Swiss Army Smartwatch? Acer and Victorinox team up
That's one way to give your wearables swiss craftsmanship...
For an army that usually stays impartial, the Swiss sure like their knives – and now the most famous knife company of the lot, Victorinox, is looking to try its hand at something a little different as well.
It has teamed up with Acer to launch its first set of wearables, with the first on track for a reveal at Mobile World Congress next week.
Acer is supplying the electrical know-how, while Victorinox will handle the styling. It won’t be a run-of-the-mill Android Wear watch or a Swiss-styled fitness tracker, either.
Acer is staying tight-lipped for now, only saying that the first result of the partnership would be a wearable ‘accessory’ that will add some tech cred to Victorinox’s I.N.O.X. watch range, without “compromising its Swiss-made integrity and durability”.
That means you can expect some kind of optional strap or watch link that would replace the standard band, giving the analogue watch an upgrade – perhaps with step-tracking abilities or vibrations to let you know you’ve got a message on your phone.
It wouldn’t be the first time a smart strap has added functionality to a high-end analogue watch; last year, Montblanc’s e-Strap slapped an OLED screen on the underside of your wrist for reading smartphone notifications.
TYLT’s pulse-tracking smart strap for the Pebble Time is currently doing the rounds on Kickstarter too, having smashed its $100,000 crowdfunding goal twice over with six days left to go.
An Acer and Victorinox joint might take a more subtle approach, which would certainly match the company’s minimal watch designs.
It all sounds pretty intriguing, but we’ll have to wait until Tuesday for the big reveal; Acer and Victorinox are having a joint announcement at 6PM local time.
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Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
