SMART JEWELRY LINE AIMS TO HELP KEEP WOMEN SAFE
By Liz Gunn || Forgive me if this is old news to you, but it’s the first I’m hearing about this product that combines two of my favorite things – fashion and technology. The fact that one of its goals is to help keep women safe is just icing on the cake. Of course it’s not to say that it wouldn’t work for men, but the target as of now appears to be women.
The jewelry line, Cuff, operates on Bluetooth technology. Each accessory has a place to store the removable “CuffLinc”, which serves as the device to alert a group of people that you choose of your exact location. There are pendants, bracelets and keychains – not just cuffs, as the brand name might indicate.
It does a few other cool things like alert you when an important call is coming through or when you’ve left your phone at home or on the table at a restaurant. Of course I have a lot of questions about these features that I’m unable to find answers to. (Is my Cuff going to vibrate every time I leave my phone on my desk to walk into a meeting? Will I have to manually set up my VIPs every time I sit down to lunch with a client so as not to be interrupted?)
I really want this to be a good product, because the idea is very neat, but I think it’s too soon to declare Cuff a winner. First of all, in the emergency situation it’s being touted for, it only sends a real-time vibration to other Cuff wearers. Anyone else will only receive a push notification from the app, assuming they have their phone in hand and not silenced. Also, since it operates on Bluetooth technology synced to your cell phone, you would have to have cell service at the time of said emergency.
One can’t help but wonder though, in a true emergency, how much a device like this would actually prevent an attack or a robbery? Probably not at all. It may be helpful to police in piecing together an investigation or to find you if you were kidnapped (which is obviously a huge plus), but I don’t see how it could really serve as a deterrent.
Although the ad for Cuff on their website doesn’t mention it, one magazine write-up claims that only with an additional press of a button can you trigger a microphone that will send real time audio to your Cuff contacts. In the midst of a crime taking place, what are the chances that you would be able to do that?
From a safety standpoint, I do see this being used by parents to send and receive quick location based messages to and from their kids. But doesn’t a cell phone already have that capability? It might also be good to have in large venues like festivals and concerts where you may get separated from friends or family, but a cell phone usually handles that problem, too.
The Cuff system can also track fitness, and honestly I think this is where they can succeed in the foreseeable future – until Cuff’s technology does something a cell phone cannot. It tracks steps per day and you can enter your caloric intake via the app.
The fashionable thing about Cuff is that it actually looks like women’s jewelry – not a FitBit, or a Nike + Fuel Band or a Wal-Mart quality digital watch. Founder and CEO, Deepa Sood, is the former Vice President of Product Development with Restoration Hardware, so you know she has an eye for design. Her long term vision is to have well-known jewelry designers create pieces that will pair with the CuffLinc. If that happens, I do think they will have some success.
It’s also moderately priced at just $49, for the basic package, which includes a CuffLinc, a Cuff bracelet and a charging system. Interchangeable cuffs and additional CuffLincs each start at just $29. It’s a small price to pay for the dual purpose of accessorizing and playing it safe.
With only 37 days until Christmas, this is a unique gift idea for the girl who has everything and wants to be the first to have everything else. They are currently in pre-order, so quite literally no one in the general public has one yet. I think it’s also a great gift idea for a businesswoman, a busy mom or someone who is trying to live a bit healthier.
Giving a Cuff says I care about your safety, your health and I want to know exactly where you are at all times. Click here to pre-order one.
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Liz Gunn is a wife, mom, travel enthusiast, food snob, daydreamer and lifelong Gamecock fan. A graduate of the University of South Carolina, she lives in Columbia, S.C. with her husband and daughter.
33 comments
If you were home and in the kitchen making me a sandwich, you wouldn’t need this.
Just sayin’.
Who doesn’t like a well made sammy by a pregnant housewife?
No pregnancies…just sammiches, please.
Hmmm, you two guys have a thing for a woman with a knife in her hand?
______________
Three guys are on their lunch break, talking about their wives. Two of them are bragging how they’re the “man of the house” while the third remains silent. After a while, one of the guys says to the third fellow, “You’ve been pretty quiet, pal. What’s the matter, does your wife boss you around?”
The third guy says, “Let me tell you guys something. Just the other night, my wife came to me crawling on her hands and knees.”
The first two guys look at him astonishingly and one says, “What was the reason for that?”
“She said, ‘Get out from under that bed and fight like a man you little weasel.”
I chipped my dog and it helped us find her. I wanted to chip my daughter. She said that she would just take her chances with the baby Glock she got last Christmas.
I like the Glock idea! For those situations where the Glock may be too large to take along, these aren’t a bad idea. One or two well placed shots will likely make a rapist lose his “ambition” rather quickly.
http://www.expeditionexchange.com/johnlee/naa001%20004.jpg
One could always get one of each.
“Well placed shots?” …
And can she use those cuffs to track her errant boy friend?
This could be embarrassing if the wearer has to remove one of these items of jewelry to get comfortable before engaging in intimate physical activity. Can you imagine several of your friends showing up at your partner’s motel room, apartment, house, etc, just as things get good?
—- or her husband
Ouch, Shifty! That would be even worse!
— somewhere there is a joke for this
Sam Kemp had invited Tom Bronson, a new business associate from Arizona, to spend the weekend at his country estate. At the airport to fly home, Bronson was thanking Kemp for being such a good host. “My room was great. The food was terrific. The fishing and horseback riding were fun. And, more than anything else thanks for letting me sleep with your wife. She was terrific and the best I ever had!”
Boarding was announced. Kemp waved goodbye and left. A stranger walked over to Bronson and said, “Pardon me, but did I just hear you thank that man for letting you sleep with his wife? And that she was terrific and the best you ever had?”
Bronson said, “She really wasn’t, but Sam Kemp’s such a nice guy!”
It seems like you really focused on the vibration aspect of this technology.
You should opt for a pistol in your purse, much more reliable crime deterrent.
Hi Liz! How are the lungs and that shot arm? I hope they are better by now.
Hey – thanks for asking, I’m doing much better. My arm is fine, but my lungs are still on the mend. Although the pain in my chest is nearly gone, now I have a full blown cold. Good times! I’ll survive though :)
Glad to hear your arm is better and your lungs are getting there. Sorry about your cold. I hope it is all gone by the Holidays so you can enjoy them.
Everyone likes a girl with a good set of lungs.
I hope so, too. Although, if not – I’ll have a great excuse to excuse myself from some extended time with my in-laws. (kidding…okay, not really)
Ten bucks says the NSA has access to this system, whether the company knows it or not.
Another ten bucks says that if the company is successful, that it will only be a matter of time before it starts selling the data it collects to third parties.
… selling the data? like immediately?
BTW: I’ been asking my phone company if I get a cut of their FBI/NSA/DHS/FEMA/Small Animal Administration payments for selling my personal info. I’d even take credits on the phone & cable bills.
Perfect gift to give if you’re a stalker boyfriend.
— unless she loans it one night to Uncle Luigi’s wife
” I care about your safety, your health and I want to know exactly where you are at all times.”-Liz
Isn’t that what stalker chicks always say?
Nothing says Merry Christmas like “here, just in case you get abducted” jewelry.
Bluetooth has a range of 32 feet.
“It might be helpful . . . but I don’t see how it could really serve as a deterrent.”
I think that’s the point, Liz. When a company makes something incognito, they aren’t looking to deter behavior; rather, they are subtly achieving a responsive result.
Right. And my point is that I don’t feel like this product would really make me any safer – just easier to find my body after the fact. But they’re advertising it as a product to keep you safe.
Ya know Liz………do you really think men and women here on FITSNEWS are that unaware..? We are the type of people who would gladly trade places with Paul Revere and get on a horse and use our latest lamp technology to tell voters and taxpayers and shoppers and the homeless that the “British are coming”…!!! LIZ……you are no different. So stop writing like you are Jenny Sanford or Anita Zucker and start writing like a woman from the AMAZON…!!! ALL real women know that their fashion accessories are weapons…!!! A ring is a weapon to tell all Men that a heart is “spoken for”..! A necklace is a weapon to tell all other women if your “on the hunt or not”…! A dress is a weapon to tell MEN something about you just like SMOKE signals were used by frisky indians. So, don’t write a fluff piece like this and act like you don’t have a clue how it is really meant to be worn..!!
Liz….how can the info from this bracelet be used in a court of LAW in a class action lawsuit on behalf of mothers against BIG OIL…?? Dare to think about that LIZ…!?
Liz……how can this bracelet be used in a high school to teach kids how to track a politician…..or teacher………or boss…? Why would it benefit their education or PENSION or tax dollars…!?
LIZ…….maybe you need to sit back and think about a line of FITSNEWS fashion artillery…!?
Un-believe-able…….!!
{ S P I T }
???
LOL…….
Well, Mr. Corrupt, do you have 3 questions….or not..?
+25 points and a “Father, Son, Holy G” gang sign badge…..
Uhhhhh…………………………………………………………… ok.
Whatsamatta CC? Don’t have the Google App to translate Lunatic to English?