The Android-Powered Smart Watch Marries Luxury and Tech

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Smart technology in watch form has captivated the world since the days of Dick Tracy, but since the turn of the decade, we’ve inched closer to having the entire world on our wrists. The best-selling Kickstarter project in history was a vessel to turn a watch-defaulted iPod nano into a wrist-worn super-device.

The desire for a smart watch solution was so strong that Apple actually included a fitness watch capability in its most recent generation nano. But, there was no fully functional smart watch on the market that was able to function as well as a smartphone with half the size and double the ergonomics.

That is, until now. Italian designer tech company i’m debuted its i’m Watch, which is currently marketed as “the first real smart watch.” The i’m Watch can run nearly anything on its customized Android interface and tethers to your current smartphone (including BlackBerry and iPhone) to handle phone calls, SMS, music and a host of apps. But the i’m is just as focused on beauty as technological practicality.

“Given also our brand’s Italian roots, we naturally do give an extreme emphasis on elegant design, since we profoundly believe that sight and touch deserve an equally important share, just like the more technical aspects,” says Eleonora Cazzaro, press manager at i’m.

Now on the market in Europe — but with a burgeoning office in Silicon Valley and a vendor slot at CES 2012 — an aluminum-bodied i’m Watch will run a minimum of €249 (approximately $322). For those who are looking for a fancier model, the i’m Watch also has a titanium-encased version at a steeper €499 ($644), a carbonium-made product at €999 ($1291) and an ultra-luxurious gold watch with optional diamonds at a staggering €9999 (nearly $13,000).

Mashable spoke with Cazzaro about the design and development of the i’m Watch, and how its luxury form matches its technological function.

[source Mashable]