The miniaturisation of technology has hit a bit of a wall as of late, thanks to the limitations of batteries. Smartwatches could easily be packed with even more functionality, but who wants to have to charge it multiple times a day? John De Cristofaro’s retro-looking ChronodeVFD watch has the solution with swappable AA batteries.
John’s creation might not suit everyone’s tastes, but his use of a 1980s-era vacuum fluorescent digital display tube and exposed circuitry definitely gives this watch a certain appeal.
Unfortunately, given the outdated display technology used, battery-life on the ChronodeVFD is terrible. It runs just six to ten hours on a single AA, but that’s why it uses a battery that’s easily accessible and easily replaceable. And while Apple’s engineers will certainly scoff at this crude design, maybe it will give them the inspiration needed to fix the Apple Watch’s rumoured battery-life woes. [John De Cristofaro via TechCrunch]