Android Gear

Android Wear the operating system designed by Google was announced in the middle of March 2014 and the developer preview was releases the same day. Android wear has been designed for smart watches and wearables for pairing with Android version 4.3 and higher and to be used standalone. It allows integration with Google Now functionality and mobile notifications in a wearable format. The Operating system is Google play store ready and allows app download and enables a host of other functionality to be integrated into a small wearable.

During the summer of 2014, Motorola Moto 360, Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch based on the Android Wear have already been launched in the watch / wearable space.  More products from HTC and Asus are expected soon. All wearables come with state of the art functionality, integrating seamlessly with Android based smartphones running versions 4.3 or higher.

Android wear is the next big thing after the pebble. The wearable is synced to a phone via Bluetooth. It has a host of customizable watch faces. It has a number of standalone features which are mostly voice activated since it is a small device. You can voice in notes, reminders, send emails and text. You can maintain a “to do” list and it has the Google calendar, and a navigator, you can set a timer and alarm, and you can also install third party apps. There are a few third party apps available on Google play which can be installed and used on this device.

Google has released the new Software Development Kit (SDK) for wear which allows third party apps to be developed to run directly on the wearable. Android apps may not be full-blown apps but experiences beyond simple notifications have opened up with apps running directly on the wearable.