Tag: smartwatches

As Motorola prepares to unveil its wearable technology on September 4, much of the surprise was revealed prematurely.

Motorola is getting ready for the big unveiling of its Moto 360 smartwatch, which is to take place on December 4 at a Chicago press event, but a mistake at Best Buy has revealed a list of the product’s features, as well as the price for which it will be sold.

The produce page mistakenly went live too early on the mobile site for the electronics retailer.

What Best Buy revealed about the Moto 360 smartwatch is that the Android Wear based device will be sold with a price tag of $249.99. Fortunately for the retailer, this is not actually the first time that $249.99 has been revealed as the likely price for the wearable technology. In May, the official rules for a contest held by Motorola, itself, listed the approximate retail value of the device at exactly that amount.

If this is, indeed, true, then it will mean that the Moto 360 will be only $20 more than the LG G Watch.

That price point will also place the Motorola smartwatch at a level that is just slightly more expensive than the other two Android Wear devices that are currently on the market, the LG G Watch, and the Samsung Gear Live. Those devices come with a price of $229 and $199.99, respectively.

When it comes to the Moto 360, it appears that the additional money might to do with a design that is potentially much more attractive when it comes to its design. For example, the circular display of the device is well designed for wearing as an actual suit and is a better match for wearing along with clothing that would be worn in a professional environment.

There were some additional preliminary specifications that were also mentioned on the Best Buy page. For example, it will have a 320 by 290 resolution on its touchscreen. Moreover, there will be Gorilla Glass 3 protecting its display. The Moto 360 will be water resistant, will have a built in pedometer and will be similar to the Gear Live in that it has an optical heart rate monitor.

Wearable devices are becoming more common. Most of these devices have very limited uses, with some existing only to keep track of how many steps a person has taken in a short amount of time. More ambitious devices are beginning to enter the market, but whether or not these devices will find any success is suspect. Many people are showing interest in wearable technology, but this does not mean that these people will be using these devices on a daily basis.

Currently, one of the major selling points of wearable devices is that they can simply do what smartphones already do, but better. Smartphones are quite capable of doing anything a pair of augmented reality glasses or a smartwatch can do. These devices have been equipped with features that are considered “new” to the field of wearable technology for years. While some wearable devices may be able to outshine smartphones, they can only manage to do so by having a very specific focus on a particular purpose. Smartphones, however, are not restricted to a singular focus and can do many things very effectively.

Wearable devices may have very limited market appeal. Because they do not actually offer something new, apart from how a person uses a mobile device, they may be a hard sell to consumers. Many people are happy to use their smartphones and tablets in public, and these devices have become something of a fashion accessory for people everywhere. Wearable devices do not have the same appeal currently. Augmented reality glasses, for instance, are not designed with appearance in mind. As such, those interested in such devices may shy away from using them because of how they look, and how these devices will make them look in public.

Wearable technology does have a future, but what that future looks like is difficult to say for certain. In the early days of mobile technology, there was uncertainty regarding how popular mobile phones would be. Wearables may well be the next smartphone, if they can manage to overcome some of the challenges that they will experience in society.