The Dick Tracy smartwatch era has been an up-and-coming generation for decades, never hitting realization beyond the adoption of a select few. There are a number of contributions, but I can’t help but think that in many ways, they’re trying too hard to do too much. When I first saw the Cookoo watch at CES, first and foremost I thought it looked great as a watch. Just a watch.
Simple and stylish, the Cookoo smartwatch looks great, and in an era where smartphones tell the time leaving watches as fashion statements, looking great is arguably the most important feature.
So where does the “smart” fit in? With simple notifications that alert you when you’ve got e-mails, text messages, Facebook messages, and more. But once again, Cookoo keeps it simple, providing you with the notifications in a stylish manner and otherwise getting out of your way.
The result is a great looking watch with fun/brihgt colors that also add value with notifications and alerts. And that’s the formula for success: not trying to do too much, just being an attractive watch with some basic but helpful mobile integration and functionality. Apple was onto something with the iPod nano watch but for some reason that was nixed, leaving a hole in the market waiting to be filled.
The name “Cookoo” is obviously a reference to the famous clocks but the company also incorporates their name into a packaging gimmick of sorts- the watches come in a birdhouse.
Crack open the birdhouse and not only do you get your watch, but you also get a functional birdhouse that you can actually put in a tree right before you hug it.
I’ve got two main gripes about Cookoo:
Hopefully we’ll see Cookoo get Android compatability soon, because while the smartwatch reality has yet to hit the mainstream, the Cookoo watch is something I can get behind.