Will.i.am Unveils New Smartwatch with Streaming Music Service

Musician and tech entrepreneur will.i.am has introduced the PULS smartwatch in order to fill what he perceives as a void in a wearable market that does not adequately take fashion into account. At Dreamforce 2014, he presented PULS as a wearable that does not need to be tethered to a phone since it has its own SIM card. The device looks more like a cuff, and has speakers and a touchscreen display. PULS connects via Wi-Fi and has carrier partners for 3G — AT&T in the U.S. and O2 in the U.K. 

“The PULS (a product out of his wearable tech company, i.am+) has 16GB of storage onboard, 1GB of RAM, GPS, a battery that goes around the bracelet, pedometer and accelerometer, all powered by an Android-based platform and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor,” reports Engadget.

The device also features a voice assistant and a music streaming service.

PULS_Smartwatch

PULS is accompanied by accessories, including a jacket with battery packs that charge the watch as it touches the sleeve and a backpack that includes a speaker with the option to weigh yourself and count the steps you’ve taken in a day.

“The musician, born as William Adams, was a founding investor in Beats Electronics, which sold to Apple earlier this year for $3 billion,” notes USA Today. “His payout as a tech investor enabled him to put $15 million into forming his i.am+ company, and he raised another $30 million from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and others.”

“With some STEM knowledge and a vision, discipline, drive and a great ‘small but mighty’ team at my startup company, we’ve accomplished something wonderful,” Will.i.am writes in The Huffington Post. “I’m a creative person, but can honestly say that focusing on music alone has never tapped my potential in the same way that I am working right now. The merging of many functions required to create and deliver a fresh approach to wearables includes design, fashion, coding, app development, 3D printing, manufacturing and marketing excites me.”

According to USA Today, the PULS will be available in select stores by the end of the year starting at $499.

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