The Ritot is a new watch the projects the time and date onto your hand

Companion devices are gaining popularity as more options become available for consumers. What’s a companion device? It could be a ring,watch, or bracelet that provides notifications or interaction with a connected mobile device. With the way smartphones are gradually getting larger, it can be convenient to know what’s going on without having to pull your smartphone out each time. Ritot is one of the latest gadgets that wants to take space on your wrist, but with a fresh twist. Unlike other products which simply flash a light or buzz some movement, Ritot uses the back of your hand as a display. By default, a gentle shake of your wrist makes the device project the current time, digitally. Since the light doesn’t have to travel far, the wee little pico projector is perfect for the job. And once you pair your smartphone with Ritot, you can run the accompanying app to add more functionality.

Have you ever wondered how great it would be to make better use of all that blank, unproductive space on the back of your hand? Apparently four guys in San Jose, California, have thought about that very question, so they’ve launched a crowdfunding project is to bring a unique type of watch to the masses. The Ritot is touting itself as the world’s first “projection watch.” More specifically, it’s a bracelet that looks sort of like a Fitbit Flex and uses a pico projector to display the time and various smartphone notifications on the back of your hand. The functionality is straightforward: Tap the Ritot or shake your hand and see the current time displayed on your hand for 10 seconds. Sync it with your smartphone and you can see a variety of notifications on the back of your hand – a caller’s name, text messages, reminders, social mediaalerts, weather alerts and emails, among others. The Ritot can also be set to vibrate when notifications are received or when an alarm goes off. A base pad is included with the Ritot. It acts as a wireless charger and an interface you can use to customize the color of the watch’s projections. The base can also act as an alarm clock. The Ritot comes in two flavors: bracelet and sport. The bracelet version has a leather surface and is available in white, black and completely black. The sport version uses plastic and rubber and comes in black or white. Its Indiegogo campaign (which has a page chock-full of interesting photos) began on July 7 and has already raised more than $114,200, or 229 percent of its $50,000 goal. The campaign closes on Aug. 21.