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While all major tech companies trying to come up with high performance smartwatches are cramming them with as many features and apps as possible,... Vachen Smartwatch: Traditional Look with Smart Features

While all major tech companies trying to come up with high performance smartwatches are cramming them with as many features and apps as possible, this new product takes pride in taking wearable timepieces back to basics by maintaining the looks and feel of a traditional wristwatch. And a very elegant looking one, while we’re at it.

Instead of creating a smart device and add clock functions to it, the creator of the Vachen smartwatch, Won Rhee, came up with a timepiece to which he added various smart features such as email and text notifications.

Vachen Smartwatch: Traditional Look with Smart Features

The Vachen smartwatch retains the esthetics and foremost functions of a traditional timepiece, but it offers some very interesting features that really make buying such a gadget worth it. The Vachen connects for both Android and iPhone devices, and it runs on Android Gingerbread. It is equipped with a 1 GHz processor, but also with WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity.

With a battery life of 48 hours, the watch’s LCD display measures 1.54 inches and has a 240×240 resolution, basically the same pixel density and size as the sixth iPod Nano. The device displays the time but also SMS, call and Google alerts. Other useful features are the alarm, timer, moon data and tide graph, compass, stopwatch and the possibility of using it for motion-based control of various smart devices, smart TVs included.

What makes the Vachen really irresistible is the fact that users can customize its appearance anyway they like. Buyers will have access to over 100 different watch face designs when the device is launched. But the Vachen website also offers access to a free tool with which users can create their own designs and then upload them to the product’s app store. The watch also comes with different straps, to match the various face designs.

The Vachen app store has not yet been opened, but this is scheduled to happen in the very near future. The developers are also planning to give the watch Facebook app and Windows phone support after the launch.

vachen face designs

Until then, the project still has to secure its $100,000 goal on Kickstarter. The crowdfunding campaign is currently at over $76,000 and has one week left. Backers can get their own Vachen smartwatch with a unique case, for prices ranging from $169 to $279.

[Images via Kickstarter]