Just when we thought pocket-size is the smallest a synthesizer can get, one Italian company called Audioweld (who has watchmaking background, btw) takes synthesizer to the next level of small. How small? Well, it is small enough to be worn on the wrist and hence the name Synthwatch. Synthwatch has a functional seven-key keyboard, thus effectively making it a wrist-worn keyboard. The keys allow you to create tunes via a companion app on both Android and iOS.
While it works on its own, a ‘musical instrument’ this small cannot quite reach its full potential by itself as far as creating serious electronic music is concerned; it does need a helping hand from software and that’s where the app comes in. With the app, you can record, access a sequencer, and a library of 200 sounds. Without the app, it may be mistaken as a kid’s toy and might very be, if not for the titanium grade 5 case, which is not a design and material of choice for toys.
Audioweld Synthesizer Wrist Watch is a watch, and therefore, it does come outfitted with LCD display to tell time, along with battery level and whatnot. It is kept juiced by a rechargeable battery that recharges via USB-C with the supplied cable which, interestingly, include a split that has a 3.5 mm jack for hooking up to an amp or speaker if so desired. Audioweld also said that the watch has “wireless technology” onboard, but it failed to go into details.
Beyond what we have laid out, detail is thin and that’s not a good thing if the company expects the community to commit to a product on crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter where it is peddling its ware. And the hefty starting price of €450 (about US$541) isn’t helping either.
Images: Audioweld.
Source: Engadget.