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Intel's High-Fashion 'Smart' Bracelet Comes at High Price

The chipmaker, caught flat-footed by the rise of smartphones and tablets, has been furiously diversifying its product line in hopes of capturing tech's next wave.

Intel put a price on its new, upscale MICA smart bracelet Monday -- it's $495, available exclusively from the fashion brand Opening Ceremony, which helped design it, and the luxury department store Barneys New York.

The chipmaker, caught flat-footed by the rise of smartphones and tablets, has been furiously diversifying its product line in hopes of capturing tech's next wave.

Intel has partnered with others to develop a series of products well beyond its core market in PCs, including a bowl for charging wireless gadgets and headphones that monitor runners' heart rates.

Intel unveiled MICA (My Intelligent Communication Accessory) at New York Fashion Week in September but said little about its capabilities. The company offered a good deal more detail Monday:

--The bracelet has an 18 karat gold coating and curved sapphire touchscreen. It comes in two styles: "black water snake skin" with pearls and lapis stones; or "white water snake skin" with tiger's eye and obsidian.

--MICA displays text messages and e-mail notifications from people identified as "important contacts" in Gmail. Alert vibration indicates when new messages come in. But responses are limited to a selection of preprogrammed possibilities.

--The screen is on the bracelet's underside, so it's visible mainly when the wearer turns her wrist to check it.

--It notifies wearers of Google Calendar and Facebook events.

--The $495 price tag comes with two years of wireless service from AT&T so it receives notifications even if you don't have a smartphone or Wi-Fi nearby.

--Intel says MICA has two days' of battery life.

The Wall Street Journal reports that MICA runs on a processor from Intel-rival ARM. Intel has indicated it's open to using competitors' designs on new products while it's improving its own mobile designs.

Wearable technology is a hot and increasingly competitive market. Tech companies already sell a variety of fitness bracelets and smart watches, a field Apple will join early next year.

Tech site Engadget has a first review of MICA, and it's decidedly mixed.

"As a piece of technology it's been very strictly limited by design to serve purposes demanded by the fashionistas and style gurus Intel and Opening Ceremony spoke to," writes Chris Velazco, writing that "MICA has plenty of style and not nearly as much substance."

©2014 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)