Smarty Ring promises technology at your fingertips

A new smart ring which displays the time and alerts from the user’s phone has been getting the interwebs all in a flutter this week.

Smarty Ring was the brainchild of Chennai-based mechatronics engineer Ashok Kumar, according to CBC News.

A flashy web site offering pre-orders explains that the smart jewellery is compatible with any Bluetooth 4.0-enabled iOS or Android smartphone.

As well as displaying the time in LED lighting, it apparently provides alerts for calls, texts, emails and social media updates via a set of flashing icons.

The ring also allows users to accept or reject incoming calls, speed dial numbers and notify if you’ve pocket dialled someone.

There’s also functionality to control the phone’s camera, music and profile, and it will apparently beep if it gets more than 30 feet away from your phone – by which time it’s probably too late to stop a thief in any case.

The 13mm wide ring is 4mm thick and has a stainless steel finish. An accompanying app allows the user to adjust the ring display’s brightness and settings.

A wireless charging pad is said to give the device 24 hours charge.

At $275 for the fully spec’d version it’s not cheap, although there’s a selection of pared down versions with more limited functionality at lower prices.

On crowdfunding site Indiegogo the product smashed its target of $40,000 – pulling in over $268,000 in the month ending on Wednesday.

Some commenters on the site voiced scepticism over its authenticity.

Despite the flashy web site and attention to detail, down to a cut-out sizing guide to ensure the ring fits your pinky, the team behind Smarty Ring have apparently not yet produced a working prototype.

Still, if it all comes good for the Chennai-based developers you can be sure the floodgates will open on yet another wearable tech onslaught from all the major mobe makers.

At first glance it certainly trumps the Chinese-made Geak ring, which surfaced back in June.

IDC associate VP of devices and peripherals, Bryan Ma, told The Reg Smarty Ring is "a good example of the experimentation and ideas that can emerge from a nascent market like wearables".

"But one big challenge with wearables is walking that fine line between function and fashion," he continued.

"With a few exceptions - like iPhones, Beats Audio, and Jamboxes - it's not often that fashion and technology have mixed well together." ®