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Android Wear - the smartwatch OS

14K views 61 replies 8 participants last post by  North_of_Calgary 
#1 ·
With the usual suspects as members
http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/18/google-new-android-wear-project-partners/
http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/18/5...android-wear-an-operating-system-designed-for

Moto and LG announced their wear-wares
http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/18/this-is-motorolas-new-android-wear-smartwatch-moto-360/
http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/18/lg-g-watch-android-wear/

I wonder who built the Moto round smartwatch: the part of
Motorola that was sold to Lenovo or the one Google kept?

Should we expect a Nexus smartwatch?


 
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#33 ·
North_of_Calgary said:
It's often considered rude or distracting to reach into your pocket to check a text, email, or incoming call when in a business meeting. Just glancing at your watch makes it much more subtle.
News flash: glancing at your watch while someone else is presenting in a meeting is also considered rude.

At least when you glance at your phone the presenter would think "oh, he's just checking a email notification" rather than thinking that they're checking the time because the presentation is boring.
 
#35 ·
smartwatch compatibility with smartphones

Hey guys,

I don't know anything about wearables. Never interested me. Then I saw the latest LG smartwatch The G watch R.

Does one have to have a LG phone to use with the LG smartwatch?

Or can you use it with any phone as long as it uses the same version of Android OS as the smartwatch?

How does it work?

Thanks
 
#49 ·
So I like the concept of my Android Wear watch while I think the proposed Apple Watch is trying to do too much (things you wouldn't want to actually do on the watch).

But here's the thing, it really annoys me that I can't actually acknowledge the notifications.

What I mean is that I get a new text and I read it on the Android Wear and it's not marked as read on the phone. The new text icon (hangouts) still shows at the top on the phone and similarly the light stays on.

With a gmail I can read the entire email on the Wear but I only have the option to reply or Archive it. I don't want to archive it - I just want it to be marked as "read". But on the phone it still shows as unread unless I choose the Wear option of "open on phone".

Am I missing something??? Thanks
 
#50 ·
I'm now waiting for either the Motorola Moto360 or the LG G Watch R to be truly available in Canada i.e. in stock, ready to order, and deliverable in under a week. Currently, only the Moto360 can be ordered from Telus, but with a 4 to 6 week delivery delay. Telus might as well state they simply don't have the watch in stock instead of lying about its availability.
 
#51 ·
I'm continuing this old thread because I wasn't sure if it's worth a new thread or not. I travel a bit for work and jump multiple time zones. I hate having to set the time on my watch everytime or try to account for the time difference when having a connection. My Android phone however is pretty good at keeping up with time changes when connecting to the local carrier. And don't get me started on DST...

I'm not sure I need a full fancy android wear, but I would very much like a watch that syncs its time automatically according to where I am and if a Bluetooth connection to the phone is the key, then so be it.

Is an Android Wear watch my best way to go?
 
#52 ·
I use Android Wear extensively and love it. I also use it when I travel which I do quite frequently.

The one annoying catch is that when I travel to the US or the UK I swap SIM cards and I use a different phone. Basically my Canadian SIM and Canadian phone remains static all the time and the other phone I flip SIMs in and out of. Whenever you change phones with Android Wear you need to reset it to the factory defaults and go through the sync and setup all over again. It's not terribly cumbersome but it's enough to be annoying. I actually also have two Android Wear watches so I could tie one to each but the truth is that I want to use my favorite Android Wear watch all the time and stick the other one in a drawer.

That's the only downside. If you're keeping the same phone when travelling (even if you change SIMs) then there's no issue and it's great for travelling. Not just for the timezone changes but for boarding card QR codes, directions & navigation, and quick text messages and replies. Google seems to recognize my voice perfectly so if I'm stuck on the 401 trying to get back to the airport and my wife needs to know when I'll be back at YYC I just speak naturally and Android Wear interprets it perfectly.
 
#54 ·
We have multiple. Moto 360 2nd gen is my favorite but I wear the 46mm and I don't have huge writes. 42mm is fine too - my wife uses one of those. Telus store in XIron has them on the shelf.

Flat tire is annoying for sure but the other benefits make up for it (i.e. excellent battery life and simple dock charger).

Another interesting place where I find Android Wear super convenient is grocery shopping. When you go to the pantry and find that you're out of something you can just add it to a Google Keep list. Then in the store, the watch shows the list and you can check off items as you pick them up. The checked items go down to the bottom of your list. And Keep works even when the screen is in dark mode (for power savings) while shopping.

Generally loving Android Wear in our house and using it with both Android and iPhone. The one big peeve is that when an email or notification comes in there's no "mark as read" option on the watch. Instead choosing "Open on Phone" sort of accomplishes the same thing but I'd definitely love to see a "mark as read" option added into Android Wear..... come on Google!!
 
#56 ·
Ended up getting the Moto 360 2nd gen 42mm. Got it on Monday. I think the 46mm would've fit me okay, but I'm happy with the 42mm. Also got my wife the women's version.

We were already using Google Keep (me and my wife) to share shopping lists so having that on the watch is super handy! I having a tremendous hard time settling on a watch face. There are so many good ones out there using WatchMaker. Battery life is also fine to me. I get to 35% battery left from 6am to 10pm with normal use (checking emails, notifications, etc) and the display is always on. Then on the cradle for the night.

Marking emails as read isn't an issue, but then again I use Google Inbox. I mark the email as done or just swipe away the notification and it's off the watch.

Was happy to see how many apps got on the watch right down to our house alarm system. I can remotely unlock the front door with my watch.

We're both happy with it so far.
 
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