>> RINGLY - FASHION MEETS IoT

Who said technology and The Internet of Things was only for the geeky population?

Ringly creates beautiful smart jewelry and accessories that keep you effortlessly connected to the things that matter most - their core value is that they believe technology can be more discreetly integrated into our lives. Ringly places fashion and simplicity first and their first product line is a collection of 18K matte gold plated rings with semi-precious stones.

Ringly offers discreet notifications, vibrating as alerts generated from iPhone and Android devices (no support for Windows Phone or BlackBerry) that are sent using low energy Bluetooth. They claim to filter only alerts that require immediate attention (one would hope the user can define what is important or not); such as calls, texts, emails and appointments, as well as a select choice of other apps.

The rings come in four styles (pre order) ranging from $145 to $180 USD (25% discount) with black onyx, pink sapphire, rainbow moonstone and emerald gemstones - unfortunately they look more like rings men would wear; large and bulky. I could definitely see a larger market if they tried to capture bracelets, pendants and necklaces with a smaller, petite form factor. I guess we need to wait for better micron manufacturing of electronics for that to happen.

It isn't the first time I have seen merging IoT and fashion attempted; earlier this year I assisted a young entrepreneur Naomi Henn with her project called BeUp that was utilizing wearable gadgets and anonymous social networking aimed at children.

Patent pending? I hope they did their prior-art research on this one.

UPDATE
@nicolaslatour replied on twitter with another newcomer in this space, Kovert Designs.