Are you reading me? Over.
The Starvox is a watch with a built-in two-way walkie talkie style radio function. It has some other features too but the walkie talkie is its coolest thing.
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It’s currently on Kickstarter where it’s reached $33,598 pledges of an initial $20,000 goal. The 400 to 470MHz radio system reaches over 2km and can withstand large numbers of users being on the same frequency network.
It’s a bit fatter than a regular digital watch but it’s not a clunky as some GPS watches out there. The touchscreen is 1.5″ in size. Speaking of GPS, the Starvox also does GPS.
What else does it do? GPS, pedometer (step counter), temperature gauge, altimeter, compass, hygrometer (moisture content measurement).
It’s waterproof. It has Bluetooth connection. It has a rechargeable battery that lasts between 1.5-3 hours (which is something of a glaring weak point to us, but hey).
In the description of the product it also calls the Starvox a “smart watch” but we’re not entirely sure what they mean by this. It doesn’t appear to offer web browsing or app installation or anything along those lines.
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Price-wise it’s quite appealing. Early Kickstarter pledgers can secure their Starvox for $59 and even when (if?) it appears at retail it will still only be $109. That seems a really good price.
Why would you want one?
Mainly, because it’s a cool gadget. There are some serious useful applications for any outdoors users who need to communicate quickly and clearly at distance – especially when there’s no mobile signal – but mostly it’s just a cool little bit of tech.