Neptune Pine smartwatch gets reinvented, reaches Kickstarter target in less than a day

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Remember the Neptune Pine smartwatch idea? We were not so impressed with it back in February when we first heard about it, but the company persevered, reinvented its device, and it has now reached its Kickstarter target in less than 24 hours after starting it/

The smartwatch is not your average connect-me-to-a-phone smartwatch, or at least that’s what the company promises. The Pine is going to offer “voice calls, video chat, full keyboard, GPS & much more,” without requiring a connection to a smartphone.

Furthermore, on top of being a watch with smartphone functions, the Pine will also act as a mountable camera (together with a special Helmet Mount), as it can be removed from its wristband.

As for specs, here’s what it has to offer:
  • 2.4-inch TFT touchscreen display with 320 x 240 QVGA resolution
  • 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
  • 512MB of RAM
  • 16/32GB of storage
  • 5-megapixel camera with LED flash
  • VGA front-facing camera with LED flash
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • GPS
  • 3G support (micro-SIM card required)
  • 810mAh battery (standby up to 120 hours, talk time: 6 hours on 3G)
  • Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
  • IP67 water-resistant

The Pine project has already raised over CAD$145,000, surpassing its CAD$100,000 goal. But interested backers can still submit their pledges, as the company has additional stretch goal that could be achieved, in which case the product will be further improved:

  • Stretch Goal 1: CAD$200,000 – new strap design
  • Stretch Goal 2: CAD$200,000 – CDMA support

Pledges are available from CAD$5 all the way up to CAD$1,000, but you’re going to have to pay at least CAD$199 for a 16GB version of the Pine, while the 32GB costs CAD$279 – suggested retail pricing is currently listed at CAD$335. Several accessories are also available to order including the Neptune Clip, the PulseCounter, and the Helmet Mount. As for shipping, the company plans to ship the first Pine orders at some point in January 2014.

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