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The idea of having a camera that is closer than our smartphones is one with some appeal, if done correctly. It’s the same idea behind Snapchat’s Spectacles and even part of Google Glass’ limited appeal.

Yet, there could be some usefulness in having a camera on the wrist, both to enable video chat as well as to capture moments that would otherwise be missed reaching for a smartphone.

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In building its smartwatch, Apple designed it without a camera — a sensible choice given the challenges that come with trying to design a wearable that is small and yet has enough battery life to make it through the day.

Glide, a company known for its messaging software rather than for hardware, says it is stepping up to fill that void. The Israel- and Bay Area-based startup is building CMRA, a smartwatch strap that adds both a two-megapixel selfie cam and an eight-megapixel shooter for capturing what is in front of the watch wearer.

Glide has been working on the product for 18 months and has working preproduction units with final hardware components in place, Roisman said.

And, I’ll be honest. The mere mention of a camera on the watch strap brings up painful memories of the carbuncle-like module that adorned the earliest Samsung Gear smartwatch. Thankfully, the lenses on the CMRA appear to be significantly smaller.

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Roisman said the lower preorder price is his company’s way of rewarding those willing to plunk down for hardware months before it is ready.

The Apple Watch serves as a viewfinder for the CMRA, though the device works even when the watch is off or out of power, storing photos and videos in its eight gigabytes of built-in storage.

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And goodness knows the smartwatch industry still needs some help in finding the right mix of features to transform the category from a novelty to a must-have gadget.

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That said, we should remind readers this is hardware being made available for preorder — and preorder hardware has a terrible track record, with products often shipping later than expected or not at all, even from those with the best of intentions.

Nor does the CMRA come cheap. It’s designed to sell for $249, though the company plans to offer it for preorder at $199, with the earliest orders getting it for $149.

This would be a 5 star review if they had said on their Amazon listing that the lights Do Not plug into the factory fog light harness instead of saying in the listing they are Plug and Play! They do say that some wiring is required to use the halo but not the driving light itself. Now that I think of it this would not be a 5 star review because I would have never bought the lights because I really do not want to cut the factory plugs off my harness. Unfortunately for me I had to snip off one of the unused mounting tabs to mount the lights in my aftermarket bumper otherwise I would return these lights. Way to false advertise Auxbeam!

Glide’s CMRA also comes with an integrated charger for the watch and camera band, one that packs a built-in battery big enough to charge both devices twice over. Glide is hoping the combination will be valuable enough to make the product take off.

“The camera is only valuable when it is out and ready to take a photo or video,” said Glide CEO Ari Roisman. “Our phones live in our pockets.”

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As for why it is taking orders so early, Roisman offers up the standard answer for small companies looking to do hardware: It needs to know how many to build, and the best way to do that is to sell them publicly before the first units roll off the manufacturing lines.

Great but could be better. The plastic guard are good but should have cutouts or the ability to knockout so the DRL can shine through when covered. The switch works great but double stick tape??? I printed a small housing so I could screw it to the dash. How about making one for the switch and giving the buyer the option? Other than that the lights are great