By the end of next week, the first Apple Watches will be embracing the wrists of some lucky early adopters. With all the hype surrounding the Watch, a number of crowdfunded projects have been launched in order to capture the imagination of those same early adopters. Sadly, most of these will never make it to market, and we’ll let you figure out why, starting with Kickstarter.
Apple Watch Temporary Tattoos – can’t afford a Watch? Here’s a temporary tattoo (see below) with separate watch faces. A whopping $3 and people still aren’t backing this campaign.
Apple Watch Friend Finder – actually an app instead of an accessory, designed to let you “find and communicate with Apple Watch users near you”. Or let your friendly neighborhood thug find you and rob you of your Apple Watch at gunpoint.
Apple Watch Charging Station – I love it! A father from Arvada, CO hoping to fund his new baby’s way to college by designing and building a wooden Apple Watch Charging Station. Sadly, it looks like a really bad wood shop project (below) and has only reached $106 in funding. Hopefully Rocco (the baby) will be really, really smart and get a full scholarship.
Protective Apple Watch Case – Ummm, no funding, and it’s because this thing is butt-ugly. It’s a shield for your Watch, but doesn’t appear to let you actually touch the screen. And why is there a slightly opaque screen cover? Ew.
AWDock: The Premium Dock for Your Apple Watch – Hey, you’re getting a gold Apple Watch Edition, right? Then why settle for just ANY charging dock. You can get one plated in 18 karat gold for just $422 or the less expensive aluminium version for $46. This is actually quite a nice-looking dock; too bad it’s only 14% funded. At least there’s still time!
SteelConnect A – What? You don’t want to wear your Apple Watch on your wrist, but would like to tuck it away in the little pocket on your vest like any other pocket watch? SteelConnect A is very, very similar to the Click above, but also provides the Hook for using the Watch as a necklace or pocket watch. Only about 10% funded, but they have two weeks to go.
STOR: World’s 1st Apple Watch dock and storage – Nothing quite matches the cutting-edge design and manufacturing of your Apple Watch like a hand-crafted balsa wood box with some foam in it. I’m also fond of the bad Photoshop work…
Over at Indiegogo, there are a lot of “Please buy me an Apple Watch” campaigns going on, none of which are receiving any attention at all. What do we have that someone might want to back with their credit card?
Apple Watch Crown – Despite the campaign’s insistence that this is NOT an Apple Watch case/bumper, that’s exactly what it is. They’re using 3D printing to create a stainless steel crown in a variety of finishes. Sure, it will protect your Apple Watch, but it will also add to the bulk of the sleek design. I wonder why it has only raised $1 of the $100,000 goal so far?
Portable Apple Watch Charger – The person behind this project really mailed it in, using a stock Apple photo of the charging “puck” attached to the back of an Apple Watch Sport. He describes the idea – “there is a wristband that acts as a battery pack. On one side you have a USB out port where energy is given out.” It doesn’t look like the idea of actually engineering or prototyping this charger has crossed the mind of the campaign manager.
Smart Strap for Apple Watch – Now these guys actually have a fairly good idea to create a “smart strap” that is a tiny digital camera (image below). Since your iPhone will probably be in your pocket from now on, how are you going to take pictures? With the Smart Strap. It even appears that they’ve created a prototype…
NuDock: Apple Watch & iPhone Docking Station – For every ten whacked-out ideas on Indiegogo, there appears to be at least one really well thought out project. Here, it’s NuDock, which is 814% funded with three weeks left to go in the campaign. It’s an iPhone dock, Apple Watch Power Dock, and Smart LED Lamp with a removable portable battery pack. It’s a dessert topping and floor wax in one! You can still get your hands on one for $129.
For all of the folks working on these campaigns, we salute you — at least you had the courage to get out there and try. Keep in mind Steve Jobs’ wonderful quote, “Here’s to the crazy ones” and keep trying.
