Presenting the Moto 360: the first smartwatch you’ll actually want to wear.
While we were all waiting for Apple to come up with the first truly stylish smartwatch, Motorola has swooped in and beaten California’s finest to it. This is a first look at the Moto 360, which could be released as early as July, according to the French technology blog Le Journal du Geek.
Costing around £203, not only will this be Motorola’s first device to be powered by Google’s Android Wear – an operating system designed specifically for smartwatches – it’s arguably the first aesthetically pleasing model in its genre. Featuring a circular touch screen, a selection of customisable straps (in leather, metal and plastic), and a single selector button on the side in place of the traditional crown, it treads a slick line between classic and futuristic that we’ve never seen before in a smartwatch.
Mark Randall, the company’s VP of supply chain and operations, is certainly pleased with the results, especially in relation to other competing wrist-based devices available right now: “We look at the 360 and we look at what everyone has done in that space. To be honest we think they are all pretty crappy,” he said about the release. “We think people just don’t want to wear a lot of the devices that are out there today.” If the Moto 360 is anything to go by, that’s all about to change.
A recent accessory filing at the FCC is giving us details on Motorola’s Moto 360 smartwatch that weren’t previously made public. According to a listing for a wireless charger that showed up days ago, it certainly would appear to confirm that Motorola will use Qi wireless charging to bring power to the 360.
We are hoping that Motorola has built the Moto 360 to be set on top of a charger to have it charged. Most wearables these days require an extra adapter to be attached to them before they can charge, which isn’t ideal. If we are going to have to charge an additional device each night along with our smartphones, making the process as simple as possible should be an area of focus. Motorola may have realized that, something that can’t be said for Samsung and LG.
The Moto 360 is expected to get a confirmed sale date and price announced officially at the Google I/O event starting
this week.
