Will.I.Am Reveals Newest Project: A Smartwatch

What's This?

By Adario Strange2014-04-05 22:18:10 UTC

During a recent appearance on Alan Carr: Chatty Man, a UK talk show, musician Will.I.Am revealed his latest project to a surprised studio audience: a smartwatch.

At least, based on the brief on-camera demonstration, that's what the sleek, black device appears to be.

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Revealing the device in a decidedly understated fashion while being interviewed by host Carr, Will.i.am said, "I don't carry my phone anymore; I just use this, [this] is my phone." He then began tapping the device's touchscreen to trigger the number key tones.

"There's a lot of smartwatches that need phones [to operate]. Mine doesn't need a phone; this is the phone," he added.

Video: YouTube, Alan Carr Chatty Man

Will.i.am then tapped the phone a bit more, and the device began playing one of his songs.

Based on the limited visual demonstration, the device's swiping dynamic is reminiscent of the interface interactions used on the recently unveiled Android Wear, Google's operating system for wearables. However, Will.i.am did not reveal any of the device's specs.

And lest anyone think the smartwatch reveal is merely a belated April Fools' prank, the musician, widely known as a tech enthusiast, later confirmed on Twitter that he is planning a formal launch for the device soon.

Based on his tweets, the launch date for the as-yet-unnamed device is July.

"I started the company myself; I funded it, used my own money to develop it," Will.i.am said. "It's a phone; it has all my music in it."

Will.i.am also claimed the device can connect to Bluetooth headphones and has Twitter, Instagram and Facebook functionality.

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Topics: Apps and Software, Dev & Design, Gadgets, Mobile, Music, smartwatch, Tech, wearables, will.i.am

Video: YouTube, Alan Carr Chatty Man