ET deals: Sony Smartwatch 3 fitness tracker for $225

Sony’s latest smartwatch is still pretty new and hasn’t really been discounted yet. So we were excited when we found we could lop 10% off the price of this fitness-friendly watch with a coupon code, bringing it down to just $225.
The new Sony Smartwatch 3 runs Android Wear, so it can be utilized by anyone with an Android phone with Android 4.3 or later installed. A particular highlight of this watch is that it’s the only Android Wear watch to include a built-in GPS, making it ideal for runners and others who want to track their location precisely through apps like RunKeeper or the included iFit. As for the specs, this watch uses a 1.6-inch screen with a 320×320 resolution and a transflective LCD that reads well in direct sunlight. It also packs a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 512MB of RAM that will deliver smooth performance, and 4GB of built-in storage for apps, music and more from Google Play. 


Source:
 http://www.extremetech.com/deals/198595-et-deals-sony-smartwatch-3-fitness-tracker-for-225

In-depth with Android Wear, Google’s quantum leap of a smartwatch OS

Yesterday(18.03.14), Google announced Android Wear, its wearable device platform for smartwatches. Android Wear is a shrunken-down, watch-going version of KitKat that looks poised to take over the wearables market. After poring over tons of websites and digging around in the emulator, we've scraped together just about all the information that's out there, so if you want to know what the future of smartwatches looks like, read on.

This is the home screen of Android Wear. At the top is a very faint "G" button. When pressed, the device starts listening for voice commands. If buttons aren't really your thing, an "OK Google" hotword will work, too. Below the button is a notification showing the time and weather. Tapping on the weather will expand it, and swiping left will open the extended forecast. Swiping up will show more notifications, one at a time.

Every UI element in Android Wear seems to work in this manner. Tapping on the center of the screen will expand whatever is on it; swiping horizontally will do something related to the current screen, either showing options or more details; and swiping up or down will go to other areas. If you're off in a menu, you don't have to swipe back to center in order to swipe up, either—just swipe up or down from anywhere in the menu to go to the next notification.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/03/in-depth-with-android-wear-googles-quantum-leap-of-a-smartwatch-os/

Signs of progress: One month with Android Wear 5.0

Android Wear 5.0 came out last month—it was the third noteworthy update to the wearable OS, following versions 4.4W.1 and 4.4W.2. It's not a significant enough update to merit its own standalone review, but it's been a while since our last check-in with the platform. Plus, the launch of the Apple Watch is just a few months away at most.

Google also recently sent us another Android Wear watch we hadn't seen before—LG's G Watch R, the round version of the regular square G Watch we looked at back when Android Wear launched. It looks more like a finished product today, where as the first G Watch looked like no-frills development hardware. The G Watch R also doesn't use the old power-hungry internals that give the Moto 360 so many problems.

So armed with a new watch and new software, we spent a full month wearing Android Wear to get a sense of how far it's come since its original release a little over six months ago. While not all of our initial complaints have been addressed, not by a long shot, there are definitely signs of progress.

Android Wear 5.0, specifically

Source:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/01/signs-of-progress-one-month-with-android-wear-5-0/

The 10 best Android Wear watch faces

Make your Android Wear watch stand out from the pack
Google has finally opened the gates for developers to build customized Android Wear watch faces. In the short time they’ve been available, the Play Store's virtual shelves are already stocked with some great choices.

We’ve plowed through the Play Store to find the gems that will give your watch a fresh and clean visual boost. Check out our selection, and let us know if there’s something else new and exciting worth slapping on your wrist.






Source:
http://www.greenbot.com/article/2868764/the-10-best-android-wear-watch-faces.html