THE inventor of a smartwatch says he is still planning to launch the product after backers raised concerns that the crowdfunding scheme is a scam.

Darin Philip, from Howley, secured £120,000 through crowdfunding for the ‘unique’ Cronovo smartwatch, which boasts a built-in electrocardiogram machine.

His campaign attracted backers from across the world, but nearly three years later they are still waiting to receive the product – leading to worries that they have been conned.

One disgruntled customer said: “I ordered the watch in October 2017, and at the time it was promised to be shipped to me in December 2017.

“The watch is still not finished and all the backers are still complaining about it on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

“I just think that this whole smartwatch project is a scam, and that nothing will be ever done.

“Those people just want to get as much money as possible before running run away with it.”

Mr Philip has responded to the concerns after being approached by the Warrington Guardian, and said he hopes to finally launch the Cronovo smartwatch around January.

The former Priestley College student said: “There have been some delays due to medical certifications and Covid-19.

“We just got our tech certified by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Union’s CE.

“In order to get these certifications, the timelines are really long, but we have now got our software medically certified.

“Coronavirus also added to our delay, and we have just restarted business operations recently.

“We still have work remaining, especially related to the software – we understand the delay has been so long.

“Because of this, we have added new features into our device so that it is not outdated when we launch.”