Hands-on: Sony’s Wena is a handsome mechanical watch with a smartwatch strap

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ars.AD.queue.push(["xrailTop", {sz:"300x251", kws:["bottom"], collapse: true}]);There wasn't exactly a shortage of smartwatches at this year's IFA, what with the likes of the new Moto 360 and Samsung Gear S2 both getting a public unveiling. But Sony's Wena—one of the first products to emerge out of the company's internal crowdfunding platform First Flight—does things rather differently. Wena, which stands for the slightly cringeworthy "Wear Electronic Natural," takes the smartwatch concept and turns its on its head, putting all the "smart" parts of the watch into the wrist strap, rather than the watch face.

The result is a watch that, well, looks like a watch, and a very handsome one at that too. That's thanks in part to Japanese watchmaker Citizen, which helped with the weighty and expensive stainless steel design. The Wena is, however, rather masculine in design, and those with smaller wrists may still find its 42mm face a little too big, even if it’s far smaller than a Moto 360. The front of watch does one thing, and one thing only: tell the time. There are some basic chronograph functions, too, but the meat of the Wena's functionality lies in the wrist strap.

Stuffing the contents of a smartwatch into the wrist strap isn't an entirely new idea—see the likes of the IWC Connect and Montblanc's Urban Speed e-Strap—but it is the most elegant implementation by far. Built into the clasp of the watch is a LED strip, as well as a sophisticated vibration motor, which Sony says will allow for various different types of vibration to be assigned to different notifications. For example, if you received a WhatsApp message on your phone, the Wena's LED strip could light up green, and then pulse your wrist three times to alert you.