Get Smart

First it was the Smartphone, then it was the SmartTV, and now it’s all about the Smartwatch. Although I prefer my Cartier to help pass the time away, I would definitely consider wearing this new high-tech accessory. Apple’s doing it, and so is Will.i.am, the Grammy-winning rapper and producer – and Black Eyed Peas frontman. His company, i.am+ created Puls which previewed in San Francisco two weeks ago. Available this holiday season at select AT&T stores, Puls is essentially a smart cuff , as Will.i.am – also Intel’s director of creative innovation – would like to call it a fashionology device, in hopes to merge the worlds of fashion and technology by way of a really good looking product. It’s based on a stylish cuff design, rather than attempting to look completely watch-like. Special editions by London-based architect Zaha Hadid will be offered, along with a range of colors as well as a blinged-out incarnation draped in gold and diamonds.

Puls features a curved OLED screen and has two built-in speakers and a microphone. Unlike most other smartwatches out there – including Apple’s – it has its own SIM card which means you can make calls from the watch and send text messages even if your phone is nowhere near you. A 3G data connection allows you to navigate your next destination using the watch’s Map app, and a watch specific streaming music service allows you to bring your tunes along too. All you need to do is sign in using your Google ID, a move that will port all your contacts over from your phone and also give access to your email. Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook apps keep you socially connected from your wrist, and a built-in assistant named Anneda – pronounced I need a – works like that other girl we know named Siri. Who knows…with Puls and others along the way, you just may be able to say Beam me up Scotty- or Anneda- and mean it.