A Chicago-based design firm has beaten Apple to the punch in capturing the market for iPod wristwatches.
We’ll give him credit: Steve Jobs had previously mentioned the possibility of turning a 6th generation iPod Nano into a wristwatch back in September. But unfortunately for him, the iPod watch is already well on its way to market and it’s not Apple behind the idea. Minimal, a design firm based in Chicago, already has a hit on its hand with an iPod wristwatch design even before the company has sent off its initial shipments.
To date, Minimal has received over $600,000 in pledged backing through Kickstarter, a website that crowd sources funding for projects, to design and manufacture kits that convert Apple’s latest iPod Nano into a futuristic multi-touch wristwatch that would make Dick Tracey jealous (ok, until there’s an iPhone Nano, you probably wont’ be able to make calls from your wristwatch).
The project originally set a goal of $15,000 for funding through Kickstarter. And according to Scott Wilson, founder of Minimal, the iPod watch is the first Kickstarter project to surpass $500,000 in funding.
Minimal plans to sell two variations of conversions kits: the Tik-Tok and the LunaTik. The Tik-Tok kit is the basic version while the LunaTik is the high-end model offering higher quality materials. Both kits will allow purchasers to snap iPod Nanos (iPod Nanos not included) into a dock that can then be worn around a wrist just as easily as a watch. Apple even had the foresight to include a full screen analog clock display as a feature of the iPod Nano.
Kickstarter is accepting funding contributions until December 16. A pledge of $25 will count as a pre-order for a Tik-Tok kit and a $50 contribution will get you a LunaTik kit. If you pledge $70, you’ll get both. That’s a deep discount from what you can expect to pay retail: the Tik-Tok is slated to sell for $34.95 and the LunaTik for $69.95.
Unfortunately, the kits won’t be ready for Christmas. Minimal says it hopes to begin shipping the Tik-Tok to backers by the end of this month with the LunaTik to follow in January.
