An Indiegogo campaign proposes a next step in wearable electronics-- the Smarty Ring, a high-tech stainless steel ring armed with a built-in LED display, Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity and companion smartphone app.
Like smartwatches the Smart Ring promises to display incoming caller IDs, text messages, social network updates and even the time. It should also handle smartphone control, with hardware buttons for accepting/rejecting incoming calls, making calls to preset numbers, trigger camera, control music or change user profile.
It even acts as a phone tracker-- if the smartphone is over 10m away from the ring it triggers an alarm-- all from a rechargeable (via wireless induction pad) 22mAh battery supposedly powering 24 hours of use.
Companion apps come in iOS and Android varieties.
The curious can either preorder a Smarty Ring on Indiegogo (where it made nearly $180000 in pledges), with a delivery date expected for April 2014. If not, the device might hit the market sometime during Q2 2014.