Tag Archives: Android Wear

Google Now Opens Support for Third-Party Apps

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Google Now Third-Party Apps 01

Airbnb, Lyft and other 38 apps are getting their own cards in Google Now, so that Android users have all the info they need, exactly when they need it. This is particularly useful for owners of Android Wear smartwatches.

Third-party apps as Google Now cards are really not a surprise, as the Mountain View company has been planning to add this feature for quite some time now. What is a surprise, however, is the impact this new update has the Android Wear platform, where the Google Now cards represent an essential element of the UI. Think of it this way: the latest Google Now update makes Android Wear smartwatches even smarter, and that’s not something you get to see everyday. After all, the wearables already have all the hardware they need for performing well for years to come (after all, you’re planning to play FPS games on your smartwatch, are you?) so it’s now the duty of app developers to make these devices better.

The 40 3rd-party apps that are getting support for Google Now (which you can see in the above and below pictures), have been cherry-picked, to ensure that Android Wear users (as well as the ones of the smartphone variety) are getting a lot of added value. Everything seems to be covered, from fitness tracking and language learning to online shopping, traveling and even flight searching.

Until now, Google Now has been keeping things fairly tidy, with its minimalistic design and relatively small number of cards. In this context, some fear that the app could get a little bit too crowded, but chances are that people use only a few of these 40 apps at a given time. Besides, even if you’re using all of them, you can choose which cards should be displayed. One thing I’m certain of is that this is only the beginning, and more 3rd-party apps will get their own cards.

Cortana will soon join the Personal Assistant fight, and by the looks of it, Siri will end up on the third place. S-Voice and other PA apps made by smartphone manufacturers in an attempt to put an original touch on their own devices didn’t have a chance to begin with, so the real battle is between the three giants. Considering how often Google Now is getting useful updates, it will be impossible for the other two to dethrone it.

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Is Android Wear about to become compatible with iOS?

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Android Wear ios

Jeff Chang, Android Wear’s product manager has made clear that he’d love it if his and the iOS team could collaborate and play nice. Is a revolution incoming?

Android Wear OS, Google’s open source operative system for smartwear has been getting good reception amongst techies so far, but Google would like to take it one step further and make it compatible with iOS gadgets too. According to Jeff Chang, the iOS’s user base is a very attractive target for them if only because of its sheer size. He explained that “we always want as many users as possible to enjoy our experience, so in terms of enabling more people to use Android Wear we’re very interested in making that happen.”

The tricky part is getting Apple to be okay with it, as they get the last word on each and every piece of software that runs on their devices. It’s not like Apple don’t know what they’re doing, or will outright refuse, as they’ve already collaborated with Microsoft, for example, in order to bring Office to iPhones, iPads and the like. Yet, wasn’t Apple going to launch their own Smartwatch too? We’ll update you once we have more information.

Via Techradar

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Sony SmartWatch 3 Is Now Available on Google Play for $250

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Sony Smartwatch 3 SWR50 01

Officially unveiled at IFA 2014, more than a month ago, Sony SmartWatch 3 has finally found its way to Google’s Play Store, sporting a $249.99 price tag.

Sony’s smartwatches might not be exactly revolutionary, but the fact that they’re still around means that plenty of people are buying and enjoying them. The Japanese company already has a lot of experience in building wearables under its belt, having reached now the fifth generation of smartwatches.

The waterproof SmartWatch 3 SWR50 comes with a 1.6″ 320 x 320 transflective LCD display. Unlike its predecessors, the 5th-gen Sony SmartWatch by Android Wear, which explains why Google has decided to feature it on Play Store.

In terms of technical specs, Sony SmartWatch 3 comes with a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage. Had this been a smartphone, the specs would have been mediocre, at best. However, these numbers are more than enough for a wearable. The 420mA battery should keep the device up and running for up to two days of normal use.

As far as the sensors are concerned, SmartWatch 3 comes with all the usual suspects: ambient light sensors, accelerometer, compass, gyro and GPS. This makes the wearable quite versatile and will give app developers a lot of flexibility when creating software for it.

Sony SmartWatch 3 is available with vividly colored exchangeable wrist straps. Four colors are offered (black, white, green and pink), for a variety of occasions. However, I wouldn’t call this a dress watch, as the strap makes it obvious that it was built for fitness. For that purpose, it works either as a smartphone companion or as a standalone device. When working out, this wearable should be great if used in tandem with Bluetooth headphones, as you no longer have to carry around your heavy smartphone.

Even though it is available on the Play Store, Sony has not disclosed the official launch date for the other retailers. Considering that the Play Store is not available everywhere, it’s hard to believe that Sony would make this wearable exclusive there. To be frank, the device is underwhelming, so the $250 price tag really seems unjustified. Why are Android Wear devices getting more expensive, instead of becoming more affordable? They don’t seem to be built differently from their cheaper alternatives, so that certainly doesn’t explain it.

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Android Wear Is So Much Cooler When It’s Running a Game Boy Emulator

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Smartwatches are imminent, but they’re not quite useful enough yet to have become any more than a niche product for hardcore tech geeks, much like Google Glass. Personally, if I were to drop a few hundred dollars on a watch, it would be an analog watch that will be in style for roughly a century, not a tech piece that will be made obsolete in a few months.

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That said, a classic timepiece can’t play all of my favorite Nintendo Game Boy games, and the Android Wear can. I’d love to be rocking Castlevania, Tetris, and Jurassic Park (my first video game) on my wrist, ready to go at a moment’s notice. Sadly, this does require a controller to be attached to the watch, so it’s not genuinely useful yet, but it is a cool proof-of-concept. A well made slide-out d-pad on one side and two buttons that could serve as A and B on the other could do the trick.

I’m sure that a watch made with gaming in mind is a thing that some smart designer is working on, and I’m looking forward to seeing it, even if I do just end up buying that Maurice Lacroix I’ve been eyeing.

[via YouTube]

Windows 95 on Android Smartwatch: How Time Flies

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A couple of weeks ago we saw how Android apps can be made to run on desktop operating systems, including Windows. Corbin Davenport did the reverse, installing Windows 95 on his Android Wear-powered Samsung Gear Live.

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As you may have guessed, the hack is just for kicks and is totally dysfunctional. Not only is its interface ill-suited to such a small screen, Corbin’s installation of Windows 95 can’t even open applications. That’s because he loaded the operating system using the Android DOS emulator aDosBox, which he sideloaded using Android Debug Bridge (ADB). Corbin wasn’t able to figure out how to edit the emulator’s configuration file to increase the registered RAM, causing Windows 95 to crash whenever Corbin tries to launch a program.

Still, it’s funny to see that old interface running on a watch, especially when the Start menu and taskbar that debuted in the OS are falling out of favor in a world filled with touchscreens. I wonder if Winulator works on Android Wear.

[via The Verge]

Google to Offer GPS Support and Offline Music on Android Wear Devices

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Google Android Wear GPS Support and Offline Music Playback

Android Wear smartwatches are far from being perfect wearables, but for the time being Google intends to improve their functionality. GPS support and offline music playback will be offered in the form of updates in the coming months.

Moto 360 went on sale today for $249.99, and hands-on reviews are already available on major sites. That sounds like great news, as this was one of the most anticipated wearables this year, but this Android Wear device is not without downsides. The most prominent one must be the poor battery life, and while that can be slightly improved through future updates, Google’s main focus now is on providing current and future Android Wear smartwatches with GPS support and offline music playback.

David Singleton, Engineering Director, Android Wear mentioned in a blog post published today what you should expect soon on an Android Wear smartwatch near you: “First, we’re bringing offline music playback and GPS support to Android Wear. Go for a run or bike ride with your Android wearable and leave your phone at home. You’ll be able to listen to music stored on your watch via Bluetooth headphones. And if your watch includes a GPS sensor, you can track your distance and speed too.

The second update will enable downloadable watch faces, so you can customize the visual design of your swatch’s home screen to show the information you want to see most—like your calendar or fitness sensors. Developers will soon be working on watch faces, making them available on Google Play.”

If I’m not mistaken, Pebble had downloadable watch faces from the very beginning, so Mountain View is a bit late at that. Still, it’s great to see that the company offers some degree of flexibility and that it encourages developers to work on new watch faces.

As for the GPS functionality, that’ll definitely prove useful when working out. I really hope that such fitness tracking apps as Endomondo will be adapted for Android Wear, even though their developers didn’t show much interest for wearables.

The Android Wear line will soon grow larger, as other anticipated smartwatches will join in. Asus Zen Watch, LG G Watch R and Sony Smartwatch 3 will prove in the near future what Android Wear is capable of. Obviously, each of these will come with unique features, in order to guarantee some differentiation.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Samsung Android Wear smartwatch, and the leaked specs of the Moto 360 Android Wear smartwatch.

Best Buy Admits that It Leaked Moto 360 Specs by Mistake

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Moto 360 Android Wear Smartwatch

The American e-tailer confirms that the previous leak of the Moto 360 smartwatch was just an accident. Since everyone else was trying to keep things secret until the official launch, it would seem that Best Buy spilled the beans.

Moto 360 is the third smartwatch running Android Wear, Google’s version of its mobile OS that’s tailored for wearables. As it has yet to be officially launched, it’s the most anticipated of the series, and its design must have contributed to that a lot. While most smartwatches come with a rectangular face, Moto 360 took the classic route and packs all of its hardware in a round case.

A couple of weeks ago, @evleaks showcased some of the most recent renderings of the Moto 360 smartwatch, in what was to be one of his last contributions to the world of leaked images. This weekend, however, Best Buy made public the specs of the device, and today admitted that it all was a mistake. That’s definitely the case, as the watch is supposed to be launched on September 4, at an event organized by Motorola.

Sporting a 1.5-inch backlit LCD display screen, Moto 360 is said to come with voice-activation abilities and Wi-Fi, something that’s not present in the other two Android Wear smartwatches. It will be compatible with smartphones and tablets running Android 4.3 or newer.

According to Best Buy’s leaked specs (which have obviously been removed in the meantime), Moto 360 will be available in two colors, namely black and gray. The non-metal wristband may make it look cheap, and a lot of people complain about it being too thick, but it remains to be seen how the smartwatch looks in real life before judging it.

One of its main strong points is the price of only $250, a lot less than both the Samsung and the LG Android Wear watches. Most would claim that Motorola is a bit late to the Android Wear game, and that the users of the Moto 360 smartwatch aren’t early adopters of the latest tech, unlike the owners of LG or Samsung Android Wear smartwatches. Still, its shape and UI make it a more attractive option, and the enthusiasm of geeks whenever photos or specs of it are leaked can only confirm that.

As Sherlock would say, the game will be on by the time Apple decides to launch its smartwatch into the world, so the Cupertino company had better come with something truly revolutionary. I kind of doubt that, however.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the MobileFun leak of Moto 360′s price, and Samsung’s standalone smartwatch.

Tesla Model S Remote Control App for Android Wear: Now That’s a Cutting Edge Phrase

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Bnotions made an app that only a handful of people on Earth are capable of using. It’s called Tesla Command, an app for Android Wear devices that lets the user toggle or activate some of the features on the Tesla Model S. It’s not quite as functional as the official Tesla mobile apps, but if Android Wear devices become more common this could be a more convenient alternative. Also it’ll make you look awesome.

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Here’s Tesla Command in action:

Tesla Command is available for free from the Google Play store. As I said, Tesla’s official apps can do much more than Tesla Command, but Bnotions said on its Facebook page that it will keep adding functions to its app.

Star Trek LCARS Theme for Android Wear Smartwatches: WATCHH

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Did you boldly go where few have gone before and got your hands on an Android Wear smartwatch? Your device is so freakin’ new it’s barely useful. But you can make it even more futuristic by giving it a 24th century look, thanks to Daniele Bonaldo and his LCARS-themed Starwatch watch face.

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As if it wasn’t geeky enough, the free watch face not only displays the time and date, it also shows Unix time. The latter is the running tally of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970, and it’s often used in computing and programming. Warp to the Google Play Store to download Starwatch.

[via Gigaom]

Google I/O Latest Rumors: Android Wear, Android TV, Preview of the Next Android Version and More

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With the imminent advent of Google I/O things are set for public display. The technology that will get showcased includes Android products. And some of the other gizmos and gadgets are: smart watches...