Ulysse Nardin, a developer of mechanical timepieces, and SCI Innovations have partnered to create a hybrid-powered smart phone, which is titled as the Chairman, under the Ulysse Nardin brand.
SCI Innovations has said that the Chairman features a functioning mechanical watch rotor that is also incorporated into its design. This component was designed by Ulysse Nardin. Similar to an automatic watch that receives power from the force of a rotor, the Chairman does the same: charging a built-in battery using the kinetic energy of the moving rotor to supply supplemental power to the Chairman.
The company has also said that the Chairman is an open smart phone compatible with many GSM networks around the world. It features a 2.8 touch-screen and oversized numeric buttons. It also incorporates a specialized fingerprint recognition security feature and a high-resolution digital camera.
The Chairman and its various iterations will have limited production. The Ulysse Nardin Chairman hybrid smart phone is expected to be available for purchase in the fall of 2009.
Rolf Schnyder, owner and president of Ulysse Nardin, said: I am absolutely thrilled that Ulysse Nardin has partnered with SCI Innovations to release the first hybrid smart phone into the market. The resulting design is a perfect complement to our catalogue of historic timepieces. Many of the striking aesthetical and technical elements Ulysse Nardin is renowned for are incorporated in the Chairman.
