Ritot wearable busts funding goal, breaks free of screens

Smartwatches and fitness wearables serve a purpose, but as devices capable of answering calls or responding to notifications they fall well short. The small screen is limiting, and even the upstart Android Wear program is seeing its share of detractors for that very reason. An IndieGoGo campaign for a new wearable takes the screen out of the equation, though — instead using a projector.

Ritot sells itself as the "first projection watch", and has blown past it's goal of $50,000. With over a month left, the project is already nearly 300% funded. That could be because the upside is huge, and the donation to get one starts at $120.

A seemingly slim wearable band, the Ritot projects your notification onto your hand or other surface. Relying on your natural motion of checking a wristwatch, Ritot shines your incoming notifications on the back of your hand. The projection — be it the time or notification — disappears in ten seconds.

The Ritot will come in three color variations, and two styles. The color variations — black, white, or black and white — are available on either the classic Ritot, or the sportier version, which is made of plastic and rubber rather than the stylish insert of the classic. With your pledge, you also get the wireless charging base.

Unfortunately, it's a pretty vacuous concept. There is no working model we know of, and no APIs we can find to let anyone design for the concept. Their bold campaign notes they'll start shipping to backers starting early next year, though, so it will be interesting to see how Ritot fits into a wearables market with a more mature Android Wear and — hopefully — some sort of Apple design in the market.

Source: IndieGoGo