Gucci and Will.i.am Unveil Wearable Tech Collaboration

Alessandra Codinha, Vogue:

The musician has joined forces with Gucci Timepieces on a “smartband” that is completely standalone, which is to say untethered from any existing smartphone or mobile device. What makes it so smart? Well, it has the ability to make and receive phone calls; send and receive text messages and emails; hold music, maps, and your calendar; track your fitness; and even possesses a “sophisticated personal assistant” activated by voice command. “Wearable technology and smart devices represent a new frontier for the fashion industry. It is very appropriate that Gucci is leading the way through this collaboration with will.i.am, as innovation has always been such an important part of our DNA,” wrote Gucci President and CEO Marco Bizzarri in a statement.

Dan Seifert, writing for The Verge back in November:

The Puls is a fully independent smartwatch — it has its own SIM card and doesn’t rely on being connected to a smartphone to work. Will.i.am introduced it to the world on a stage at Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference last month in front a bunch of devotees to CRM.

I got a chance to use an early production model earlier today. It’s objectively the worst product I’ve touched all year.

Good luck with that, Gucci.

★ Thursday, 19 March 2015