O.C. Companies Kickstart Success

Martian Watches, an Irvine startup, passed its $200,000 goal for the first production run of a Siri-powered smartwatch a few days before the campaign ended.

The watches look like classic analog timepieces but come with a microphone, Bluetooth, speaker and a small screen to accommodate a single line of text. That allows wearers to use an iPhone or Android as the brains of a voice command system that extends to the wrist. Many of these smart features were initially listed on the face of the watch but the creators quickly changed the design after hearing from Kickstarter backers who didn’t care for the cluttered design. “The most important thing we can get from Kickstarter is not the money.

It’s the first-hand market feedback,” said Martian Watches founder Jeffrey Hsieh. “We want to use this like planting a seed – so we can build our own supporter community in the long run.” The company promised early birds backers a watch starting at $110.

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