Rockioo is a new watch phone powered by Android

The smartwatch industry has slowly been picking up steam over the years with devices like the Pebble truly kickstarting the wearable revolution, and more recent platforms like the Gear family and Android Wear helping push things further along. With the arrival of the Apple Watch, things continue to heat up. While the smartwatch space was once a great place for startups, we are seeing a number of big companies throw their weight into this growing industry. Of course, that’s not stopping Rockioo from attempting to woo would-be customers on Kickstarter.

Devices like the Apple Watch, Gear, and Android Wear are built to augment our smartphone experience, not to replace it. The Rockioo takes a different approach, offering a full cellular connection and the ability to place calls without needing to be tethered to a phone or any other device. The phone watch is powered by

The phone watch is powered by Rockioo OS, which is a modified version of Android KitKat. Other specs for the Rockioo include a 1.63-inch display with a 320×320 resolution, a MediaTek 6572 32-bit processor, 512MB or 1GB RAM with your storage configuration choice of 4 or 16GB, a microSIM slot, a 500 mAh battery, and typical sensors like a barometer, 6-axis accelerometer, and a magnetometer. The phone watch is also water resistant up to 50 meters.

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This is far from the first attempt at building such an all-in-one device, though the results of these attempts have been mixed at best (we’re talking about you, Omate Truesmart). Does the Rockioo have what it takes to stand out from the crowd? While the judgment on that is still out, it seems that at 154 backers (at the time of this writing) believe in the project, with the Rockioo currently achieving $59,084 of $200,000 goal with 25 days remaining.

For those interested in getting your hands on the Rockioo, there are a number of options. First, you can pledge just a dollar for the opportunity to enter a drawing, where you could be chosen as 1 of 100 lucky backers to receive a free Rockioo Watch (512MB/4GB) one month ahead of its full release, with the agreement you’d be a tester and would be responsible for providing feedback via email. If you don’t mind pledging more, a pledge of $129 will secure you a Rockioo with 512MB RAM and 4GB storage as an early bird special or $199 will net you a Rockioo with 1GB RAM and 16GB storage — though only a limited number of slots exist for both of these options.

For more details on the Rockioo project, be sure to check out their Kickstarter page.