In the realm of off-beat devices and wearables, very few stand out. While there are so many new devices that take extra measures in capturing a moment perfectly, there is nothing quite out there that is specifically designed to actually make those moments memorable. Case in point, What? (yes, the name of the company is just that) has decided to make memories, well, memorable by recording when and what happened at the specific time of its happening.
The Monograph is a watch that works only when it is paired with the user’s phone. There is a big red record button, that when pressed, activates a time-stamp to “record” the memory that is about to unfold – such as a beautiful view, a milestone in life as well as an intimate moment. There are numerous applications for this kind of a feature. Once user press the record button, they will need to whip out their phone and take pictures, videos or even add text in order to form memories that will be added to the time stamp on the watch. Once done, the companion app will take all the memories and make it into a story to cherish and share by users.
Granted, when the user starts to record the moment, they will be prompted to take the respective photos required to fill in the time-stamp. As the story is evolved in the app, so will the pattern on the watch. There can be other people contributing towards the story as well, as long as they are connected to the app. This seems like a lot of effort just to record a memory. And it kind of seems like the memory itself is lost in trying to relay it and record it. Rather than enjoying the memory as is, people will have to consciously make an effort to track it rather than live it. Maybe this function will be appreciable to a very niche audience. And we are talking really niche.
The watch, apart from being a recording button, can tell the time and nothing else. It cannot alert users for notifications or missed calls. It is essentially a watch that can record memories. The company has made two variants, one which has a black face and the other which has a white face. The watches look quite simple and have a classic feel to them. They both come in stainless steel casings and there is also a Radar variant which comes in a flat tyre bezel with a silicon strap as well as coloured stainless steel. For those who do not like wearing something on their wrist, there is also the option of buying the pocket-watch version as well.
As many niche products receive funding, this one will receive its, through Kickstarter with a goal of 185,000 Euros. For the early bird backer, the watch will set-back buyers by $125 while the retail value of the watch will be around double that cost. For a very limited set of features that makes the user to more work than the watch itself does, it’s quite a hard sell. People could use this feature for its novelty, or simply follow the time-stamp and date that is usually carried out when someone takes a photo on their smartphone and then focus on enjoying the memory, like normal people do.
