A wearable gadget women will want on their wrist

One of the biggest complaints about the current state of smartwatches is that many of them are just plain ugly. Most of these look just like a smartphone strapped to your wrist, but Intel is hoping to change that.

The company recently partnered with Opening Ceremony to power the My Intelligent Communication Accessory (MICA) smart bracelet, a piece of jewellery with a touchscreen display discreetly tucked inside.

The bracelet is designed as an accessory first and tech product second, said Ayse Ildeniz, vice-president of Intel's New Devices Group. "When wearables basically take off, they have to be accessories that you like to have on you," Ildeniz said.

The MICA comes with its own 3G radio, which means it won't have to be tethered to a smartphone to pull up emails, text messages, and posts from your social media feed. This information is displayed on a 1.6-inch curved touchscreen coated with scratchresistant sapphire, which faces the inside of your wrist rather than the outside.

This is meant to keep your information private. The smart bracelet will be available in two styles when it launches around November. One version will come with a black watersnake skin finish, pearls from China, and a lapis stone from Madagascar; the other will feature a white watersnake skin base with tiger's eye stones from South Africa and obsidian from Russia.

Opening Ceremony and Intel haven't locked down a price, but the bracelet will retail for less than $1,000 (Rs 60,500) at Barney's. The MICA certainly looks much more like jewellery than any other smart device we've seen so far, but its high price tag could limit its audience.