There's a certain allure that e-ink watches have for Kickstarter backers. Maybe it's something in the water.
Not too long ago, the Pebble e-ink smartwatch had a pitch so alluring that it managed to smash fundraising records, raising over $1 million in a little over 24 hours.
While Central Standard Timing might not be pushing the level of Pebble's success—after all, the Kickstarter honeymoon period that lasted for much of 2012 is fading and backers are a little more cautious in where they put their money—they've managed to raise over $200K in 48 hours.
While they're both e-ink watches, the CST-01 is a completely different monster. It emphasizes a sleek, portable design and doesn't offer the smart capabilities that come with the Pebble. It's all about functionality—it's a watch, pure and simple. And when it comes to the watch's thinness, CST is all serious business. The CST-01 is 0.80mm thick and composed of flexible, stainless steel.
An additional charging base comes with the watch, and doubles as a control center. To remove bulk from the watch, all time setting functionalities have been moved to the base.
Most impressively, the watch holds a charge for up to a month, and can be recharged to full in less than 10 minutes thanks to the Thinergy "Micro-Energy Cell" that the watch contains.
The CST's pitch is impressive. It's easy to see how it's managed to achieve its desired goal of $200K in so little time. The company already has prototypes ready for the watch. CST will be using Kickstarter money to finalize the last touches on the watch, making it more water and scratch resistant and bringing the project to the assembly line. Backing the project for $129 yields a watch, which, according to the Kickstarter page, is expected to ship September 2013.
