Danish design firm Skagen, a subsidiary of the Fossil Group, has just recently announced that its Hagen Connected brand of smartwatches is now on sale. The watch was initially shown off in September at the IFA show in Berlin. The striking feature of the wearable is the sleek analogue watch appearance that makes it appear to follow a similar blueprint to Fossil’s analogue smartwatches.
The Skagen Hagen Connected is more than a stylish watch in that it offers the smart data needed to get through a day. It tracks number of steps and tracks daily fitness goals alongside monitoring the wearer’s sleep. Also, notifications on the smartwatch come in the form of vibrations whenever a message or a call comes in. The notifications from accompanying devices, iOS app or Android, are customizable as the device comes with Link technology. This feature also allows you to ring up your phone, control music as well as take photos using the smartwatch using the button on the side.
Regular Coin Cell Battery
This smartwatch is among the first among the wearable tech devices to come with a coin cell battery. Skagen did not disclose the duration the battery can last but the good thing about this kind is that you don’t need to charge it every day as is the case with other smartwatches. The lack of a digital display like in other smartwatches and the streamlined feature set of the Hagen Connected allow it to run on the regular watch battery. Regular use can allow around six months of operation for the battery before needing to swap it out. Conveniently, the device’s design allows you to easily replace the battery without needing a complicated tool set and this is a huge advantage over other similar wearables.
Watch Hand Notification
In addition to using vibrations to communicate to the wearer, the Hagen Connected uses the watch hand positions as well. Taking an instance where you receive a call from your mother, the watch lacks the capacity to display using text but it can point to certain pre-set positions on the dials to indicate her identity. The number of contacts that can be pre-set in this manner may be few but it should certainly be enough for the high-ranking people in your life.
Activity Tracking Feature
As pointed out earlier, the smartwatch also incorporates activity tracking into its various functions. The activity tracking functionality is developed by Misfit. It enables the device recognize motion in addition to counting steps and the data is availed on smartphone apps as well as on its sub-dial that keeps track of the user’s step-count goals.
Standard features the wearable has are the automatic date and time updates in case the wearer moves through different time zones and it also allows for a dual-time option. The basic alarm set up functionality is available as well.
The noticeable flop on this device, other than the limited features, is the thickness of the watch which contrasts the amount of work put in to making it come off as the traditional watch. This doesn’t have to be a turn off for every smartwatch enthusiast though.
Price Range
The watch is available on the Skagen website and the price starts at $195 for the leather option while a titanium and leather hybrid goes for $215. Unfortunately, the Danish firm has indicated that the Hagen Connected isn’t available for international order yet. Due to this the UK prices are unavailable but will be out as soon as possible.
A Hagen Activity Tracker is also set to be released by Skagen soon. This wearable will track steps taken, monitor sleep and will also be able to control music. The device will also feature swappable straps as well as the Link technology and the standard coin cell which are both available on the Hagen Connected smartwatch. Both of these devices are compatible with Skagen’s app that is set to be launched for both iOS and Android platforms. Pricing is for the Hagen Activity Tracker is set to be $95 and the release is expected this October.
See Also: Apple Watch Series 2: Powerful Design, New Specs
Conclusion
The Fossil Group promised back in January that it would launch more than a hundred connected devices before the end of 2016 in collaboration with its various fashionable brands. These include DKNY, Diesel, Armani and Michael Kors. Through its good relationship with the tech giant Intel, much is expected to be in the works and the Hagen Connected is just a preview.