Intel, Opening Ceremony Bow $495 Smart Bracelet
Intel and fashion design company Opening Ceremony bowed Monday a high-end wearable — a designer smart bracelet — at a launch event in New York. The $495 bangle, due in early December in Barneys New York retail stores, does not…
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operate with a smartphone, instead packing its own SIM card for use on the AT&T Wireless network. A two-year contract is included in the retail price, although the wireless fee beyond the contract period hasn’t been determined, executives from both companies said on a panel. The partnership with Opening Ceremony is part of Intel New Devices Group’s charter to contribute to the Internet of Things through “human-to-machines interactions,” Ayse Ildeniz, New Devices' general manager-strategy and business development, told us following the panel presentation. Citing the estimate many in the industry have forecast — 50 billion connected IoT devices by 2020 — Ildeniz said Intel plans to contribute to the IoT with intellectual property and innovation breakthroughs in how people “actually talk to that big world when it becomes a reality.” Wearables are a first step in reaching that goal, she said. Opening Ceremony is billing MICA (My Intelligent Communications Accessory) as a “luxury bracelet with embedded technology” that enables users to stay close to those important to them. The bracelet's features include the ability to link with Google Mail and to get Facebook and event notifications, Ildeniz said. Intel partnered with TomTom on the GPS side, which can give a quick read of time to destination. Through a partnership with Yelp, the bracelet can show nearby stores, restaurants and other points of interest. Opening Ceremony co-founder Humberto Leon noted the bracelet’s ability to “get macro” in telling how long it will take to arrive at a destination whether walking or riding in a vehicle. Users can “curate” a VIP contact list that filters notifications and text messages, and incoming alerts are indicated by a vibration, according to literature. Carol Lim, co-founder of Opening Ceremony, noted that the MICA is not intended to replace a smartphone. It’s not for people to check their Instagram accounts or to receive messages from everyone in their contact list, she said.