At Google’s keynote of its I/O developer conference, the company’s Android Wear platform was finally given its time to shine. The first devices running on Android Wear were also unveiled after the Android Wear demo during the keynote. There are currently three Android Wear devices: the LG G Watch, the Samsung Gear Live and the Motorola Moto 360.
LG G Watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k3KLjVUzF4
LG had been teasing the G Watch for some time now, and it has officially been announced today. Featuring a seemingly-overkill Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz processor, the G Watch sports an always-on 1.65-inch IPS display with a 280 x 280 resolution. There’s 4GB of internal storage and a modest 512MB of RAM. This 63g watch also packs a 400mAh battery, and connects to any Android device running version 4.3 and above via Bluetooth 4.0.
The G Watch is available in two colours – Black Titan and White Gold – while its body is constructed of PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coated stainless steel with a rugged silicone wristband in matching color. The LG G Watch can also be personalized with any standard 22mm strap available in the market.
The LG G Watch is available for pre-order today at the Google Play Store in 12 countries for a retail price of $229 (about RM740). It will then be available in 27 other countries; Singapore will be one of them in this batch.
Samsung Gear Live
Looking pretty similar to the Gear 2, the Gear Live features a 1.63-inch 320 x 320 Super AMOLED display, and is powered by a 1.2GHz processor. There’s 4GB of internal storage as well as 512MB of RAM. This 59g device also houses a 300mAh battery and various sensors including a heart rate monitor, but there is no camera here. Like all Android Wear devices, the Gear Live is IP67 rated for dust and water resistance.
The Samsung Gear Live is also available in two colours (Black and Wine Red) with interchangeable strap options and is available today at the Google Play Store, before eventually being sold at Samsung’s retail outlets. Knowing Samsung’s distribution capabilities, it is very likely that the Gear Live will be the first Android Wear smartwatch that Malaysians will be able to purchase. It is also the cheapest of the three devices, retailing at $199 (about RM640).
Motorola Moto 360
Hands down, the prettiest of the bunch. The only Android Wear device with a circular face, this is also the only Android Wear device to not announce any details about its hardware. Yup, we don’t know anything about the device’s processor, display…nothing. Well, we do know that it’s IP67 rated, since it is customary for all Android Wear devices.
At the very least, we do know how one of the Moto 360 watch faces will look like. The winner for the Moto 360 Design Face-Off has been revealed, and the winning entry is shown below:
Thoroughly excited at how the Moto 360 looks? We’ve got bad news: it is also the only Android Wear device to not be available today. Motorola is maintaining a “summer 2014” release, while it has been rumoured to be priced at $249 (about RM800) – though it is unlikely that the Moto 360 will be available in Malaysia via official channels.
