This amazing wearable can do so much more than the Apple Watch
Called the Rufus Cuff, the device is a computer worn on your wrist, which runs a complete Android operating system. Unlike other smart watches and similar wearables that must be linked to a phone, the Cuff is a standalone, though it can connect to a phone if you need it to.
The device is jam-packed with everything you might find in a larger tablet, but miniaturized: A 3.2" touchscreen, 1 GB of memory, WiFi, GPS, camera, microphone, and 128 GB of storage. And quite surprisingly, it's very lightweight.
Tech Insider caught a prototype and demo of the Rufus Cuff at an event last week for Make in LA, a hardware startup accelerator. Rufus CEO and Cofounder Gabe Grifroni was pitching at the event, hoping to raise awareness and investment capital for his company, which previously took in nearly $500,000 on IndieGoGo.
Consumer features of the Cuff include the ability to make voice and video calls, play onboard music or stream it over WiFi, and track your workouts.
But there's a key difference between other smartwatches and the Cuff. Though it originally launched on IndieGoGo for consumers, the company has since pivoted its focus to the enterprise market, which Grifoni says has really embraced the technology.
"We have a much better solution to bring wearable tech to the workforce," Grifoni told TI.
For the average consumer, a large wearable on the wrist may not make a whole lot of sense. But as Grifoni explained, it could be a game-changer for the people delivering your packages or grabbing parts in a warehouse.
That's because most rely on bulky barcode scanners that usually cost more than $1000. The Rufus Cuff instead brings more processing power and time-saving to the warehouse, for far less money. And it can even be used to keep workers safe: A Cuff could alert a worker that a forklift is nearby based on its GPS position or other sensors, for example.
The battery also lasts for up to 12 hours ("A full shift," Grifoni said).
Right now, you can preorder the device for $299, but it will retail somewhere closer to $400.