Gameband: The First Smartwatch for Gamers

Built specifically for people who love to game, Gameband is a powerful Smartwatch. It runs on one of the fastest processors for wearables in the world, has a stunning AMOLED display, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, and our own Android OS with a broad suite of productivity apps. 

Gameband also has upgradable MicroSD capability, turning it into a high-speed portable gaming drive, that also hosts your photos, music, files and more. Our software & unique IC switch mean that when plugged into a computer the MicroSD runs our PixelFurnace game management and launch platform at USB3.0 speeds, and when connected via Bluetooth data can be accessed via mobile or audio devices.

Special editions and mini-games: we've partnered for launch with two iconic brands to bring top name brands to your wrist. 

Atari, who brought gaming into the living room, are working with us to bring it to your wrist. Rewriting classic titles like Pong, Centipede and more for our 1:1 1.63" display, with flush glass format for easy swiping, Gameband Atari Edition comes in Atari Red, with a variety of straps that let you show your love for this timeless gaming legend. We'll be adding mini-games as stretch goals and looking for your help & input to decide which titles to chose.

Terraria, one of the most amazing indie game titles on the planet, is another launch partner we are fortunate to have onboard. Incorporating some of the well known images and design elements of the game, we are also working with Terraria on an exclusive mini-game version that will incorporate both the technology and the context of Gameband: i.e. a product you will take into the real-world and your daily life. 

Gameband was designed in San Francisco by Matter Global; a design studio with a portfolio that includes Samsung, Google, Sonos, and Logitech. Their Chief designer, Max Burton, has been involved in almost 100 wearable projects, from Smartwatches to luxury watches.

We had specific requirements for our design. It needed to be robust, as durable as a watch, while incorporating gaming influences and giving us the flexibility to create special editions, without overly complicating the manufacturing process. Drawing inspiration from rugged weaponry, vehicles and tools seen in games, the goal was to bring about a real-world device that you could just as easily imagine inside a game.

The result was a two-piece frame, held in place with 4 bolt screws, delivering both a design objective, and a functionality objective all in one.

Learn more about our design process by viewing full interviews with the team here: 

Interview with Max Burton, Founder and Chief Designer, Matter Global 

Interview with Toby Stopper, Industrial Designer, Matter Global 

We've built Gameband and its design around the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, arguably one of the fastest and most capable wearable processors in the market today.

Rather than over stack Gameband with every conceivable component available to us, we focused on picking the core components essential to what we want Gameband to be: an amazing Smartwatch for people who love to game. 

That approach has several other benefits from a technical point of view: 

• Less components = more space = larger battery & MicroSD slot
• Less components = more affordable product
• Less components = less manufacturing & quality risk
• Less components = more budget for better processor & display

Another benefit of the Snapdragon processor is that it has already been designed for MicroSD support, which will further de-risk our development efforts.

Other key hardware areas for us are the inclusion of a square, 1:1 AMOLED 1.63" display, WiFi 802.11 and Bluetooth 4.2 (way better for audio).

Learn more about Qualcomm and Gameband by viewing the full interview with Jim Merrick, Director of Marketing, Qualcomm. 

Technically there are four key areas that make Gameband work:

• Hardware (processor and connectivity)
• Software: (Android Operating System & companion Apps)
• MicroSD solution (accessible by PC)
• PixelFurnace (game launch software)

Our team has already shipped a product, to over 20 countries and 35 retailers, that required experience in all of the above areas.

With Qualcomm support we have been introduced and are working with a leading ODM with over a decade of experience in Android development and deployment, with multiple products already in market. Together we are making sure every feature we want to integrate in Gameband will be delivered as promised.

The core functionalities we have been testing and prototyping are as follows:

• Basic Android Operation
• General productivity app use
• Companion App capability
• Bluetooth Audio
• Voice control (Alexa)
• Mini-game operation
• PixelFurnace launch via MicroSD
• Backup and other backend services

In the video below you'll get a sense of life at the Gameband office, and a down and dirty run through on the basic functions we have up and running.

We're running Android Marshmallow 6.0.1.

Every Gameband will ship with a long list of pre-loaded apps, and have access to iOS and Android Phone based Companion Apps to help manage your Gameband. 

Apps shipping with Gameband include:

• Calendar
• Contacts
• Phone Dialer
• Weather
• Alarm
• Alexa (voice AI)
• Music player

We'll be  releasing more Watchfaces throughout the Kickstarter campaign. Expect gaming themes and requests for feedback!

Once Gameband launches we will be curating a ton of Watchfaces for people to download, and our companion app and PC app will both facilitate you creating and sharing your own Watchfaces.

Remember these kind of devices?

The one at the top was 'Shark Attack' and we played it 'til our fingertips were raw. Wearables aren't as new as we pretend....the possibilities have just gotten bigger.

You can play games anywhere. A couple of rocks, a stick and some imagination, and you can game. Since the early arcade days, and later TV consoles, platforms, mobiles.....every time a new technology comes along people discover new ways to adapt it for gaming.  So when people see a Smartwatch and say that 'the screen is too small' to game on....we just see lack of imagination.

<figure><figcaption>Play Atari Retro games like Asteroids directly on your wrist.</figcaption></figure>

It's not just about the screen (even if we made the Gameband screen the best it can be).....it's about movement, gestures, voice, steps, location and lots more.  We believe that by building the right product, with the right technology and OS, partnered with great gaming studios.....you are going to see some amazing gaming experiences come to Gameband, and we can't wait to share them with you.

We'll be launching with these mini-games, with more to come in our stretch goals. 

• Asteroids
• Pong
• Breakout
• Centipede
• Crystal Castles

Gameband’s MicroSD extends what users can do with the device, allowing them to play full PC version of games directly from Gameband on any computer using Gameband’s ‘PixelFurnace’ game management & launch platform, wirelessly play music on audio devices, and to store and access photos and files as alternative to clogged phone storage. 

<figure><figcaption>Plug and Play from your MicroSD using PixelFurnance</figcaption></figure>

PixelFurnance is basically like an iTunes for Games, that you can take with you and plug in anywhere. For anyone that pledges for a MicroSD card coming from us, we will preload PixelFurnace on the MicroSD and we will include one years free backup on our secure servers.

<figure><figcaption>PixelFurnace, Gameband's proprietary management and launch platform</figcaption></figure>

Love GameBand? Help us get the word out to make it a reality! 

Disclaimers and other stuff you should know

Shipping: We've done our best to be accurate on shipping fees, however please be aware that you may be on the hook personally for customers fees and import taxes.

International backers: We will be shipping to most countries in the world barring the following countries due to logistical issues: Argentina, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Myanmar/Burma, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Straps: There is almost no substance in nature or created by man that will not cause an allergic reaction to somebody, somewhere. Our straps are all made from basic and common materials (silicon, leather, canvas nylon) however it is up to you to ensure Gameband is safe to wear. If you have sensitive skin than contact your doctor before wearing!

Battery life: People use devices like Gameband in so many different ways that it is almost impossible to say that the battery will last 'x' days. If all you do is play mini-games and while doing so you also keep wifi/bluetooth on, then don't expect to get through the day. If all you do is use basic apps but then plug in and use the MicroSD (which automatically charges Gameband while in use) then you'll get a few days of use.  What we can say is that the 400mAh battery we've included is the upper end of what you normally see in Smartwatches, and together with Qualcomm and our ODM we will continually look for ways to extend battery life.

Water resistance: Don't go diving or taking a shower with Gameband. We will have at least IPX4 water resistance and during development we will try to improve this, and we will openly tell you how that works out and what the trade offs are.

HRM and GPS: In case you missed it in the specs: we do not have a heart rate monitor or GPS built in. This is so we had more room, and more money, for the things we did put in.  We are looking at partners who can help us build optional straps that do these things, for customers who really want this functionality.

Trademarks and IP: We've tried to respect everything we need to legally herein, both in terms of technology and marketing materials. If we missed anything it was not deliberate, please drop us a line and let us know. For clarity: this Gameband is not affiliated to Mojang SA in anyway (the makers of Minecraft), although our team has worked with them on a wearable band in the past. If you have a Minecraft license then it should work on the new and improved PixelFurnace that will ship with this Gameband. We'll test and post an update on that in the future.

This project is promoted by Jellop, a direct­ response online advertising agency specializing in Kickstarter campaigns on Facebook Ads and Google AdWords.

Risks and challenges

We've taken lots of steps to ensure we deliver Gameband as promised.

Experience: Our team has worked at companies such as Apple, Epson, Nike, Disney, Lenovo and more. Our partners like Matter design and Qualcomm, and their respective partners....have together worked on literally 100's of wearables; and from day one we've been hyper focused on not just producing a great product for customers, but one that can be manufactured effectively.

Durability: Wearables have to be incredibly durable as they are in constant contact with human skin. We'll be putting Gameband through 40+ reliability tests for a wide range of environments to ensure it stands the test of time.

MicroSD: Our MicroSD solution allows access via PC with USB-C, and via tablets, phones and audio devices via bluetooth. That's a lot of cross-platform activity! We have been testing and working with some of the worlds top storage and connectivity experts to ensure we do it right.

Production: We've planned electrical, design, and production testing into our schedule and we will share that progress every step of the way with our backers.

Focus: We also focused on doing a core number of things really well; a great (and proven) processor from Qualcomm, a high quality screen, wifi/bluetooth and a stable Android OS. We have foregone heart rate monitors, GPS and some other functionality in this version, why? to reduce risk and to ensure we do the best possible job we can on delivering the key features we believe matter to our customers. Less complexity = less risk.

Summary: So from design, to the team, to the partners we're focused on delivering. We don't just want to be remembered as a cool or a highly funded campaign (great as that would be!). We want to be remembered as the company that delivered as promised, and that over communicated our progress every step of the way.