Forget the smartwatch, just stick Montblanc's e-Strap onto your regular watch

The smartwatch still has some way to go before it becomes a truly sought-after piece of tech, but what if we've been thinking about it the wrong way all this time?

Watchmaker Montblanc is proposing a different idea: make the strap, not the clock, the "smart" part. Its e-Strap attaches itself to the clock face like any other, but has the bonus feature of offering notifications.

These come through a 0.9-inch monochrome screen on the leather strap, so you'll only be using this for the simple notifications - calls, texts, calendar reminders etc - however there's an inbuilt activity tracker too. The five-day battery life is also quite appealing, we have to admit.

The strap is currently being sold with the Montblanc Timewalker Urban Speed collection, but will also be available separately. It works with Android and iPhone, and will cost around £195/$200/AU$370 - not cheap, but now you won't have to sacrifice looks for function.

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