Are you always struggling with picking up the phone when you receive a call? Or do you always lose your earplugs? SGNL has the solution for you. Just simply put on their wrist strap which is also applicable with the Apple watch, Samsung gear, and Pebble time, and answer calls with your fingertip.
So how does this work? When you receive a call, your SGNL wrist strap receives a voice signal from your phone through Bluetooth. When you press your finger near your ear, acoustic signals are transmitted from the strap to your ear so you hear sound without anyone noticing it.
I think the product is appealing to people in a way that it looks really futuristic, but can this idea develop into a successful commercial product? According to the investors at kickstarter it can. The developers set a goal to receive an investment of $ 50.000. They have already received more than $ 750.000 and there are still 26 days left to make an investment.
So will this be the future of conducting phone calls? If I look in my direct environment, I do not really see people making phone calls with their fingertips in the coming years. This is for several reasons. First, it is only useful for receiving calls. It is possible to make a call with your SGNL wrist strap, but it can only save 5 contacts. So with all the other contacts you want to reach, you will still have to use your phone, or your smart watch. Second, the price of a SGNL smart band is $ 139, which I find quite expensive for just making a call with your fingertip.
In my opinion this is a fun development. I think most people are curious about how and if it works but will not be triggered to buy the product. Therefore I do not see that this product will change our behaviour in how we will conduct phone calls. What do you think?
Here is a link to the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unNvuThYUS8
Sources: http://techstartups.com/2016/09/09/sgnl-phone-calls-fingertip/
While I think it is a great idea, I don’t think it will turn into something huge at this time. Firstly, if I look around myself, most people around me don’t make that many calls anymore. Most (of mine and my friends) communication is done via text (WhatsApp), Facebook Messenger and e-mail. Maybe this will be attractive to people who use a smartwatch, but there are a lot of people who do not want a smartwatch because of aesthetics (and neither can they afford the cost of smartwatches like the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear). Similarly, these people are not going to want an empty wrist strap on their hand due to aesthetics.