Gameband has finally
arrived on Kickstarter with its Atari wearable. And it’s a smartwatch. Calling
it the first smartwatch for gamers, Gameband will be available in three
variants – a simple one clad in black, a version in Atari’s signature red, and
the last involving Terraria.
Depending on the one you buy, the games on offer
might change. The standard black Gameband and the Atari version give you access
to five classics, such as Asteroids, Pong, Breakout, Centipede, and Crystal
Castles. The only difference is that you can get the Atari one in a red casing,
and a strap with the Atari logo on it. Gameband is also working on an exclusive
mini-game version of popular indie title Terraria, which will be available with
the Terraria-themed version of the wearable.
The smartwatch is fitted with a 1.6-inch AMOLED
display of 320x320 pixels resolution, a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor,
512MB memory, and 4GB internal storage – which is expandable using a microSD
card. On the connectivity end, it supports dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and
Bluetooth 4.2.
There’s a three-axis accelerometer, and gyro and
light sensors in Gameband’s smartwatch, and a 400 mAh battery to power the
thing, with charging taking place through a USB Type-C port, which also helps
you connect to a PC.
The last bit allows you to play your classic games
on the big screen, so you can carry your titles on your wrist all the time.
When you hook it up to a computer, you’ll rely on Gameband’s own PixelFurnace
game software, which works and functions a bit like iTunes.
The smartwatch runs a customised version of Android
6.0.1 Marshmallow, as opposed to the newly released Android Wear 2.0. Gameband
is also touting a bunch of preloaded apps, such as a dialer, contacts,
calendar, weather, alarm, music player, and even Alexa control.
As an incentive to Kickstarter backers, all three
editions of the Gameband are available starting at US$ 149, or about Rs. 10,000,
with the US$ 99 offer sold out across the board. The smartwatch will retail for US$ 199, or about Rs. 13,300, after launch.
