LG G Watch Will Be Water and Dust Resistant

LG has launched a microsite for its upcoming Android Wear-based smartwatch, the LG G Watch, showing off some of the device's main features.

The smartwatch, which was announced during Google's unveiling of Android Wear, will be water and dust resistant.

It will come in two colors — Stealth Black and Champagne Gold — and it will have a screen that's "always on," though LG doesn't go into details about what that means.

LG also points out that you can start voice commands by uttering "OK Google" to the device, which is expected since it's one of the standard features of Android Wear.

The pricing or the exact release date for the LG G Watch haven't been revealed. LG previously said the device would become available in the second quarter of 2014.

Image: LG

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Samsung to Launch Android Wear Device, Tizen Phone This Year

Samsung plans to launch an Android Wear device as well as a Tizen smartphone in 2014, Reuters reports.

The first Tizen phone from Samsung will be a high-end model, and should launch around the end of Q2 2014, Yoon Han-kil, senior vice president of Samsung's product strategy team, told Reuters in an interview. It will be followed by a mid-range device, which will launch at an unspecified date.

Samsung was slated to launch a Tizen-based phone as early as 2013, but the device was delayed.

On the wearables front, even though Samsung's Gear smartwatches are Tizen-based, the company still plans to launch an Android Wear wearable device this year. Google officially launched its wearables platform in March 2014, and several major consumer electronic brands, including Samsung, jumped on board.

Without mentioning any numbers Yoon Han-kil also confirmed that the Galaxy S5 is selling "much better" than the Galaxy S5. "(The S5) is selling faster than the S4 so far, though it's difficult to share specific numbers as we're still at early stages," Yoon said.

Image: SAMSUNG

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Sony Currently Has No Plans to Use Android Wear for Its Smartwatches

Sony clarified that while it's currently focused on its own platform, there's still a possibility it might work with Google's Android Wear in the future.

"We're excited about the potential of Android Wear to extend the mobile OS experience into wearable devices. While we are currently focused on our in-market wearable offering, including SmartWatch 2, we continue to work closely with Google as a key partner and continue to evaluate opportunities across a number of areas as we extend our SmartWear Experience," the company told CNET in a follow-up statement.

Sony will not use Google's Android Wear platform for its upcoming wearable products, CNET reports.

Instead, Sony will keep using its Android-based SmartWatch platform, which was the basis for the company's SmartWatch and SmartWatch 2 products.

"We've already invested time and resources on this platform, and we will continue in that direction," Ravi Nookala, head of Sony Mobile's U.S. arm, told CNET.

Google has launched its Android Wear platform for wearables in March 2014. Consumer electronic bands including HTC, Asus and Samsung have jumped on the bandwagon, and Motorola and LG have already announced the first products based on Android Wear — Moto 360 and LG G Watch.

Sony was one of the first major brands to launch a smartwatch, and it already has more than 200 apps for its platform. The most recent wearable Sony has announced is the SmartBand, a wristband which enables you to log your daily activities.

Image: SONY

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The First Android Wear Devices Are the Moto 360 and LG G Watch

Earlier this afternoon, Google officially unveiled Android Wear, its new platform for wearables. Now both Motorola and LG have announced Android Wear smartwatches.

Motorola, Google's former-subsidiary apparently has big plans for Android Wear. It's calling its watch the Moto 360. The device is notable because it has a round face — something we haven't seen before in a smartwatch.

Like the Moto X, the Moto 360 is also designed to take advantage of gestures. Twisting a wrist will show an alert or your next meeting. On its blog, Motorola is hyping what it calls "premium materials" and says the Moto 360 will be available in a variety of styles.

LG is calling its device the LG G Watch and the company says it will be compatible with a variety of Android smartphones. LG says it expects to release the G Watch in the second quarter of 2014 — so we should see it in just a few months.

The company released a mockup image, which looks similar to some other smartwatches we've seen — including Sony's Android-powered SmartWatch 2.

LG says it will release more details on the LG G Watch in the coming months.

The Moto 360 will be available in Summer 2014, first in the United States and then in the rest of the world.

Image: Motorola, LG

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