Cicret - an all-French gadget for the tech savvy

It may not spell a smoother ride for Apple and its designers (or other smartphone manufacturers at that), but for people using said smartphones it will. France-based Cicret is designing an ‘Add-on’ for your smartphone. Similar to a smartwatch, the Cicret bracelet, will place the smartphone right at your fingertips. Nothing new there, you might say. So what's the deal? ___ I see you your skepticism and raise you a “just in a slightly cooler way”. “When we started out, we wanted to design the technology of the future. We also wanted to be different. We looked at several designs, but decided pretty soon against a touchscreen. Everyone has those”, explains Guillaume Pommier, one of the founders. “Soon after that, we arrived at the solution we have now: pico projectors and sensors.” Currently in talks with investors, Guillaume hints that the negotiations may come to a positive conclusion real soon. What is more interesting from a consumer point of view however is the fact that the company is readying the first prototypes for summer 2015. “We are confident and are working very fast. I am sure we will see the first prototypes in June or July next year.” The Cicret bracelet will have 10 - 15 subsystems and Cicret wants it all-French. “We are working exclusively with French companies and we would like to keep it that way. The bracelet will have only a very small number of components and sub systems in it. So we have the chance to keep business in France.” Cicret is already working with a number of companies during this prototype phase, but negotiations with component suppliers are still ongoing. But coming back to the prototypes and the mass market release. With the prototypes coming out in summer 2015, and a second investor round at about the same time, Guillaume predicts a Christmas 2015 release for the final product. Looking back at successful gadgets and their market introduction; this might be a smart thing to do. With millions of smartphones floating around the globe; will it work with all OS available?, is my next question. Currently communicating only with Android phones, the French start-up is working on software solutions for all OS in the market. “The ultimate goal is to have an operating system that is ours. A Cicret OS if you so will. And that should be able to team up with everyone else.”