Watch companies have a lot to worry about in 2015.
It will be the year of the smartwatch, if Apple has anything to say about it, and traditional watch manufacturers will face new competition from those looking to bring smart notifications, calendar alerts and even phone calls directly to your wrist.
Montblanc has an novel way for "dumb" watches to stay relevant, according to aBlogtoWatch: an e-Strap that turns your existing non-smart watch into one that can receive notifications and messages. The band will vibrate every time an alert comes in.
The strap, which is made of leather but has a screen that sits under your wrist, connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth 4.0 (a.k.a. Bluetooth Smart) and pulls in smart alerts directly to the OLED touchscreen display, which boasts a 128 x 36 pixel resolution. The e-Strap will also reportedly function as a fitness tracker, allowing users to forgo clunky Fitbits for a sleeker design that tracks steps, calories burned and syncs that data to a smartphone app.
The report notes that experts in the luxury watch industry believe many consumers don't actually want a high-end smartwatch and would, instead, prefer one with an opt-in smart component, like a band.
The e-Strap ($300) will be much cheaper than the watches it will support -- many of Montblanc's timepieces cost as much as $3,000 -- but run higher than some smartwatches like the Moto 360 ($249). The Apple Watch will start at $349, but it's rumored the luxury "Edition" model (like the 18-karat pink or yellow gold version) could cost up to $5,000.
Whether the e-Strap is a gimmick or something people would actually find useful (and a workaround to have a high-tech watch without buying a brand new one) has yet to be seen.