CNET News - will.i.am launches new Puls wearable but do not call it a watch

cnet.co/1vGc2jP
Black Eye Peas front man and entrepreneur will.i.am is joining the wearables craze with Puls, what he calls a smart "cuff" with a sim card. CNET's Brian Tong chatted with will.i.am about creating his new device, what he learned at Beats and how he hopes to inspire young people.

[@talibanking]

this is what happens when you live in a bubble and everyone around you just agrees with everything you say.

[@CaLMCee]

tooo many Stans in mans life

[@marcelo4real845]

True, this is boring, when people just agree with everything you say but behind the back they disegree and badmouth

[@virgoguy29ify]

"It's not a watch." "If the sleeve touches the watch..."

[@bethebestyoucanbe7746]

hahaha

[@AmandaWoolsey]

Maybe he should also hire a marketing team and spokesperson!

[@tuolumne9]

First order of business would be to replace him with somebody with far more tolerable voice.

[@as05ca]

As a designer, I think he is an egomaniac, out of his mind

[@buckamoona]

will.i.am.not?

[@Panthers1521]

I could not agree more, he should have stayed out of this and hired a team. He just needs to wear it and smile and not speak.

[@PrinceOfParthia74]

it was too late for that shit, if you aren't enthusiastic about your own shit (even fake) why would you expect others to be?

[@hyylo]

very painful to watch.

[@lukebostwick1070]

It's not a watch.

[@tuolumne9]

I think a pun was intended

[@lukebostwick1070]

***** woah

[@MRP78]

Haha

[@CaLMCee]

Luke Bostwick hahahaha

[@Nitrodino7875]

SEAN I NEEED YOU TO PICK UP IM RED VIBING AND I NEED HELP

[@esaw7067]

H3H3 :D

[@PawlOwl]

lol "mom, you happy, whats going on?" wills mom confirmed not allowed to have fun

[@AftabHusain]

What in the world........ 

[@Lanhoj]

Yup. That happened. No thanks.

[@KaranRajpal]

Is the screen acting up or is it meant to be like that? Also, the design of the OS is just awful.

[@AlphaRakamaTech]

I'll stick with my moto 360

[@brownjames112]

It's not a watch. It's a cuff.

[@KaranRajpal]

It's gross. Nothing more, nothing less.

[@BatmanWWE]

It's not a watch, it's a device on your wrist.. That tells time... Come on people get with it... "I don’t have a microwave oven, but I do have a clock that occasionally cooks stuff." - Mitch Hedberg

[@jrewb7003]

That was a very well executed joke. No sarcasm.

[@CtrlSaltDelete]

So what's going on with the screen? It looks like it's freaking out the whole time. I doubt it would look like that in person, but I haven't seen that sort of thing in a long time.

[@guywhoknows4chords459]

its just the camera... if you take your camera and film any screen, you would see it flickr/ i think its the rate of the frame refreshing each second (fps)

[@ocvipe]

***** that and also the scanning frequency of the component :)

[@CtrlSaltDelete]

***** Yes, I assumed that, but the vast majority of filming of screens appears to be set up to avoid that sort of flickering, this seems quite jarring considering that this appeared to be an organized press event.

[@guywhoknows4chords459]

seems unorganised to me :P I mean with the way Will was talking... i mean he knew what he was talking but it just seemed so unprepared in a way

[@hpdv74060us]

oh lord who told him to do the presentation. He looked like he came to the launch not knowing his own product and was given a quick demo so that he could answer some of the questions. This product doe not even have name and he cant even explain what it is what a fail. stick to making music

[@tuolumne9]

He's a complete moron if you look at his public behavior. NOT the sharpest knife in the drawer

[@0194D]

***** Who cares if it's an idea by a celebrity or one of the big name companies? All that matters is if the idea is good. I agree with hpdv74060us though. It just seems like he wasn't knowledgable of his own idea(in this video) or as if he was just unprepared for the video for some reason. Maybe he was just nervous or maybe this is just how he is with his ADHD.

[@mo4503]

He might have been nervous or something. Sure he might have not known a lot about the "puls", I do not know if its his first time talking about tech, but he looked like he did not know how to show it off, or get us hooked on it. Btw he keepped looking at something in 1:58 - 2:00 - 2:02 and etc. give him a break he's not used to talking about tech.

[@micahdyer3282]

0194D dude who hasn't thought of a smart watch lol

[@0194D]

Micah Dyer You're going to have to explain your point here, bud.

[@MattDiffey]

He sounds like he's gonna break down crying any second

[@achisorpowers]

Will. I. am. calls the PULS a watch at 2:50 lol

[@kazuhirala]

This guy is really terrible at selling his products

[@thisisfela]

this guy's products suck ass tough, hard to sell shit as gold. xD

[@carsonblake107]

Why is it constantly flickering

[@TripMcSleazestack]

Its puls-ing! Lol

[@El1society]

I think it's the camera

[@TheKayasto]

he's trying sooooooooooo hard to stay relevant it's hilarious.

[@CodysFavorites]

h3h3

[@esaw7067]

Yeah snorlax!!!

[@RichieLanderos]

I know as an inventor you want your product to be different. You dont want a new phone to be called a fake iPhone. But if it tells time and you wear it on your wrist call it what ever you want but its still a damn WATCH!

[@UltraJordanGaming]

Oh damn he baked that vibe app right into the OS. That's true mechanical genius.

[@ahdennis]

um, um, um, um, he should change his name to will.i.um... xD

[@JulyG789]

Why does it flicker

[@TripMcSleazestack]

Its the puls-ing!

[@danielpruett2717]

He’s looking around like there’s a sniper.

[@jadthemagnificent]

lol

[@vogel1388]

Bet he sells 4 at most.

[@CtrlAltDef_17]

2 of which Will.i.am is wearing.

[@willthornton8433]

Almost a five minute long video and the only insight I gained into the device is that it's not a watch it's a cuff and there is something called vibe... oh, it also takes a SIM card. What on earth do you do with it? Got his main inspiration from Beats so it will be unbelievably expensive. Slightly intriguing though.

[@razmataz4515]

3:44 they made a larger version of the watch too 😮 i wonder what they’ll call it

[@joshjames31]

It's always a good idea not having a glitching screen when your trying to sell a product

[@theofficialgwynne6755]

When your teacher is lecturing you and your busting for a piss!

[@patrickdow2167]

Never seen someone move around so much like that

[@AradiceSatur]

After William said that it's not a watch, Brian call it a Watch lol. This was funny to WATCH.

[@wassha09]

It is a watch. It is placed on the wrist, tells time, and had extra features such as a SIM card and other things. It is still a...watch.

[@PapaBadDadcumsuckgod]

Guys, its not a watch, just like my android isn't a phone, phones don't have apps, and don't call it a smartphone, its an android.

[@theconqueror1111]

***** mind = blown

[@JohnnyZenith]

The Bono edition has 24 hours of battery life. 5 to charity, 18.59 to him, and the rest to the consumer.

[@sakenu16]

Tong back when he was in CNET. Same hair stripe lol 😂😂😂

[@Alinavd93]

why does it flicker like that? is it just on camera or what?

[@hopperthemarxist8533]

I just love how h3h3s video on this has 3.5 million views and this has 150 thousand lol

[@Uruckingfetard22]

That pyramid on his back is just the right height, no bucket required.

[@Moonrockbang]

Is the screen meant to flicker like that? I think that watch is broken

[@milootje007]

That watch is like a hipster, they don't like to be called a hipster too xD

[@AfroVibez]

Did he just turn around and showed us a spaceship, I just want to make sure I wasn't the only one . . .

[@Philtron3030]

I can not roll my eyes far enough at this...

[@Firevenus19]

So it's not a smart watch because it has a SIM card inside, although Samsung has a smart watch with a SIM card inside! Confusing world!

[@AppleNewsTechReviews]

In my opinion the is UI is to difficult to navigate around. The design of the product is nice it's thick though even if it's designed about a cuff it's still pretty thick. The Operating system looks really interesting I'll give it that. I don't think it will sell well, maybe 500,000.

[@SCtester]

A few things... The OS looks nice. But it looks very laggy. Also, whats up with that flickering? And it also looks super uncomfortable.

[@ryanlewis9943]

why does the display keep doing that fuzzy thing

[@tommylien8022]

Menu looks so confusing. The lines on the watch is just the styling ....not sure if everybody gonna dig that.

[@lamboiah]

An interesting twist on wearable tech design. I'm not sure how much more or different can be done with the wrist wearable though. Not even the great apple presented anything other than fancy watch bands and an awful UI. And android for wearables is far from full baked. That an individual could be motivated to push and pull a product through the inception and design phases is pretty great. I'd like to see a review of the UI by an experienced presenter, not someone so intimately involved with the product.

[@MisforMIKA]

⬆Great comment⬆

[@williambblake]

Sounds like his making the shit up as the interview progresses, lol

[@Hedphelym]

ITS NOT A WATCH... then calls it a watch a few minutes in haha

[@raphymartinez]

"it's not a watch..... when the sleeve touches the watch" wait huh?

[@pokealex388]

I like where he is going with this but in today's market you have to think of the design to be able to match a variety of styles and wardrobes because not everyone is going to be wearing the same style all the time and if they do not then they are most likely not going to wear the devices.

[@DirtyWattaGames]

i want to know how much the watch is gonna go on sale for

[@zenchestnuts]

The Bracelet unclips so fast that it can be brought straight up to the ear like a phone! Faster than the Neptune pine!

[@cazka1464]

he got mad when the guy said " you don't call it a watch, what do you call it?"

[@Dr_Lazarus]

It's an interesting take on the warble market, the potential to link up to the clothing is an interesting step foreword, I personally am not sure about the bag, but i can see that being popular in some groups, The mood aspect is something I've not seen yet and could be it's selling point, only think i would recommend is maybe being more confident possibly take a few toast master classes, it's hard to sell something to someone when you look like you have no confidence in the product, as for the video it's self, maybe a higher FPS camera that would reduce the flickering of the refresh rate on the screen to give a better image (assuming it's not just his screen)

[@BlGMEX]

Is this dude for real? Kudos to Brian for not busting out laughing in his face and keeping it professional.

[@julieflores6106]

didn't Apple by Beats? makes the i.am part make sense ... but, still not clear on what it does functionally. am I missing something? maybe i.am - hahaha!

[@gouki1231]

IS everyone ignoring the fact that he is aiming at a fashion direction with the cuff. Imagine you're a dancer on the road, you can literally wear their Jacket to charge your cuff simultaneously without having to carry your phone with you and risk losing it. You can make phones call instead of carrying a Watch and a PHONE!?!?! and a backpack thats bluetooth plays music while you're breaking to a beat. I mean come on it might not be a AppleWatch but I see some decent innovations here.

[@notadocbuta6180]

I've been hearing for a while that Will.i.am is eccentric. This interview kinda confirmed that. He didn't look like he was comfortable. But it does sound like a great product. I'll be on the look out. And that backpack was awesome...but I wonder if it's really a backpack.

[@Ghettofinger]

Do you really need bezels on something you don't hold? Especially bezels that huge?

[@johngiron3704]

This shit better not say the time! Otherwise it's a "watch" lol

[@gotekomusicc]

So what happens if it rains while im wearing that back pack? Nothing. I wont be wearing that.

[@SilcraftCeo]

I hope that screen is only in the video

[@ghmasterjj]

it is, the same thing happens when you aim a camera at a certain type of display, like a TV

[@Mylukdied]

this would be cool 15 years ago

[@ItsDeezy15]

Vibe might come in handy

[@DropAGearDisappear]

im not sure about the watch oh its not a watch!? but i love that bag!!!!

[@DJEddieXZ]

I'm tapping into my inner Leela with this smart cuff. I like

[@ahdennis]

This looks soooooo dumb.... Silly will.i.am. At least have a good, original idea not just try to copy what Beats did.

[@ahdennis]

By that I mean that Will.i.am is trying to do what Dre did, the products are different, the principle is the same.

[@NoahMercy11]

Aidan Šeštokas Hes not silly for taking advantage of ignorant consumers, cough, cough, people who buy Beats.

[@NoahMercy11]

***** Yes, becuase the sound quality of Beats is so low for the price.

[@popo0129]

***** So you buy it just for looks? Wow.. Not that I want to tell you what to buy and why but I don't see how the look would matter if the the quality isn't good or as good as other headphones

[@popo0129]

***** Well we got to learn some how. At least you know

[@UltraJordanGaming]

He calls it vibe. Then alert. Then gem.

[@kimjongweed2125]

atleast the video is at 60 fps

[@iamone_]

This officialy goes on my list of the the most useless products of 2014!

[@Rainquility]

"Its a new paradigm" lmao

[@Tyler_ThaTruth]

If it ain't 20 dollars I ain't even gone look at it

[@redsoxrule14]

Damn, that's a nice watch.

[@artistryartistry7239]

This entire presentation, the product, the interview is why the term "epic fail" was created.

[@MrSmorr130]

If this clothes/tech thing takes off which I hope it does, things will be awesome and wearables will be mainstream

[@OsukaMbalali]

Well...You cant hate a nigga for tryin'

[@fernandolouis290]

I want one

[@ikvn32445]

Logo looks like it says PUU

[@watchany1]

@ 2:49-2:50 he calls his so called "cuff" a watch Mr. It's not a watch -_ - vote up so others can see.

[@dethstrek]

Didn't sell it...

[@caco3017]

Video starts at 4:51

[@LordNazgulKing]

"It's not a watch because watches don't have sim cards"... so it's a watch with a sim card then. By his logic, the first ever mobile phone to have an integrated camera can't have been a phone because previous phones didn't have cameras.

[@GrimReaper4383]

If it acts like a smartwatch. Than it is a smartwatch.

[@FrankSchoenherr]

If this is not a watch and one shall not call it a watch, why does he call it a watch himself? "...when the sleeve touches the watch...."

[@ColonelBumButt]

This thing will make a good doormat for the Apple Watch.

[@ermahgewdgogles6962]

so is it a watch?

[@NoKz47]

Fashion tips from a guys who's hair looks like it got caught in a lawnmower....dub tee eff. Also, that's a thick ass watch. #GetAtMe

[@DelLa-di8eq]

Will.i.freakout? YES.

[@bobbymiller7242]

"Guys, let's build a smart watch with the tag line...Wait for it..."It's not a watch."' "What? So it's a smart watch that's not a watch?" "Exactly" "... Then what is it" "Uh...Well.... Hmm... It's not a watch... " " Yeah?... " " Yes" "So then if it's not a watch what is it?... " " Well, it's a cuff. And sense it's a cuff we don't have to explain the bulkiness and we can sell it for much more." "...Is this seriously the best we could come up with?" "EXCUSE ME?!? Here at i.am ente.r.prises, we do not allow such negativity, and from the vibe app, I can tell you got a lot of it! "Eff this I quit"

[@mariotaz]

Now...I might be missing something here and I might sound like a completely dolt. But if it's not a watch, then why does it tell the time?

[@MythicSuns]

That's like saying if my TV tells the time why isn't it a clock? It's not considered to be a watch since telling the time isn't its main function (or at least I don't think it is)

[@mariotaz]

***** But this is clearly trying to be something it isn't. It's a watch.

[@pokeman260]

It looks like a smartwatch to me

[@damonnomad9028]

Did he just make a shackle?

[@sexymonkey1608]

Spicy memes have arrived!

[@SebastianChw]

Hey, will.i.am. Stick to 'dat boom boom pow'.

[@MythicSuns]

It's funny what can happen if a clever idea is portrayed by the wrong person. I reckon the device would've been more interesting if will collaborated with some other companies. For example: he could've collaborated with Motorola and they could've helped him with making a design that'll support the hardware without affecting how it looks (I honestly think he was trying too hard to justify its size in this video). And then he could just stick android wear on there and set the main watch face to that little gemstone thing

[@kickflip407]

wow

[@itaytabib4665]

oh thats a nice watch

[@Milo-rs5zr]

can he stand still please

[@sidharthchand8072]

Coming to a big lots near you

[@kushwantsingh3330]

How not to do an interview

[@Bagels29]

Wrists phone?????