers who want to just try out the new wearables tech will have to shell out a $195 pledge for the Blocks core and a basic strap. A few early-bird options are still available. They include $275 and $285 pledges to customize the wrist wearable with four modules.
The startup has shared that it will roll out the modules gradually. Developers will also have the ability to build new and exciting modules.
Blocks' startup watchmaker wants to be avant-garde. Instead of producing a "one-size-fits-all" smartwatch, it hopes to give consumers the power to build a customized watch.
Blocks is certainly a one-of-a-kind wearable. However, while the high-end Apple Watch shipped over 4 million units (three-quarters of the worldwide smartwatch market share) during its first quarter after launch, it was far from iPhones' sales figures, according to CNET.
The Blocks modular smartwatch is scheduled to ship in May. That will be for early Kickstarter supporters.