Rufus Cuffs wrist-tablet shows signs of life, still huge

It has been more than a year since Rufus hit its $200,000 funding goal, walking away with more than $750,000 to fund the worlds largest smartwatch. Actually, to call it a smartwatch would be a misnomer. Rufus itself calls the Cuff a "wrist communicator", which might conjure images of Star Trek or other sci-fi flicks and cartoons. And that association would actually be very appropriate since Rufus has refused to back down from its vision of strapping what is practically a mini tablet to your wrist.

When it comes to smarwatches, the crowd is split into two camps. Three if you count those who don't give a care. One camp sees smartwatches as simple extensions, even dumbed down accessories, to their smartwatches or tablets. The other camp dream of smartwatches that can actually replace smartphones and tablets in functionality. But in order to have that much functionality on your wrist, you'll need to shrink everything into a watch-sized device. Or you could just supersize the smartwatch to accommodate all the electronics.

The latter is what Rufus did with the cuff. If you thought the Neptune Pine was ridiculously big, you'd probably be flabbergasted by this one. It has a 3.2-inch TFT screen that reaches far beyond your wrist, which negates it being a smartwatch at all. And that's just the length of the device. Let's not even talk about its thickness. Suffice it to say, you're going to earn some very strange stares, maybe even a few giggles. Don't be surprised to see you and your wrist on YouTube or Twitter too.

The Rufus Cuff. however, isn't a smartphone on your wrist. Despite its large size, there is no space for a SIM card, so Internet will have to come through Wi-Fi or an Android or iOS device. So much for replacing your replacing your smartphone. To put it simply, it's a mini tablet. On your wrist. Let that sink in for a while. In almost all other aspects, it's pretty much your run of the mill Android device, with a plethora of motion sensors, 16 to 64 GB of internal storage, GPS, and front facing camera for video calls. All of that you'll have to do while wearing it on your wrist. Unlike the Neptune Pine, you can't separate it from its strap.

Rufus CEO and co-founder Gabe Grifoni firmly believes there is a market for the Cuff, despite its form. He believes that people want something more than a glorified notification center to replace everything they might be carrying in their bag. They believe in the dream so much that they are already accepting pre-orders for the Rufus Cuffs, with prices ranging from $249 to $399 for more data storage. Meanwhile, Indiegogo backers still have to actually receive their rewards, which Rufus promises to start next year.

SOURCE: Rufus

VIA: USA Today