A wrist device, cuff, smartband but not 'smartwatch' from Will.i.am's team
"The Puls doesn't fully amaze, but it does provide interesting features that could make it a wearable to keep an eye on."
For
Nice UI
SIM card
Untethered
Feels sturdy
Against
Chunky band
Looks like slap bracelet
Texting is tricky
Officially announced
during Dreamforce 2014, the Puls marks yet another step into the tech
sphere by musician and tech fan, Will.i.am. Engineered by his i.am+
company, the "smartcuff" took almost three years to complete and has
clearly been a labor of love for the Black Eyed Peas band member. Like
the Apple Watch, Moto 360 and even Pebble Steel, the Puls cuff is
attempting to blend fashion with functionality, or as Will put it during
his keynote, "fashionology." Notice we call it a
smartcuff - or cuff, smartband, wrist device and wearable - but not a
smartwatch. According to the i.am crowd, the Puls is not a smartwatch
even though this is clearly where it lies on the gadget spectrum. Odd labeling conventions aside, the Puls is definitely a functioning watch with a customizable lock screen. It's
powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with a forked version of
Android 4.1. The one-inch-wide cuff comes with 16GB of internal storage,
1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity and GPS functionality. It
also has a pedometer, accelerometer Siri/Cortana-like assistant called
Aneeda - and can make phone calls. Interestingly, the Puls will be
completely untethered meaning a smartphone is not needed for it to work.
So far AT&T will be the only network carrier in the US, and O2 in
the UK. I
can see this feature being handy while driving - in fact I've discussed
combining the calling functionality with smartwatches before with
friends where many agreed that it wouldn't be a horrible idea. For more
private conversations on the device, however, you can still connect your
phone via Bluetooth.
Design
The screen is
slightly curved to fit the cuff shape. The bezel seemed a little too big
and felt like it could have been better off with more screen. Though
fashion is a major element of the Puls, the thick band just isn't
appealing. In fact, it's almost reminiscent of a slap bracelet. I
suppose my aversion towards cuff-esque jewelry doesn't help but the
device doesn't look as nice compared to an Android Wear smartwatch, or even the original Pebble. The
band is pretty chunky in general, likely to fit all the internal
hardware. But the Puls as a whole is still surprisingly light and comfy.
I also have tiny wrists and always worry about bracelets falling off
but the Puls actually stayed on nice and snug. I was also told by a Puls
rep that there will also be other sized bands, ones that can extend for
larger wrists. The watch snaps open and closes
magnetically which again, really reminded me of a slap bracelet. It even
sounds like one when it snaps shut. There
is a microphone above the screen and a speaker below which you use for
calls, music and of course for the sound in general. The speaker works well and provided nice, clear and loud sound with music. I wasn't able to test calling at the time.The
UI was surprisingly nice thanks to all the splashes of color and the
hints of Android sprinkled in. In the home view, you scroll up and down
to get to various apps, where each one is different, colorful graphic
that fills the screen. There
is no dedicated screen where you can see all the apps in one place.
Once selecting an app, you can swipe right for a list of options or
scroll down for a menu. Swiping
from the left side of the screen brings up a quick menu to get you back
home, to the settings and to your voice controlled assistant, Aneeda.
More features and onboard apps
Speaking
of Aneeda, or should I say speaking to her, wasn't too bad. The Puls
mic had a difficult time picking up my voice with the ambient noise of
people milling about but once it heard me, Aneeda was able to correctly
identify my request. The Puls rep told me the ideal distance is about
six to eight inches from your face for it to properly hear you. The
wearable also didn't take too long either when asked "who is Barack
Obama." Aneeda was able to pull up the info from Wolfram Alpha in about
three seconds - but asking her to find coffee with the maps app took a
little longer.Texting
vocally was also fairly accurate when using Aneeda. As you can see
above, the keyboard for typing is rather small so speaking messages may
be the easiest route. Physically texting wasn't awful either but would
take some getting used to. The keyboard felt decently intuitive, but the
small screen might be frustrating to master at first.There is also no delete or space key - rather you perform a long swipe left to delete and long swipe right to space. The
Puls's app ecosystem is pretty simple right now and filled with what
Will.i.am calls the "important apps." But that doesn't mean more aren't
on the way. The i.am+ team will be creating its own app store and will
be releasing the SDK to developers soon. For now, Puls comes with
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (or Twitrist), specialized Maps app, Music,
Fitness tracker and a SoundHound-like app that is still being developed
in-house. An app called Vibe supposedly detects emotions (opposed to a heartbeat) will also be included.
Early verdict
Whenever
a celebrity ventures into a space that isn't their own, it's difficult
to take them seriously. But Will.i.am has consistently shown interest in
tech over the years to make me believe that he genuinely cares about
it. This doesn't mean the Puls will be successful
though. The wearables scene is quickly becoming over-saturated with
people already rolling their eyes at the very mention of "new
smartwatch." The fashion angle also probably won't cut it for the Puls
because, well, frankly it's pretty ugly. Unseemly band
aside, the fact that it's a "standalone communications device," or
untethered phone is perhaps the most interesting part about the wearable
- and may just keep it alive. Paired with a reasonable price come the
holiday season, the Puls could certainly fly off the shelves.
