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Will.i.am debuts ‘Puls’ smartwatch with built-in 3G connection and voice-controlled interface

Image via <a href="http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2014/10/16/will-introduces-wearable-puls/" target="_blank">The Next Web</a>

Pop musician Will.i.am has just taken the wraps off of his first wearable, the Puls smartwatch, during Salesforce’s Dreamforce 2014 conference (via The Next Web). The watch ships with a software suite that includes Facebook and Twitter connectivity, Instagram, and even integration with Salesforce. It also features a voice control system dubbed “Aneeda” that’s powered by Nuance. Aneeda also supports basic features such as reminders, music control, alarms, and more.

On the hardware side, the watch sports standard Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections along with a pedometer, GPS, acceleromter, and even a 3G connection powered by AT&T (or O2 in the UK) that will allow users to place calls or send text messages and emails without pairing the Puls with a phone at all. The battery is built into the strap, providing plenty of space beneath the face for the other internal components, which includes 16 GB of storage space and a full gigabyte of RAM. It also has built in speakers for music and alerts.

An app called Humin will allow you to share contact information from one Puls to another by tapping them together. It can also associate contacts with location and other data, allowing you to use more conversational voice commands such as “send a text to the guy from the game last week.”

A fitness application is also included that can track basic workout data. A future update is said to be in the works that will allow you to share this information between two Puls watches.

The exact price wasn’t given but the singer said that it will be cheaper than an off-contract iPhone, which comes in at $649.

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Comments

  1. I can’t even. What.

  2. Lars Pallesen - 9 years ago

    Looks like something you could be ordered by court to wear under a restraint order. But hey, maybe that’s considered hip in certain environments?

  3. quagski - 9 years ago

    And we thought the Basis Peak had a terrible design…

  4. James Alexander - 9 years ago

    What was he thinking? Will.I.Am I like you but this is not the market you want to jump into with the Apple watch coming in a few months.

    • Sean Tarzan Tan - 9 years ago

      He has no choice, probably spent tons of money and time on research before the Apple Watch came out. The world simply needs more Jony Ive’s.

      • Avenged110 - 9 years ago

        Yet at the same time, less pastel.

      • airmanchairman - 9 years ago

        More cowbell, Will, more cowbell…

  5. herb02153 - 9 years ago

    Looks like everyone is beating Apple at their own game. Apple copied the smart watch from Samsung. And also the smartphone. And the computer. And being a company. And employing humans. And breathing air.

    • matthewr1990 - 9 years ago

      Lmao. For a troll, you’re pretty crap. At least make it less obvious that you’re a sad and lonely nobody.

    • nick (@nicksitruc) - 9 years ago

      Really Apple copied Samsung? Samsung heard all the rumors we did and produced a watch to preempt Apple, that is it.

  6. 311sie - 9 years ago

    Looks like an item out of the SkyMall catalog.

  7. Chris Denny (@dennyc69) - 9 years ago

    He might sell a few…..I guess

  8. Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

    I didn’t realize used car tires could be recycled into ugly smart watches…

  9. clintaustin26 - 9 years ago

    I actually don’t mind the looks of it so much. It looks better than a Pebble, IMO. Decent feature set too. I wonder what the battery life is supposed to be. In any case, the Apple Watch is gonna crush it next year.

  10. stenar - 9 years ago

    That looks like it was designed by the 1990s.

  11. Nick Hagen - 9 years ago

    I’ve got a feeling, that this will bomb. OOOOOOOOOO

  12. al0963 - 9 years ago

    What! Wait! What! I’m confused, what! Scratching my head, wait a second, still can’t get it!

  13. Mr. Grey (@mister_grey) - 9 years ago

    It’s not really a watch, but it doesn’t look bad to me and it has a better feature set than the Watch.

    The things that matter however, we don’t know yet. Things like comfort, fit, performance, weight, and the actual details of what *kind* of bluetooth and what *kind* of WiFi. The cost of the contract would be something to know also.

  14. Tommy Woerner - 9 years ago

    You have got to be kidding me. Please Will.I.Am GTFO the tech space. First of all, he talks like he’s the only one who gets it in the room. Second, those hand gestures while somebody was driving was terrible. 3. This watch can’t possibly be good, being designed by a handful of people and built by some Chinese manufacturer. This company has nowhere near the same buying power as Apple so yes it is going to feel cheaper and they are going to have to cut on specs to even get it to a competitive price point. And I mean really, no word on software it will be running, the irony is too much seeing somebody swipe across a 1″ keyboard and then telling us it’s not like strapping a smartphone to your wrist. Please go away WIA. And then a backpack with speakers lol that cracked me up.

  15. snkrsfx - 9 years ago

    Did I see a Africa icon/App?

  16. oreomuncher - 9 years ago

    you have to admire his admiration…

  17. Rander Nova - 9 years ago

    Very discreet lol!

  18. airmanchairman - 9 years ago

    He’s just eccentric enough to succeed someday. Keep at it, Will: more cowbell, more cowbell…

  19. This guy is a buffon

    • lin2logger - 9 years ago

      Others, meaning the ones that CAN ACTUALLY SPELL, would maybe even call him a BUFFOON.

  20. aromedia - 9 years ago

    A cellular device on my wrist, seriously? Cancer alert!

  21. chrisl84 - 9 years ago

    And now you know why Apple made a “watch” not a tech bloggers fantasy wrist device. Because the mass market aint buying that stupid thing.

  22. Toddger (@Toddger) - 9 years ago

    I love the ebonic naming conventions.

  23. Who did he get to design & build this thing?

  24. 3G from the company that considers HSPA+ 4G