Google watches from Samsung and LG

Darren

The first watch from to use the new Google Wear software launches on 7th July. With wearable tech the next 'big thing' we've received one for review.

The jury is still out on whether any of the products that have been launched to date are genuinely useful long term. There were the dedicated fitness tracker armbands from Jawbone, Nike, Fitbit etc. And then we had the app powered watch from Pebble.

Now Google have entered the fray with their Google Wear solution. LG, Motorola and Samsung have already unveiled their watches that will run the new software and LG's G Watch is the first to become available here in the UK.

Available on pre-order from Google Play for £159, the G Watch is available in black or gold and sports a 280 x 280 pixel display, a 400mAh battery and 4GB of RAM. It's tightly integrated with Google Now and requires you're smartphone be running 4.3 or newer.

The screen is always on, but dims when not being accessed and there are no buttons. All interaction is by taps and swipes plus voice.

As well as the expected notification features which include text messages, emails, social media updates etc, the voice operated function that allows you to ask questions such as 'show me the weather forecast for tomorrow' or 'when does my flight depart' etc. You can also set up navigation by speaking your destination. This launches Google Nav on your smartphone and shows you text directions on the watch display. You'll also find a compass (does anyone use them?).

We'll bring you our views on whether this is a genuinely useful device or not when we've had time to live with it for a few weeks, Google are promising more apps and more features once it goes live on 7th July.

Source: Google Play - Devices

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Darren Griffin

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