There is a new player on the smartwatch market today. Olio, which bills itself as a “boutique watch company,” today announced the Olio Model One smartwatch that combines “top of the line materials and craftsmanship typically found in high‐end Swiss watches, with a unique user experience designed to save you time by curating and organizing your digital life.”
“Olio’s Model One is the antithesis of a mass market product, produced to be everything to everyone. Olio was founded to create thoughtfully crafted products for the discerning individual who wants the latest technology, but on their own terms,” said Steve Jacobs, founder and CEO of Olio Devices. “What’s more, we understand that the wrist is a very personal, intimate space, and anything you do there needs to have a purpose.”
Much as Pebble is proposing to do with its new Time user interface, the Olio Model One will organize various notifications into a time-based format consisting of two streams: earlier and later. The former will show you past notifications while the latter will help you plan the rest of your day. Olio’s glanceable and swipeable interface promises to make it easy to manage all these notifications. It also promises to learn about your preferences to focus on what’s important and eliminate what you consider a distraction.
Olio’s features include:
- Dynamic Visualizations: Olio’s interface maps the busiest parts your day, making personal bandwidth glanceable, while simultaneously creating a dynamic watchface that is unique you.
- Temporal Streams: Access the right information at the right time, with notifications and information organized into two simple and intuitive time streams — earlier and later.
- Olio Assist: A cloud-based personal assistant that contextualizes and understands your personal preferences to offer insightful and actionable suggestions.
Intelligent Actions: You can dismiss or respond to content with a simple swipe, and even have Olio Assist hold your calls/texts and remind you to respond at a later time. - Control Hub: Control relevant third party products like thermostats, lights, locks, cars, speakers, and services like payments, directions and music without searching or wrestling for your phone.
As for the Olio Model One itself, it will sport a round 47mm case made of 316L stainless steel. Much like the Moto 360, the display is not quite round and sports a black bar at the top.
It will connect to both Android 4.3+ and iOS 8+ devices via Bluetooth (4.0 & LE). It will recharge wirelessly via the Olio Rapid-Charge Coil on the back.
The Olio Model One will launch as a limited edition of 1000 pieces in two collections. The Olio Model 1 Steel Collection will come in polished steel and start at US$595. The Olio Model 1 Black Collection will start at US$745. Each watch will come with a matching steel bracelet or a premium leather strap. Pre-orders started today with shipments set to start this summer.
Olio was founded by Steve Jacobs who has led product development at companies that include Apple, Google, HP and Amazon. The team he has assembled includes talent from companies that include Movado, Pixar and NASA.
Source : Olio devices