Wearables are all the rage. Their main purpose is to provide a lot of the same functionality that a smartphone has, but with a bigger convenience factor. It makes one think, “Why not just wear your smartphone on your wrist?”. After thinking about that for a second I take it back. No one should wear such a large device on their wrist. That would look absolutely ridiculous, right? If you can't picture it in your head, check out Indiegogo, where San Francisco Bay Area startup Arubix is seeking crowdfunding for its flexible screen phablet that wraps onto your arm.

This wacky product is called Portal. According to Arubix, the goal of Portal is to provide the “advanced technology of a smartphone with the convenience of a wearable”. Technically, it's a wearable smartphone, fitness tracker, and smartwatch all-in-one, but it mainly looks like a phablet. Arubix designed Portal with a flexible 6-inch touchscreen display that you wear by strapping it to your arm. It holds 2GB of RAM, 64 GB of available storage, comes with a quartet of cameras, a 3200mAh battery, and is water resistant and shatterproof (Cnet). It also uses NFC, Bluetooth, LTE, will run a customizable version of Android and “respond to touch, gesture, and motion-based controls”.

At first, I thought Portal looked like a Samsung Galaxy Note stuck to a person's wrist with some tape. I also didn't believe it was real. It takes up half of your forearm for heaven's sake! But really, even the strangest of devices has a market. The company supports its invention by explaining Portal's place in the world; that it's “designed for tech enthusiasts, active individuals and on-the-go professionals who are frustrated with bulky, cluttered, non-durable phones that constantly get in the way of their dynamic lifestyles”. Many companies design their smartwatches with size and physical appeal in mind. Sometimes this leaves us with a tiny, nearly impossible-to-type-on display. I'd imagine the purpose of a larger wearable device such as Portal is to bring back some practicality, even if it looks like you're in a sci-fi universe. Want to be a part of that universe? Portal is rumored to be around $400.