New Fallout Pip-Boy replica is a $350 ‘smartwatch' for phone calls and text messages

By Chris Plante
on June 13, 2016 12:33 am
@plante

Remember last E3, how Bethesda announced a real-life Pip-Boy? And remember how it was essentially a crummy smartphone shell? Well, this E3 Bethesda has revealed a new Pip-Boy and this one looks maybe — just maybe — like it’s the Pip-Boy Fallout fans wanted all along.

Unlike the old version, the Pip-Boy Deluxe Bluetooth Edition has "an integrated screen and its own on-board software and hardware." The gadget pairs to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth, and allows wearers to take calls, view contacts, read messages, and display various Fallout related screens.

The new Pip-Boy weighs roughly two pounds, is lined with cushioned foam, and apparently "most" of the dials and knobs are functional — not just eye candy. The lovably gaudy wearable releases this November, but pre-orders are available now. On Bethesda’s story page, the Pip-Boy: Deluxe Edition is limited to a batch of 5,000 units.

Update June 13th, 12:36AM ET: So, I'm sitting on a couch in downtown Los Angeles with my colleagues Adi Robertson and Ross Miller, and they're really geeking out over this gizmo. Adi would really like for you to know that the holotape slot is actually a USB drive! And Ross says it plays audio files. Audio files!