The Tago Arc bracelet’s Indiegogo campaign ended in March with 261 percent of its funding goal. Maybe a lot of significant others saw the genius here. Why? Because it’s like a hundred bracelets in one. Released by Liber8 Technology, Tago Arc is a wide bangle with an e-ink surface that you can change at the tap of an app.
The idea is this: Buy a pic from the shop in the Tago app, put your phone on your bracelet, tap “transfer,” and voila! — the bracelet changes to the selected image. It works via NFC transfer, so it doesn’t need cords or charging (ever). No dying batteries, no Bluetooth pairing, no ports. It draws energy from the phone during the transfer. At the moment, the team is working on getting the transfer time down to one to three seconds from 15 seconds.
The display is a 16-“color” grayscale with 150 ppi. The band comes in gold, silver, and black. The stretch goal was colored silicone cases to change the edging from the three original choices.
The designs are all black and white, but creators can upload more designs via the app marketplace, so at least there will be a lot of black and white options. Users can take photos and upload them for use as a design. Some art will be free; others will have limited charges. For instance, Liber8 is in the process of negotiating with Budapest-based fashion house Mason Marquise to design a series of patterns for the Tago, to sell for $20 a pop.
The Tago community app is still in the beta phase, but will be live before the first shipments go out to backers in December. There, approved designs uploaded by members of the community will sell for a buck or five. Creators can get 40 percent of the sales on their art.
The community is just that — it allows for sharing, and likes, uploads and downloads of images, and of course comments, just like any other social media community. At this point you have to drop Liber8 tech an email to join, but that may change as the application is finalized.
One other small caveat: It’s Android only. But on the bright side, Liber8 is looking at the various ways this tech could be applied to other products and platforms. This writer can’t wait until she can change the print on her car to match the scratches.
