The HOT Watch Smartwatch’s Unique Trick Turns Your Own Hand Into The Handset [Kickstarter]

The HOT Watch, from Texas-based PH Technical Labs, is the latest project to join the ever-burgeoning smartwatch craze, and it busted out onto Kickstarter today with such a bang it’s already raised half its $150K goal.

There’s really a lot going on here — the device packs a near-endless list of features — but there’s really one trick that stands out above the rest.

The watch is equipped with a novel feature which allows the wearer to conduct semi-private phone conversations. While all other smartwatches broadcast the chatter of the person on the other end through a speakerphone, the HOT Watch actually turns the user’s hand into a handset by reflecting sound off the palm and into the ear, with the added bonus (or not) that the user will look like he’s talking into his hand — just like the main characters in the recent Total Recall remake.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The HOT Watch (its name is a silly acronym for “hands-on talk”) seems like it has every other feature known to man:

• Voice activated calling and other phone control using your phone’s native voice recognition such as iPhone Siri

• Receive and reply to Messages (SMS, Email, Facebook and Twitter)

• Music player remote control (for your phone’s native player)

• Multiple dial faces

• Automatic fast contacts sync

• Caller ID

• Audible and silent vibrating alarms and alerts

• Pedometer: Record running, walking, steps climbed, calories burned

• Fall detection with automatic text to emergency number (unless cancelled in 30 seconds)

• LED illumination

• Note capture: captures your handwriting on the watch face

• Tactile vibration feedback

• HOT Proximity Alerts: Never leave your phone behind and prevent theft

• Find your phone with remote beep

Oh, and it’s also water-resistant. One of the models — there are four different styles — comes with a LED flashlight, but other than that they’re all identical as far as features. I’m sure I’ve left a feature or two out of the description.

If the watches look a little rough around the edges — and they do — PHTL says that’s because the watches pictured are just mock-ups and don’t reflect the final product.

Here’s the kicker: Early-birds can grab one for $109, $119 or $129 depending on the face model and finish. Estimated delivery is December or January.

Source: PHTL

Eli Milchman

When he was eight, Eli Milchman came home from frolicking in the Veld one day and was given an Atari 400. Since then, his fascination with technology has made him an intrepid early adopter of whatever charming new contraption crosses his path. He calls San Francisco home, where he works as a journalist and photographer. Eli has contributed to the pages of Wired.com and BIKE Magazine, among others. Hang with him on Twitter.