Geek chic - a touchy wristwatch

This is a wristwatch but not as we know it. The Mutewatch is much more like a wearable gadget as it packs a lot of technology on to your arm.

It features a touch-sensitive display, vibrating alarms, a timer and a motion sensor that registers even subtle twists of the wrist.

Its clock face also glows with 100Hz LED lights that automatically brighten or dim to suit the environment.

But you might not guess it has all of this technology just by looking at it. In its natural form, the Mutewatch looks more like a wristband with a hip, industrial design.

Mutewatch began its life three years ago as an idea by Swedish economics student Mai-Li Hammargren, who considered adding a vibrating alarm to watches to improve time management and stop waking her boyfriend.

In its development, the Mutewatch gained a touchscreen, a rubber body and the ability to trigger the display by turning your wrist to see it.

The Mutewatch, available in red and charcoal grey, arrives in need of a charge. This is achieved with a USB connection that pops from one end of its wristband. Two hours of power will deliver up to two weeks of wear.

Users can set the time by tapping the screen - the main way you activate and operate this tech-savvy wristwatch.

Holding two fingers on its display lets you set the time, moving the LED numbers up and down until correct.

To use its alarm and stopwatch functions, you simply swipe a finger across the display. Up to five alarms can be set at once and two alarm types are available: short and long. Short alarms vibrate only momentarily while long alarms are delivered with a three-dot pattern on the display. Users must tap the dots to stop the alarm, a useful test of morning awareness.

Alarms can be cancelled with a pinching movement on the display, and you can even tap an on-screen symbol to trigger a snooze function.

The Mutewatch's timer, a further swipe into its menu, lets you set a time limit and vibrates when it's up.

But arguably the coolest part of this watch is the way it shows the time. Whether glowing red or white, the Mutewatch display grabs attention. It appears when you tap the screen or move it to face you - an ingenious addition that makes this one of the most tech-savvy watches around.

The Mutewatch comes in just one size but the rubber band can easily be adjusted to fit wrists smaller than 14cm. It fastens with a press stud.

This hi-tech wristwatch isn't without challenges, however. The rubber attracts black marks easily, though you can wash these off its waterproof exterior. Its capacitive touchscreen can also be unreliable, reacting to some but not all selections. Patience is required.

Quirks aside, the Mutewatch is an exceptional example of geek chic that is bound to have you checking the time obsessively.