Will.i.am’s Smartwatch: Worst Wearable Ever Designed?

Black Eyed Peas founder Will.i.am announced last year the release of the wrist-wearable Puls smart phone. While one reviewer described the device as “the worst product I’ve touched all year,” Mashable took an in-depth look at the Puls recently to assess its features.

Puls’ site describes its functionality as “not a smartwatch,” but “a computer on your wrist.” But Adario Strange reported difficulty with the wrist computer’s basic function… wearing it.

Mashable reports:

 …before diving into the software, there’s the matter of putting it on. I’m a tall guy with large hands, but relatively skinny wrists. Most men’s watches hang very loosely from my wrist. But with the Puls, I was unable to get the device to fully close around my wrist.

There are spacer modules that will be available for different size wrists, but the overly snug fit was nevertheless a surprise. The upside in this area is the closing mechanism, which is a magnetic clasp that closes with a satisfying click.

Puls has an attractive look, but the interface is reportedly not very user intuitive. Users require some practice at swiping from screen to screen accurately.

Strange also reports a noticeable amount of lag time during switching screens, which he feels are made up for by the quality of photos accessed on Facebook.

On the bright side, Puls does include a built in application which can tell you your mood (in case you weren’t aware of it.) Unlike competitor smartwatches, the Puls is an independent device that can allow you to make phone calls without being tethered to a phone.

If nothing more, it can’t hurt to have another means of posting your “selfies” to Instagram.

According to a Puls representative, no firm release date for retail-ready versions of the device have been announced.

The Puls is expected to retail at $399.99. Check out the full product specs here.