Image Credit : Ninon Nguyen: Martian Watches graphic designer and photographer
Project Overview
Martian Notifier is a smartwatch that, for the first time, is providing unique Smart Notifications to users’ wrists for hands-free, eyes-free awareness. This innovative technology is packaged in a beautifully designed, fashion-forward analog watch with an integrated OLED readout, that people are proud to wear anywhere. At $129, Martian is making this new technology accessible. With the free Martian App, it provides Android and iOS smartphone users customized alerts from thousands of popular programs and apps – email, SMS, calendar, Runmeter, CNN, ESPN SportsCenter, Words with Friends, and many more.
With Martian Notifier, you'll never miss another moment!
Organisation
Team
Martian Watches, makers of the award-winning Martian Voice Command Bluetooth smartwatches, recently debuted a new smartwatch product line called the Martian Notifier. Before we tell you about our new fashion-forward wireless notification smartwatch, we think it is important that you know why we developed it, so you can fully appreciate why Martian Notifier is deserving of a Design100 Award.
In creating Martian Notifier, we listened to our customers around the world to learn what they wanted most in a new smartwatch and what they didn’t want. Here’s what they told us:
First, they confirmed our belief that, in today’s world, watch purchases are still driven by fashion decisions for the vast majority of buyers. They wanted more great-looking analog designs.
Second, they wanted instant, hands-free notifications… not just from SMS, email, social media, etcetera, but also from their favorite third-party apps including those for fitness, travel, stocks, sports, and more, which already send notifications to their smartphones. But they didn’t like that, over time, the vibrations for notifications start feeling the same, so users become immune to the steady drone.
Third, they wanted these features in an affordable smartwatch. So our goal became that of designing and offering the Martian Notifier for $129.00 MSRP, as we sought to produce a stylish smartwatch to satisfy the mass market of mobile smartphone owners who want to enjoy the benefits of this cool, emerging wearables technology without breaking the bank.
Our team then set out to design a product line that would bring laser focus to these most desired features. The result is the Martian Notifier line of colorful, analog smartwatches. Martian Notifier provides Android and iOS smartphone users customized alerts on their wrists, so they can stay in contact and in style. This new line of smartwatches features timeless analog designs and an integrated OLED readout that delivers alerts and notifications from thousands of popular programs and apps, such as email, SMS, calendar, Runmeter, ESPN SportsCenter, EBay, CNN, Facebook, Instagram, Yelp and Clash of Clans -- to the convenience of your wrist. Martian Notifier is a BLE Smart Ready device with patent-pending technology. Custom vibration patterns make it easy to know if that alert you just received was a call or a text. Notifier is additionally loaded with a dozen other convenient features, including remote camera control, wireless leash, find phone, silent alarms, world clock, weather and more.
Key members of the Martian Notifier design and development team and the roles they play are listed below. They are all employees of Martian Watches, headquartered in Irvine, California.
Jeffrey Hsieh – 3D design and production lead
Stanley Kinsey – ID design, firmware and software lead
John Huang – project manager
Jefferson Hu- Bluetooth and firmware engineer
Peter Khotpanya – app engineer
Pam Niemi – product marketing and market research
Ninon Nguyen – ID designer
Frank Chen – production manager
Project Brief
In today’s world, being well-informed is important, valued and often expected. It can be the difference between racing to catch your plane or relaxing because you were notified of a delay, being there to pick up your child or having her wait on the dark corner when practice ends early. Knowing that you won’t miss an important email, text or alert can provide a great deal of comfort and confidence: You’ve got it covered.
Did you know the average smartphone user checks his or her phone over 150 times per day? But with your smartphone in a pocket or bag, you can't always hear it ring or feel it vibrate or have easy access to view it. So you keep pulling the phone out to look, which can be inconvenient or even dangerous if you're driving
The Martian Notifier smartwatch gives you the ability to receive real-time alerts and notifications on your wrist. Used in conjunction with the free Martian App, you will automatically receive notifications -- including Caller ID, texts, Facebook, Twitter, Weather, Email, Calendar, Instagram, Pinterest, favorite games, bank alerts, and any other notification your device allows. You can also initiate voice commands on your smartphone’s speakerphone for uses such as “read text” while you’re on the move.
The Martian Notifier is an attractive, colorful analog wristwatch that acts as a hands-free gateway to the world, keeping users well informed while their phones remain in a pocket, purse or backpack.
Project Need
Martian Notifier is a smartwatch that, for the first time, provides unique Smart Notifications to users’ wrists for hands-free, eyes-free awareness. Smart Notifications solve the problem of ‘alert fatigue’ with several unique features:
• Smart FiltersTM allows users to select only those notifications that they want on their watch, a first for Android users;
• Smart VibrationsTM allows users to set customizable vibration patterns so each alert has its own signature;
• Smart RecallTM dismisses and brings notifications back by tapping the watch glass.
Users can also scroll back and forth anytime to review any messages that may have been missed. Most importantly, the real-time notification options are almost unlimited as users can receive any alerts that their smartphones allow. That means alerts from popular apps can be customized and sent directly to the Martian Notifier. “Congrats -- You’ve just reached your daily targeted step count!”, “Ball has been tipped on North Carolina vs. Duke”, "Return to the game! Your village has been destroyed”, or other important push notifications that you may choose to receive on the Martian Notifier.
The bottom line is that Martian's cool new wearable technology is designed to keep us all better informed. Martian Notifier is as uniquely good-looking as it is informative and functional, and it's priced right. Our newest line of smartwatches is stylish, simple to use, a joy to wear and affordable for nearly everyone who wants one.
User Experience
Martian Notifier is a Bluetooth Smart Ready watch that is able to connect to millions of Bluetooth devices that are already in the hands of users and provide an unsurpassed hands-free experience for people who want to stay connected and informed from the convenience of their wrists. Martian Watches has leveraged BLE functionality to get nearly instantaneous notifications while efficiently stretching out the life of the rechargeable lithium polymer battery to 5+ days between charges. The Martian Notifier watch clock has its own 2-year battery and can be used even if other features are not charged. So unlike other digital smartwatches, wearers never walk around with a blank screen.
The free Martian Notifier App is rich with industry-first features and is where users go to easily populate, filter and customize the alerts that are sent to the Martian Notifier.
Additional benefits include:
• Silent Alarms
• Customizable Hourly Repeater
• Phone Leash
• Find Phone
• Remote Camera Shutter Control
• World Clock
• Weather & more!
Available in 3 watch face colors, with 9 colorful silicone watch band options to suit any mood or outfit. Martian Notifier sports interchangeable, quick-change watch bands that require no tools to change. Any 22mm watch band can be worn for ultimate fashion flexibility.
Martian App and Watch menus will support English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.
Project Marketing
We introduced the Martian Notifier at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to award-winning reviews, including the prestigious USA Today/Reviewed.com Editors' Choice Award at CES 2014. Most importantly, we have secured major U.S. and Canadian retail partnerships, currently positioning Martian as one of the top-3 players in this high-profile product category. Furthermore, we are the only smartwatch currently be carried by Bloomingdale's, a premier fashion retailer of top brands in the United States. Our retail partners now include Best Buy, AT&T, Target, Bloomingdale’s, Meijer, London Drugs, Amazon, and Future Shop (Canada). We also have a growing retail presence in Singapore, and we are now beginning to expand to Europe and beyond. These retail partners provide another solid proof point that consumers are looking for a beautiful blend of design and tech when it comes to a smartwatch.
In addition to retail channel marketing activities, we actively engage with our customers on social media channels, and solicit their feedback to help us improve our products and influence our future product roadmap. After all, Martian is a company that launched its original smartwatch product on Kickstarter in 2012, to help define and market the world's first smartwatch with voice commands.
Martian products are easily updated by customers via firmware and app updates. Our marketing efforts will continue to keep the customer #1 and satisfy their needs to stay connected in style.
Project Privacy
Product: We use secure RFCOMM sockets that comply to the Bluetooth specification to protect the user's information from being intercepted. Using 128 bit SHA-1 hash generated UUIDs, we ensure that data transmitted between our product and the phone are encrypted to defend against sniffer attacks.
Corporate: If a customer voluntarily provides us with their email or phone number for product support or any other reason, we will not sell or rent this information to anyone. They may opt out of contacts from us at any time.
Best Connected Device and Wearable Tech
This category recognises the best Connected Device and Wearable Tech
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