Yesterday, however, Tali got back to us with good news: Driftband is about to launch, and the website is very much up and running.
Driftband is one of the latest attempts at combining fashion with NFC technology, which has been struggling with a stigma of mundanity. That is, sticking an NFC chip onto something like a payment card, mobile device, or into an ugly keychain might not be the most exciting way of enjoying the chips benefits, at least according to Driftband.
So, instead of daydreaming about an alternative, Driftband set out to put the sex back in tech, or in other words, take the NFC chips out shopping for fashion.
The Driftband wristband is an alternative for your typical metropolitan travel card, which are in heavy use in several bigger cities worldwide, such as Helsinki, London and in this case, Tallinn. Alternatively, the wristbands NFC chip could be used as an access card in schools or offices.
There is, of course, a bit of easing out some practical problems, not just esthetic reasoning behind driftband:
Driftband is the next step in giving us an idea on what direction casual NFC technology will be going towards to in the near future, and if its a matter of having the choice to personalize your NFC experience, why not at least make it sturdy and low-key so that wearing it won’t have to be a full blown fashion statement, but rather a twist in your style.
Since not fully launched (but maybe next week?), you’ll find that the Driftband website does not have anything to sell just yet. However, Tali told us the wristband ” will be between €15 and €20, depending on the model.”