Gucci and will.i.am unveil standalone smartband
Will.you or won't.you?
What the smartwatch war needs is a big name. Someone with style. Someone with prowess and reputation in developing high-end technology. All hail Will.i.am and Gucci’s luxury smartband.
With the big players in smartwatches evidently having missed the style memo (who’d be seen wearing that monstrosity from Apple? And the Pebble Steel? Please…), this collaboration between the Hip-Hop icon and fashion powerhouse, reportedly four years in the making, is set to put things on the right track.
Who needs specs when you have fashion? Shirking anything concrete in favour of a dark on dark release image, Will and Guc’ unveiled the band at BaselWorld 2015.
Using baffling portmanteau, the Man himself helpfully explained: "We call it fashionology. It’s where fashion and technology meet." Because, as we all know, technology companies are incapable of producing anything remotely fashionable.
This isn’t the Black Eyed Peas Man’s first foray into wearables: the i.am+ PULS (above) was announced a few months ago, and, if the new band is anything like as exclusive (see the request form for the privilege of buying a PULS for $399), you’ll have to be Madonna to come near one.
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Perhaps the biggest feature of Will’s wristwear is that it’s completely standalone: less a smartband, more a wristphone. 3G-enabled and able to make and take calls, send texts and emails, store music, calendars, maps and more, the band will also feature a host of fitness sensors including a heart rate monitor, temperature sensor and GPS.
A subtle hint to purchasers? Certainly the health features on the as-yet unnamed collaboration piece will encourage wearers to get up and keep fit, and are more than you can currently find on certain other high-end smartwatches.
But with no mention yet of battery life, it’s best not to get too excited over this fashion-tech fusion just yet. Then again, you could always rely on your Swarovski-backed Samsung Galaxy Note 4 as a backup.
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Chris Rowlands
Freelance contributor 
