will.i.am (I find it really annoying to type his name that way) is a well known musician who makes top selling music with his band the Black Eyed Peas, but is he the new leader of what he calls fashionology with his new i.amPULS cuff? Notice I didn’t call it a smartwatch. He doesn’t want this untethered smartband wearable device to be called a watch even though you wear it on your wrist and it has a clock. If it looks like duck and quacks like a duck then it must be a… The device features a special version of the Android OS, integrated touch screen, 1 GB of memory, 16 GB of storage, 780 mA of power, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, a pedometer and accelerometer and will run untethered on a 3G cellular network provided exclusively through AT&T. Sounds like a smartwatch to me, but where it differs is that unlike most smartwatches it does not need to be paired with a smartphone. The i.amPULS is a stand alone device that you can use to make/receive calls, send/receive texts, find locations on maps, listen to music and more. It even has its own Siri style assistant named “AneedA” who acts on your voice commands. There are a lot of questions left unanswered about this device including pricing and when it will be available. One thing is for sure though, I’ll need two of them so I can do a worthy Wonder Woman impression with indestructible bracelets. Seriously, the i.amPULS has some interesting features, most notably the ability to make and receive calls without being tethered to a phone. But here’s what I’m wondering, will it have a separate phone number that people will need to know in order to call and text your wrist? And how comfortable will this thing be to wear? It sure doesn’t look like anything I’d want on my wrist for very long. What do you think? For more information about i.amPULS, visit www.iampuls.com
Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
No, I would not buy this “device.” It is nice it has some nice features on it that the other watches do not have. However, the watch can only last a few hours and that is not saying much when you rely on it to tell the time and perform a myriad of tasks.
No… I don’t think so… I’m more interested in this one: http://www.chooseblocks.com/#overview
@poqeteer I agree, that is very cool. Think it will really become available? It doesn’t look too comfortable though. That’s the think about all these watches. I’ve tried quite a few activity trackers and smartwatches and they all make my wrist sore after awhile. Probably because I’m always typing on a keyboard and the band is pressing against the desktop and my wrist.
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a bracelet – more room for batteries and electronics plus a bigger screen. I also like the untethered aspect of it, if, as you point out, it can share a number with my phone.
OTOH, I wonder about the provenance. William is not the name I think of for mobile devices, however he wants to punctuate it. Nor does his name come up for an Android skin (plus I want my Google Now).
This has all the makings of what we see in headphones – big rap endorsements of mediocre headphones from anonymous OEMs that can’t come close to the performance of similarly priced headphones from established headphone companies.
@Hildy J very true and so far he doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to trying to market new products. Remember that very gaudy $499 iPhone case he tried to push? Disaster… http://www.imore.com/william-unveils-horribly-overpriced-punctuation-laden-iphone-camera-accessories
@julie yeah I don’t know if it will ever come into being. The hit me up to join their “membership” for $50. There are/were 1000 memberships so that would be a quick 50k… All my gadget budget is gone for the year (with 2 new phones) so I didn’t bite. We’ll just have wait and see.