There’s nothing classy about being sloppy drunk. I don’t care how expensive the champagne was, or how exclusive the club might’ve been; drunk is drunk, and spewing a batch of bubbly barf all over the back seat of a taxi doesn’t make anyone look sophisticated.
This new personal breathalyzer probably won’t keep you from making a fool of yourself, but it might at least help you look somewhat stylish while you climb your way up Drunk Mountain. Aura is definitely one of the snazziest personal breathalyzers we’ve ever come across.
In terms of functionality, there’s really nothing groundbreaking or new going on with this thing. It works just like any other personal breathalyzer you’ve ever seen: You press a button, it gives you a countdown while it starts up, you blow into it for a few seconds, and it spits out a reading on your blood alcohol content. That’s it. No smartphone app to call a cab for you, no Facebook share button to post each BAC reading on your wall, just the important information you need and nothing else.
Functionally it’s pretty bare bones, but aesthetically this thing is nothing short of breathtaking. The team behind Aura wanted to design something that helps you transcend the stigma of being the dude who whips out his breathalyzer at the bar, so they took time to make sure that the device was sleek, compact, and inconspicuous to use.
Measuring just barely over two inches in diameter and half an inch in thickness, Aura can easily slip in and out of a pocket. And thanks to it’s scratch-resistant polycarbonate screen and stainless steel backplate, you’ll never have to worry about damaging it in a drunken stupor.
Underneath the hood, Aura sports a 96×94 pixel white OLED display, with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. That means you’ll get roughly 100 uses out of it on a single charge. The device also boasts the same electrochemical fuel cell sensor technology used by U.S. law enforcement agencies, so you’ll never have to sweat the accuracy of it’s readings.
Aura is currently available for preorder for $200 dollars on its website, which a bit more pricey than other breathalyzers, but still just a fraction of the cost of a DUI.