Pokemon Go set the mobile world on fire when Niantic Labs launched the title last year. It used all the abilities of a user’s phone to take part in a much larger global game that mixed reality and fantasy. Yet, Ingress, the game that originally launched in 2012 when Niantic was still working with Google, is still going strong, and offers players a much larger, more in depth gaming experience. Now, at CES, Mighty Cast announced their new Nex Band that will integrate with Ingress, and will offer players new and exciting ways to experience the game.
The Nex band, is a new type of wearable. It allows for the same basic functionality that other wearables offer, but allow users to “hack” five select mods or actions with the band. These actions can range from twitter and email alerts, ways to control music, to integrations with a selection of games. The small band will run for around 3 days with normal use on a charge, will be water resistant, and as most people want, can be used to track calories and fitness with the help of a 3-axis accelerometer.
The thing that is really exciting for anyone that is excited to dive back into Ingress is the special Ingress Edition of the band. This version will include a series of mods that will be exclusive to this version of the band. With these mods players can: Trigger Ingress sound effects, pin drop locations and share with teammates, reveal unique hints and videos, along with the ability to set it up to receive specific team based notifications.
With this move, Nex are offering a device that goes well above the Pokemon Go Plus, and move into a device that not only acts as part of an exciting global game, but a device users can make use of in their day-to-day activity.
The Nex band launches for both Android and the iOS platforms later this year.
