Mark One's Pryme Vessyl keeps you intelligently hydrated
Mark One, the company behind the controversial Vessyl intelligent cup that will track what you drink and how much, has launched a new product today, Nov. 17. Called Pryme Vessyl, this “smart cup” tracks your hydration needs throughout the day, and will be available for purchase in select Apple retail stores in the United States and Canada.
You can also order Pryme Vessyl from the manufacturer’s Web page or Apple’s online store. Of course, when I clicked the buy link from Mark One’s website, I was greeted with the announcement that the Pryme Vessel is out of stock there, and I would need to make my purchase online or in store at Apple.
The development team behind Pryme is packed with top experts in engineering, health, and product manufacturing. The head engineer behind the product, Hamid Mohammadinia, was a former leader at Apple heading up design for manufacturing for the iPod and all three generations of the iPad. A former design director from Nike, Jason Mayden, was in charge of Pryme’s design. Finally, Dr. Hanson Lenyoun, formerly of Genentech, teamed up with the pair to develop a product “aimed at debunking the myths around hydration, and helping consumers stay mentally sharp and physically strong.”
The cup automatically tracks your water consumption, incorporates the data into Mark One’s proprietary hydration algorithm, and then lets you know when you need to drink more water. Your hydration level is displayed by way of an illuminated line on the side of the cup or in the companion iPhone app, Pryme Vessyl. Pryme takes into account factors like height, age, weight, and sex, along with changing variables like sleep and exercise. The team behind Pryme point out that the eight cups per day rule of thumb doesn’t tell the whole story, and that hydration needs fluctuate daily and even hourly.
Mark One’s first product, the $199 Vessyl, was met with a huge outpour of Kickstarter support. Vessyl not only tracks how much you drink, but also detects what you’re drinking and provides you of the nutritional contents of that beverage. Vessyl, unfortunately, still hasn’t begun delivering despite announcing that the company was shifting “the shipping estimates to early Q4.”
Those who backed the original Vessyl are being offered a Pryme Vessyl free of charge. Normally, the smart cup retails for $99. However, any backer who accepts the offer of a free Pryme will give up their right to request a refund for the original Vessyl. This has to be extremely frustrating for customers who preordered the original smart cup more than a year ago, and still have no idea if or when they’ll be receiving the product they laid out their money for. Still, the idea of a cup that automatically tracks how much I need to drink compared with how much I’ve already consumed is definitely intriguing.