DURR Beta - a shivering bracelet revealed

This article is all about one man’s journey into his perception of time and about the companion that mediates the unique experience - DURR. DURR is made by a Norwegian team of designers called Skreksto. It is a bracelet that vibrates every five minutes. Note the word ‘bracelet’ because thinking about Durr as a watch will lead you to expectations that will not be met. I will touch the ‘watch’ misconception later in this article. What is your perception of time?

Conclusion

Durr Beta¹ is a bracelet that happened to have electronics inside.

If you are a fan boy/girl with a budget of $100 - $200 to spend on toys that you will eventually abandon sooner or later, just buy it - the attention and experience is worth the money.

I was repeatedly suprised at differences of subjective length of 5 minutes which I experienced.

But if you are a more cautious person with your money - think twice. The Durr is not water-resistant and, under certain circumstances, loses power and becomes unreliable.

Price tag

The price is 105 EUR. But it is located in Norway, so a shipping fee is required - 5 EUR standard, or 45 EUR Fedex (that’s a huge difference ?!). If you are from the EU, then you need to add VAT and customs fees.

Overall, the total price can vary between 120 and 200 EUR.

Which is not a cheap product at all. You can buy decent stylish watches or jewellery bracelet in this price range.

Durr purchase - tricky part - an easy misconception

Durr beta unboxed - after three days of usage

I admit, I bought Durr very VERY impulsively. At the beginning of September I realized that my wait for a new gadget to play with would not be answered (I really do not understand people who are switching from iPhone5 or Macbook Air after 2011). I was nervous and lost.

Then an email arrived in my inbox - Durr beta is available - I bought it in a couple of minutes. I liked the idea, the pictures were great. I swallowed the price and the sky high shipping fee.

Well, I did not analyze all the texts on Durr page. Believe me, the texts are attorney quality optimized.

Durr arrived - misconception revealed

One day, my Durr was delivered.

Essentially, I got this.

Issue #1 - water resistance

You can imagine my unpleasant supprise - it was written right on the box - with BIG LETTERS THAT NO ONE COULD MISS - INCLUDING ME. What I easily missed on Durr website, I did not miss on the BOX.

Durr Beta is not water resistant! There is no warranty when walking in the rain or washing hands!

A couple of notes on Skreksto’s behavior

So, I asked Skreksto to confirm (and put under warranty) if it is water resistant to a degree and that I can use it all day long, including washing hands and walking in the rain.

The answer was no.

I sent them a VERY angry email - stating that I felt cheated by their DURR presentation as a product to be worn on the wrist for the whole day accompanying me during all kinds of activities.
Obviously for such a product I expect a warranty of at least basic water resistance.

Compared to standard watches, Durr is far below any expectations.

I received a reply from Skreksto which I never received before - a cynical answer about my expectations on one hand, and attorney-level reference to a tiny sentence at the bottom of Durr’s webpage.

We had another exchange of email communication, and situation settled on the following:

• Durr’s creators perceive Durr as a jewellery bracelet, rather than an electronics item od even a watch. The application of standard wearables specifications is not appropriate.
• Durr’s authors are pretty confident that Durr can handle gentle splashes like rain or hand-washing, but they do not offer warranty to avoid claims.
• Durr’s authors do not find any misleading communication on their website.

Mentally, I accepted the fact that I might (soon) lose my Durr because of a splash of water.

I wore the Durr for three days and I was intrigued.

Until Sunday afternoon - then I got caught by rain …

Bend test - issue #2

Later that Sunday I noticed my Durr behaving suspiciously - the vibration changed.
The interval between vibrations started to be unpredictable.

When I spotted this change I was sure it was because of the rain. Water leaked inside and was causing problems.

But soon, I also noticed that when I bent my hand, the Durr became distorted.

Checkout out the distortion in the Durr between its aluminium top and the plastic body - strap fixation becomes visible.

Durr - disassembly

At home, I decided to dismantle Durr make it dry and try it again.

But a surprise awaited me after I disassembled Durr - there was no water.

Well with no water inside - what it could be? An idea came to me.

It occured to me that when I bent my wrist, the Durr got distorted, the battery lost contact, the charge drops and the electronics stop working correctly even if the battery gains contact again.

The battery contacts, under the DURR name, are too narrow - bending them helps to keep battery contact for a while - until they get narrow again.

Mea culpa - tricky point disassembling Durr

BEWARE OF BREAKING THE DURR BUTTON!

Push the button deep inside the Durr’s aluminium top and keep it pushed inside while pulling the plastic body out of the aluminium top.

The button is actually part of the plastic body. So, if it is not pushed inside enough, it will break ireversibly.