Will.i.am, has teamed up with Gucci to launch a new smartwatch. The announcement was made at the Baselworld watch show in Switzerland on Thursday, March 19.
As announced by the makers, the wrist-based ‘smartband’ will work independently of a smartphone. The band will be 3G-enabled and will let users receive calls, texts and emails and connect to social networks.
The band will be capable of storing music, maps and calendars, display maps, track fitness and will include a front-facing camera for video calling, a heart-rate sensor, temperature sensor and GPS. The device will have its own Siri- or Cortana-like personal assistant, which can be activated by voice.
Announcing the collaboration, the rapper said “i.am+ and Gucci Timepieces are setting the pace with our vision for a wearable technology. In developing together a device that is both fashionable and technologically advanced, we will create something that is unique in the marketplace. From the very start, I coined the term ‘fashionology,’ a merging of the worlds of fashion and technology, which is exactly what this collaboration with Gucci represents.”
Gucci’s president and CEO Marco Bizzarri said “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.”
Details regarding the smartband’s price, composition or launch date are yet to be announced.
