Meet the Crowdfunded Sony Wena Wrist Smartwatch

In early summer, we reported on First Flight, an internal crowdfunding platform by Sony that was meant to help surface creative ideas at the company. If backed successfully by consumers, Sony could more easily gauge demand for a product and throw the might of the company behind it while being more risk-averse. The first product to arise from First Flight is Wena Wrist, a new simpler take on the smartwatch. According to Sony, Wena stands for

wear electronics naturally

If you’d like to know more about these two new watches, naturally you’ll find the information after the jump.

The Wena Wrist smartwatch will come in two variants, the Quartz Three Hands and Quartz Chronograph. Both models will feature activity tracking, LED lights and vibrations for notification through the band, and an NFC wallet that’s compatible with the Japanese Felica standard. While ironic from the outset, it’s telling who Sony sees as their target demograph as the Wena Wrist is only compatible with iOS (running 8.0+). This isn’t the first time Sony has brought features to iOS only. PlayStation Vue can currently be enjoyed on PS3, PS4, and iPad.

Wena Wrist Quartz Three Hand

Normal watch face
42mm across
3 year battery life
Band – 1 week battery life before requiring charge
Waterproof

Wena Wrist Quartz Chronograph

Three separate hand dials
- Hour, minute, seconds
42mm across
5 year battery life
Band – 1 week battery life before requiring charge
Waterproof

Both units strike an interesting balance of traditional watch design with mechanical housings and a tip of the hat to technology with specific features like the NFC wallet and activity tracking. Because of that, it’s hard to label the Wena Wrist as a smartwatch though it’s also more functional than your traditional watch. The Wena Three Hand and Wena Chronograph will be available in silver and black with a ¥34,800 ($287) and ¥69,800 ($576) price respectively. The Wena Wrist will ship in March and April of next year.