James Martin/CNET
Fashionology is not a word I'd ever thought I'd have to use, but here we are. The term is the guiding light behind the Puls smartband (pronounced pulse). It's a wearable device that aims to be equal parts gadget and fashion accessory. The device is the brainchild of singer-entrepreneur Will.i.am, and couples built in cellular connectivity with a bevvy of apps and features that hope to give the existing wearable tech ecosystem a run for its money.
Details on the timing of the Puls' release and price tag are scant, but Will.i.am's bold take on the wearable is poised to turn heads -- especially if the battery life can keep up with the promise of cellular connectivity.
I'd be hard pressed to call the smartwatch competition stiff. The Moto 360 is arguably the biggest standout of the bunch -- owing largely to its circular face -- but the awkward state of Android wear and meager battery life make it a tough sell. While most existing smartwatches are content to be smarter watches, Puls yearns to be something more: built-in cellular connectivity is a big part of that.
The Puls isn't the first wearable with built-in cellular connectivity: consider the Samsung Gear S. Will.i.am would have us believe that it's the coolest, designed from the ground up to be as much fashion accessory as wunder-gadget.
Stop calling it a watch
And it's not a watch -- that's important. The battery is built directly into the band, as are the rest of the accouterments: 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage space for music and photos, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as a 3G radio. There's also a pair of speakers right on the face, so you can share your tunes with the world. The Puls also packs GPS, a pedometer, and an accelerometer. You'll also find four kilowatts of DAF: "dope-as-f--kness," for the uninitiated.
"Watches don't have SIM cards. Or Qualcomm Snapdragon chips" says Will.i.am. Because the Puls isn't a watch, it's a cuff. The Puls is no longer "big" or "bulky" when you compare it to a fashion accessory. It requires a data plan, which will be provided by AT&T. The Puls will be coming to the UK care of an exclusive partnership with O2.
James Martin/CNET
Will.i.am is a bit of a rambling orator, but at the Puls unveiling here in San Francisco he remarked that the Puls -- which has been in development for three years -- was born from a dream to change the industry. We spend our lives tethered, staring into smartphone displays as we go to work, idle about at home, or rock out at concerts.
The Puls is being developed by Will.i.am's company, i.am+, and funded in part from the artist's own coffers. It'll store your music, and connect to social networks like Twitter through bespoke apps -- there's also a Salseforce app, which lends some relevance to the smartband's announcement at Dreamforce. And you can of course make phone calls and send emails without relying on a phone: typing on this cuff doesn't seem like such an exciting prospect, but we did see it sporting the Minuum keyboard -- I did like it on a smartphone, but always thought it'd make far more sense on a wrist-borne device.
We'll have more coverage on the Pulse soon, so be sure to check back for more!
Will.i.am's Puls smartband lets you leave your phone at home
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