G Watch Launch
LG Electronics is seeking to target the global smart watch market with its first Android-based smart watch.
The G Watch was made available for pre-order from the Google Play Store in 12 countries including the US, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Korea, and Japan starting on June 26. The new smart watch is scheduled to be launched at retailers in 27 countries such as Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, and Russia in July. The new model is sold at 269,000 won (US$265.17) per unit.
It is LG’s first model that uses Android Wear, a wearable version of Google’s Android operating system optimized for the Android platform. Without any buttons around the frame, the rectangle wearable device weighs 63g and measures 37.9 x 46.5 x 9.95 mm.
LG’s smart wristwatch is compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3 and above. Unlike other devices, the Always-On feature enables wearers to check the time at any time. A sensor in the display turns on the screen when recognizing the a wearer’s movement, and the screen becomes dark automatically in standby mode. Thus, the device consumes less power.
The Android-powered model offers Google’s speech recognition service through the Google Now app. It has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistant functions, which means that it can endure up to 30 minutes under 1 meter of water. Hence it is not necessary for the wearer to take off the smart watch when washing their hands. When it gets dirty, cleaning the device with water is possible.