LG G Watch vs Samsung Gear Live: First battle of the Android Wear devices!

Google announced the first 2 smartwatches based on Android Wear at Google I/O this year: LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live. In this article, I will first write all the advantages of one watch over the other, then their full specifications and finally, my verdict on which is the best Android Wear smartwatch available for now!

LG G Watch

• Bigger battery: 400 mAH vs 300 mAH.
• Cleaner design.

Samsung Gear Live

• Thinner: 8.9 mm vs 9.95 mm.
• Lighter: 59 gm vs 63 gm.
• SuperAMOLED Display: Saves battery on blacks and gives deeper contrasts.
• Heart Rate Monitor.
• Better Screen Resolution: 320 x 320 vs 280 x 280.
• Higher Pixel Density: 278 ppi vs 240 ppi.

Verdict

There are actually more similarities in both these watches than there are differences. The screen sizes are almost same (0.02 " difference), they both run Android Wear, support Bluetooth 4.0, have a 1.2 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM and 4 GB of storage. The Samsung Gear Live obviously packs better specifications as seen above but there is an important thing I want to point out. In India, the Samsung Gear Live is 900 Rs (15 $) costlier than the G Watch while in USA, the G Watch is costlier by 30 $. I would go for the Gear Live because of the following points:

• 1 mm is a lot for thickness and it is also lighter, even though by 4 gm.
• 15 $ or 30 $ are not a concern when you are looking at 200 $+ devices.
• It sure has a smaller battery but the SuperAMOLED screen makes up for it.
• Heart Rate Monitor: It makes no sense to me to buy a wearable and not have it, unless it's Moto 360 :P

That's it guys for this comparison, I hope you liked it! If you did, check out my other articles listed on the right or you can find the ones you might be interested in by using the labels. Follow me or our official page on Google+ to be one of the first to know whenever we write more awesome content! :)

LG G Watch Based on Android Wear Unveiled

To know more about Android Wear and Moto 360, read this article.

We were all expecting LG to be partnering with Google for it's smartwatch and it's now official! The LG G Watch is a smartwatch based on Google latest Android SDK, Android Wear.

Looks wise, it's nowhere in comparison with the Moto 360 in my opinion, which is also based on the same software. The watch looks very basic and looks like only the essentials are included.

This is LG’s fourth device developed in close collaboration with Google following the Nexus 4, Nexus 5 and the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition.

The LG G Watch powered by Android Wear will present a low barrier to entry for developers and offer the best Google experience for users. 

LG engineers worked closely with Google from the initial stages of development to ensure that the LG G Watch worked perfectly with Android Wear.

The Android Wear software based on Google Now

Google officially launched the LG G Watch at Google I/O 2014 and will start shipping from June 7 in India. It is available for 15000 Rs (~250 $) in the Indian Play Store here and for 230 $ in the US Play Store which will also start shipping from July 7. 

Technical specifications
OS: Android Wear
Screen: 1.65” 280 x 280 IPS LCD
Dimensions: 37.9 x 46.5 x 9.95 mm
Weight: 63 g
Battery: 400 mAh
Processor: 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
Wireless: Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy
Memory: 4 GB internal storage with 512 MB RAM
Ports and Connectors: USB (pogo pin) on G Watch, Micro USB on Charging Cradle
Sensors: 9 Axis (Accelerometer/Compass/Gyro)

There's not really anything more to say. So, I guess that's it guys! Hope to see you soon. If you liked this article, please also read our other articles which are listed on the right and share it with your friends who love Android too! Also, if you want to make sure you are one of the first persons to get notified when we write more awesome stuff like this, add me in your circles, +1 or follow the blog via e-mail!

Oppo Find 7 and O-band Announced Officially!

The Chinese manufacturer, Oppo, just announced their new flagship, the Find 7. Btw, I was writing this article while watching the live stream which was entirely in Chinese so please forgive me if there are any errors.

Oppo Find 7 back

The Oppo Find 7 is available in two color options: Black and White.

Oppo Find 7 front

The Oppo Find 5 was the first device to bring a 1080P display to a smartphone and the Find 7 better that, bringing a 2560x1440 display resolution with a whooping 538 ppi.

Showcasing the 2K resolution in the event

Another sexy thing about this phone is that the notification LED is a whole strip at the bottom of the display and this looks slick in the dark.

Skyline Notification LED

The Find 7 features 3 hardware buttons just like it's predecessor.

It also has 4G LTE support.

This phone features a 13 MP camera with Optical Image Stabilization and 4K video recording at 30 FPS and 720p at 120 FPS which is very impressive.

4K video recording at 30 FPS

By taking 10 photos at the back end, the Find 7 can create 50 MP photos with a feature called Superzoom.

It is mentioned in the announcement that the Oppo Find 7 takes excellent pictures in low light.

The Find 7 has a new technology called MaxxAudio Mobile which looks similar to HTC's Boomsound.

Premium Bass technology

FINALLY, someone that speaks English is up on the stage.

The MaxxAudio technology brings excellent Bass to mobile phones and promises premium sound which is similar to the motto of Beats Audio. 

MaxxEQ is an equalizer that is included out of the box.

They show a pretty cheesy video about battery life needs to be improved.

VOOC is a new battery technology that works at 4.5 V and aims at reducing power usage.

A 30 minute charge will get the Find 7 to 75% of battery thanks to the Rapid Charge technology.

The battery capacity of this phone is  3000mAH.

They are talking a lot about VOOC but I can't understand anything because it is all in Chinese.

The Find 7 has a custom Android build called ColorOS 1.2 although Oppo announced via their Google+ page that ColorOS 2 is coming up so I guess that will be included out of the box with the Find 7. 

Looks like they have some tie up with the Bank of China for NFC payments.

Oppo announced a new wearable device called O-band which looks very similar to the Sony Smartband.

The O-band features a heart rate sensor and it is very thin.

Oppo is pricing the QHD Find 7 at 3,498 CNY, which roughly equals 565 USD, while the fullHD version carries a 2998 CNY price tag, or about 480 USD.

Specs shown at the Find 7 event

Full Oppo Find 7 specs:

• 5.5" screen with 2560x1440 resolution
• 538 ppi
• 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC CPU 
• 3GB RAM 
• ColorOS 1.2 
• Expandable storage 
• 13 MP primary and 5 MP secondary cameras 
• 4K video recording at 30 FPS 
• Sony Exmor IMX214 sensor 
• 173 gm weight 
• 32 GB Storage 
• Superthin 2.3mm bezel

Hands on video

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Android Wear and Moto 360 Announced

Google had previously stated that they would soon be adding wearable tech support for Android as a result of the wave of new wearable devices. Well, today, Google announced Android Wear, a platform specifically designed for wearable devices and to me, it looks like a winner.

So, the Android Wear platform is basically Google Now that runs on your wrist and delivers notifications. They have also previewed a video showing what could potentially be made using this technology.

Smartwatches based on Android Wear are compatible with any Android device running 4.3 or above but this is not tested and confirmed yet. I was hoping Google made it compatible for all devices 4.0 and above because so many devices are stuck on ICS or 4.1

Moto 360

In other but related news, Motorola have announced a new beautiful smartwatch that runs on the Android Wear platform and they too have created a video explaining the watch. 

Motorola have emphasized in the video that how previous wearable tech on the wrist had a rectangular display as standard but they want to change this. 

The Moto 360 is the best looking smartwatch till date according to me and it is very similar to a Triwa smartwatch concept showcased earlier, which you can see here.
Motorola blog post here.
moto360.motorola.com

Moto 360 video here.

Edit: The LG G Watch is the official partner of Google and it is officially announced. Read about it here.

So that's it guys, hope to see you soon. If you liked this article, please also read my other articles which are listed on the right and share it with your friends who love Android too! Also, if you want to make sure you are one of the first persons to get notified when we write more awesome stuff like this, add me in your circles, +1 or follow the blog via e-mail!

Samsung Gear Fit Announced at MWC

All eyes were on the Samsung Galaxy S5 at the Unpacked event but Samsung also announced a new wearable fitness device with a curved display at MWC in Barcelona.
Pics:

Key features:

• Lightweight: 27 gms
• Heart rate monitor
• Swappable straps
• Curved 
• Hypoallergenic straps
• Instant notifications
• Control device: Reject a call, Reply to a message, snooze/dismiss alarm
• Compatible with 20 Galaxy devices

In my opinion, the Samsung Gear Fit is a pretty good wearable device and would recommend anyone to buy it although we have no idea about the pricing at the moment but will probably be launched alongwith the Galaxy S5, Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo on 11th April.

Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo announced

Samsung announced the successor(s) to their smartwatch, Galaxy Gear, on 23rd February at MWC. Note that these smartwatches do not have the Galaxy branding because they are no longer based on Android but on Tizen OS(Samsung's own). The first Tizen device announced by Samsung was their NX300M camera. 

The Gear 2 has the following improvements/changes from the Galaxy Gear:

• Can be used as an independent music player
• Better processor (Dual core 1GHz)
• Water resistant IP67 water and dust resistant
• Based on Tizen instead of Android
• Slimmer camera
• New home button
• IR blaster
• Lesser battery capacity (300mAH) but better battery life(2-3 days)
• Heart rate monitor
• Swappable bands
• Slimmer and lighter

No info at this moment about the pricing, availability or phone compatibility (most probably we'll come to know about that tomorrow at the Samsung Unpacked event).

The two variants means there should be some difference, right? Well, here they are:

• The Gear 2 Neo has no camera
• Neo is 55 gms while Gear 2 is 68 gms(due to lack of camera)
• One more color option for Neo.

Changes mentioned in Unpacked event held on 24/2/2014:

• Camera, mic and speaker moved to bezel
• Swappable straps
• New home button
• More watch face option. Option of changing font, wallpaper
• Notifications: Calls, messages etc.
• Standalone Music player
• Extended Ecosystem
• IR Blaster
• More apps
• Gear 2 SDK for developers released
• Gear 2 Neo cheaper and lighter
• 17 Galaxy devices supported
• 3 days battery life
• Water and dust resistance

So that's it guys, hope to see you soon. If you liked this article, please also read my other articles which are listed on the right and share it with your friends who love Android too! Also, if you want to make sure you are one of the first persons to get notified when we write more awesome stuff like this, add me in your circles, +1 or follow the blog via e-mail!

Pebble Steel Announced at CES

CES is now over and the tech blogs/media will start flooding the internet with videos of new products announced this year. The Pebble Steel was one of the favorite of tech media this year.

                                           Original Pebble                                Pebble Steel

The Pebble, a minimal smartwatch that showcases notifications on your wrist, was announced in January 2013 for 150$ after a public fund raising project. It is waterproof till 5 ATM, has support for apps, battery life of 5-7 days, watch faces, changeable straps and an e-paper technology for enhanced reading experience(seriously, who is going to read books on their watch?). It went forward to be a huge hit despite of its quirks like not too beautiful, no touchscreen and the fact that you cannot reply to notifications straight from your wrist. As of July 2013 there were 85,000 units sold. 

Specs for original Pebble:

DIMENSIONS

Case: 52mm L × 36mm W × 11.5mm T

Band: 22mm wide

Weight: 38g / 1.34oz (including standard band)

DISPLAY

1.26-inch, 144 × 168 pixel e-paper display

LED backlight

Optical hard coating for scratch resistance

WIRELESS

Bluetooth 4.0

SENSORS

3D accelerometer

e-compass capable (with future software updates)

Ambient light sensor

PROCESSOR AND SOFTWARE

Processor: ARM Cortex-M3, up to 80MHz

Operating system: Pebble OS

POWER AND BATTERY

Lithium-ion polymer battery

5-7 days between charges

USB charging cable with magnetic connector included

LANGUAGES

English

Character sets: Unicode, Basic Latin, and Latin-1 Supplement

WATER RESISTANCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

5 ATM water resistance

Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing

Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3,000m)

MATERIALS + CARE

Watch case: polycarbonate

Band: TPU rubber or silicone (white Pebble only)

Cleaning: wipe with a soft, moistened cloth; if necessary, use isopropyl alcohol, or water with a mild detergent

Pebble announced the Pebble Steel at CES this year. Being priced at 100$ more than the previous Pebble, the Pebble Steel includes a new metallic strap (that looks much better), smaller bezels, double the RAM than the previous version, some new apps and of course all the features of the previous version. One notable change is the addition of Gorilla Glass which will help reduce scratches. The newer version also includes an option of 2 different straps. 

                               Pebble Steel is also 100$ more expensive than its other counterpart. 

Links:

Wikipedia

Official Site

Review video:

So that's it guys, hope to see you soon. If you liked this article, please also read my other articles which are listed on the left and share it with your friends who love Android too! Also, if you want to make sure you are one of the first persons to get notified when we write more awesome stuff like this, add me in your circles, +1 or follow the blog via e-mail!