LG G Watch R
lg.com
lg.com
http://media.gizmodo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DSCF71...
From full Gizmodo review here: http://gizmodo.com/lg-g-watch-r-review-worthy-of-your-wrist-...
On a macro level tastes differ. That said, I do think this watch looks like a cheap tech gadget while the Apple Watch clearly doesn’t. You might not like how the Apple Watch looks overall, but at least it doesn’t look like a cheap toy like this watch does. (I mean, look at the back of this thing! That’s unacceptable for a watch.)
(That said, I do agree that, while on a micro level the details of the Apple Watch look to be astonishing, on a macro level the overall impression doesn’t do those micro level details justice. It’s certainly possible to do better – but not by completely ignoring that micro level like this watch does.)
My main problem with the Apple Watch is that it looks like an Apple product. It's a tech gadget which, by the way, is also a wearable watch. I can't see myself wearing one. I'm looking for a watch which, by the way, is also a tech gadget.
So while I agree with you about the LG G Watch R–it looks cheap and misses the details–on the plus side, it is clearly a watch and I can judge it based on its watch-merits. With the Apple Watch I can only really scratch my head in wonder.
It's reminding of a supper reservation but as many (I'm sure including the designers!) know, 10 Greek St doesn't take reservations for supper[1]
Tiny thing but suggests that whoever did the creative here had a sense of humour.
[0]: http://www.lg.com/global/gwatch/index.html#outdoorstyle6 [1]: http://www.10greekstreet.com/about.php
This is so obviously a tech gadget, not a fashion anything.
The Moto 360 suffered the same problem. Here's what it looks like in a promotional shot:
http://www.droid-life.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/moto-36...
And here's what it actually looks like on someone with thin wrists:
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-EK187_PTECH__G_...
Somehow it looks thicker in the pictures than it does on your wrist, then again I don't really care because I got a WP which won't work with any of google's stuff D:
The use-cases of "dictating a message whilst walking down the street" is a bit odd too - do you want people talking to their wrists all the time? It'll like being in a never-ending episode of Knight Rider.
Just so you can look at photos that are all fake.
Fire the designers.
Suboptimal to say the least.
Are Android Wear devices only usable in a vicinity of my Android phone or can I use them without one? Could I use them with an iPhone, Firefox OS phone, Surface Pro tablet, 3G modem or any Wi-Fi source (Moto 360 does have Wi-Fi)?
Do Android Wear devices need apps written specifically for them, and/or specific support in a tablet/phone app. Say, I know there is a VK app for Android, but I'm not sure about smartwatch support. Should I be getting VK notifications (or whatever watch is good for) by default?
Could I pair a Wi-Fi-equipped smartwatch with a Bluetooth headset and get rid of a phone, with smartwatch providing VoIP connectivity over Wi-Fi?
What kinds (if any) of non-default configurations can I expect to use a device like that? (default being pairing it with an Android phone and a specifically supported app)
Android Wear devices don't (as far as I know) work with non-Android phones because non-Android phones don't give them the required integration with the notifications and applications.
In other words, these smartwatches are not a replacement for an Android smartphone.
On the other hand (no pun intended), the Chinese have been creating smartwatchphones for a while now, which are fully-functional Android smartphones in a slightly bigger watch-sized casing.
I have observed this too and makes me think reading smart watch reviews rather redundant.
I've always taken issue with carrying a phone around with me while running. With the 360 (and the latest update), you can pair with bluetooth headphones and play music that you've synced from your phone. And obviously since it's a watch, I can time myself. I can then sync my interval timing results, etc.
Regarding your request for a high-level overview...it's an extension of the Android platform designed specifically for wearables, is it really that hard to see the potential? Take what you know about Android and what it can do, and Wear is that + APIs for tiny UIs + an sync-focused abstraction layer on top of bluetooth pairing. Additionally, consider not only that the screen is tiny, but the HCI ramifications/opportunities given that it's on your wrist, or ankle, or whatever. AFAIK, you can build a Wear device with any hardware you want. The models we're seeing right now are leaving out things like GPS and LTE radios for obvious cost and battery life concerns. When I think about what Wear could do, that's the context I consider.
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http://www.lg.com/global/gwatch/index.html#outdoorstyle3Pass, thanks.
There very definition of not "getting" the beach.
but then again, he's wearing shorts so....
I mean clearly it's an aesthetic for an advertisement, but it does not make said aesthetic appealing to me. Yay, I can take my work to the one place I should find some semblance of relaxation and best yet I can dress like a Lands End model. Sold!
If the first ad for your product basically says, "I'm useless", then I think you're doomed.
I kinda wish Apple was just trolling the tech world with the possibility of their watch. Just watching their competitors pour money into something with no real use case. Probably in 5-10 years there will be a buzzfeed article, "13.2 reasons you know you grew up in the 10's when..." and number 3.7 will be, "You remember those useless smart watches".
13.2 "You know what buzzfeed is"
There really is no limit to what beautiful people in their 20s can do with this sort of product.
Then they go home to a closet apartment, devoid of any caring human soul to ease the empty loneliness inside their heart, eating frozen TV dinners in front of a reality show filled with 20-somethings living beautiful lives, while the landlord hammers on the door, yelling in an incomprehensible accent about when he can expect the rent. Also, the cat died.
* I love my kids.
I also notice that some of the notifications use a pale grey text on a white background; unreadable inside, massively unreadable in daylight
Surely they can SEE the weather? Why look at the notification for it?
Classic, understated look, but another few interesting dimensions of input.
A UI-driving bezel would have to be bi-directional, for starters. Then, it would have to be looser AND more resilient than normal bezels, since they will be used more often. And even once those items are fine-tuned, we only have navigation without confirmation. Do we press the bezel to confirm? Can the bezel be mounted as a rocker, for multiple inputs, like a volume key? Maybe. A glass or ceramic capacitive bezel, though, would really "wow" me!
I concede that I'd rather have a bezel input than Apple Watch's crown input, which to me looked inconvenient, but seeing as the jury is still out on round vs. square design for these "smartwatch" UIs (a rotating bezel only works on round watches) it would be quite risky from a usability perspective.
As for the square bezel, it'd be interesting to see a sort of 'tread' running around a square bezel, which would be rotatable as well.
The concept does require OS-level support though, to get value out of it. Given that Apple didn't do it, I have a hard time seeing it coming out any time soon.
Too bad. I wanted my smart Rolex GMT.
However, the later-model iPods had a pretty satisfactory capacitive wheel with 4 selection inputs on each directional. The capacitive nature inhibits accidental inputs... maybe not all, but most.
The Nest UI is also wonderful with it's rotation and selection method.
Honestly it would be very interesting to see something like a movable bezel be utilized on a watch... I would definitely like to see it be explored.
But to make this comment, say, 20% hn worthy, can someone explain whether it's unrealistic that I think the accelerometer should be able to figure out the "holding handlebars with forward velocity" scenario and orient the display properly?
[1] http://www.lg.com/global/gwatch/index.html#urbanstyle5 [2] https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=motorola_mo...
I could definitely see how excluding it would help price and battery life, but to have a selling point be "it helps with fitness" but with a caveat of "oh, but you have to bring your phone with you too" kinda kills the whole appeal.
[0]: http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2014/10/gps-on-androi...
http://www.sonymobile.com/us/products/smartwear/smartwatch-3...
That's horrible. I had never seen this before.
On a motorcycle, on the highway, looking down on your wrist and reading the directions off a watch is a sure shot way to get killed. What were these designers thinking?
http://www.lg.com/global/gwatch/index.html#urbanstyle5
Hopefully he's wearing a single-ear bluetooth or something in the ear you can't see and getting his turn by turn that way, but the inset of a screenshot and the highly visible watch on his wrist to match certainly give an implied bit of poor usage advice.
In any case, more of a failure of the website marketing team than the watch or Android Wear designers, but it is a valid point.
It's freakin' awesome to use Google bike nav to get to some place I've never been before.
I do find it surprising that the pictured model would wear it on the right arm, though, since it's much easier to take your left hand off of the handlebar -- you don't tend to need to use the clutch when cruising on a highway, whereas (unless you have a throttle lock) your right hand will typically stay on the bar.
I do think motorcycle safety is important, but your reaction seems a little overboard to me. Having navigation on a small screen on my wrist seems like a relatively nice perk.
It's not ideal, but it's good enough when you don't have any other options.
The one photo to sell "checking your stocks" is a funny one. "I'm on a yacht looking to the horizon and I NEED to know whether I should BUY BUY BUY or SELL SELL SELL". What a witty photo.
- LG G Watch
- LG G Watch R
Fortunately, the product is fairly decent. (I've seen it in person.) I happen to have a Samsung Gear Live, which is quite comparable in terms of specs. I think that Android Wear probably needs another year (or 2nd generation of watches) to mature a bit more.
I mean how hard is it to strip Android off all its phone-home Google goodness and have just the kernel, basic OS services with complete root access? I used to do a lot of embedded work, but I have to plead almost complete ignorance of Android. This watch though ... damn ... so many possibilities for making such a nice toy out of it.
This was true in 2010, but things change. Apple's tablet market share is at 23%
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/30/apple-ipad-market-share-...
That's... quite interestingly worded. It seems to suggest that it only supports repeated single readings on-demand, a shame for sport enthusiasts who would rather not be talking into their watch during the action.
"Stay fit, keep control of your body"
"Please adjust your browser for the optimal service"
Guessing this is a translation of another site?
Why isn't there a single chronograph type clock face that displays the current date in an easily readable form and does't clutter month and day of month all other the place? It's just feels quite unimaginative to stick to the limitations of an mechanical apparatus when you're using a digital display.
Is it possible to have some kind of reflective semi-translucent high contrast High-PPI E-Ink with with a P-OLED Backlight? Or have it flippable?
That "where to buy / coming soon" image is not clickable for me, though it looks like an input field. Anyone else tried using it to find a pre-order form?
It does look huge on the woman's wrist on the second slide/page/section thing. Big watches tend to be a men's fashion thing, so I wonder if this will present problems.
The heart rate feature seems really out of place and useless. What use is a recent history of your heart rate? Presumably there are plans to integrate more features into the health part of things, because at the moment it looks a lot like a "because we can" feature.
A better and more efficient processor makes things better on the LG.
I doubt they will find too many female takers in its current form factor.
Such a strange feature to highlight.
How about I immediately close the browser tab instead, and never give another thought to the LG G Whatever?
(iPhone 6 Small, if anyone cares.)
"Idea for an all new park that delivers fun, friendship and safety for children of all ages."
... made me wonder, what have I done today to change the world in a good way? [Spoiler alert: sarcasm]