Second Gen Moto 360 Men's and Women's, Fitness-Oriented Moto 360 Sport Unveiled 52
MojoKid writes: Motorola's first generation Moto 360 smartwatch was one of the first Android Wear smartwatches to hit the market, and because of its round display, became the immediate flag bearer for the Android Wear platform. As new competition has entered the fray — including entries from Apple with the Apple Watch and Samsung with the Gear S2 — Motorola is announcing a second generation smartwatch that solves most of the complaints of the previous model. Motorola has ditched the archaic Texas Instruments OMAP 3 processor in the original Moto 360. The new second generation Moto 360 brings a more credible 1.2GHz, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and Adreno 305 graphics to the table. You'll also find 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. And if you didn't like the largish dimensions of the previous Moto 360, you'll be glad to know that Motorola is offering two sizes this time around. There's a 46mm diameter case that comes with a 360x330 display and a smaller 42mm diameter case that houses a 360x325 display. Motorola has also introduced a dedicated women's model of the Moto 360 which features a 42mm diameter case and accepts smaller 16mm bands. As for battery life, Motorola says that the men's and women's 42mm models comes with a 300 mAh battery which is good for up to 1.5 days of mixed use, while the 46mm watch comes with a larger 400 mAh battery which is good for up to 2 days on charge.
Still no actually round screen? (Score:3)
From the pictures, it seems the screen still isn't really round, but has a straight section at the bottom just like the old version.
If that ends up to be the release, then it's a no go for me. Looks absolutely terrible.
Then again, I don't wear watches anyway, and if I did, it'd be a classic, not some smart toy. I'm not Hasselhoff, I don't need to talk to my car.
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Re:Still no actually round screen? (Score:4, Interesting)
From the pictures, it seems the screen still isn't really round, but has a straight section at the bottom just like the old version.
This was discussed with the release of the original 360. IIRC, current display tech necessitates some non-display area, and Motorola decided (rightly, in my opinion) to go with the flat-tyre approach rather than the chunky-bezels approach. The LG G-watch R is an example of the latter approach, with bezels blown out of all proportion (although LG clearly don't understand watch design so I suspect that one looks worse than it had to).
Then again, I don't wear watches anyway, and if I did, it'd be a classic, not some smart toy.
I do wear watches, and I wear classic ones; there's something about mechanical movements that strongly appeals to my steampunk side. Like you, I wouldn't buy a smartwatch; I have no need for notifications on my wrist and it would go against my personal grain. But I have to say that so far Motorola has understood the "watch" concept better than any of the other smartwatch players -- the Moto360 actually looks great on the wrist.
I'm not Hasselhoff, I don't need to talk to my car.
Hey, if it came with KITT I might seriously consider it ... :)
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Hey, if it came with KITT I might seriously consider it ... :)
I wouldn't - not until they fix the flat-tyre look... that really is a deal breaker. For me, it destroys the whole look of the watch.
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Yes, well, KITT with a flat-tyre would be a bad combo ...
But having seen the watch in the flesh (it, with the apple watch, are the only two smartwatches I've ever seen in the wild) I can only say I didn't notice the flat-tyre look at all when coupled with a dark watch face. Horses for courses, naturally, but I liked the watch in person a whole lot more than in the renders.
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Sony is releasing an interesting smart watch next year: https://first-flight.sony.com/... [sony.com]
It has an analogue face with proper hands. No LCD screen at all. That part has its own battery that will run for 5 years. Then it has a separate smart section with its own battery, rated for five days use. This part has Bluetooth, a notification LED, pedometer and NFC for contactless payments.
If it wasn't so expensive and iOS only I'd love a smart watch like that. Maybe upgrade the pedometer to a heart rate monitor. Giv
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Not sure about that -- if you look closely at the pics of the Huawei watch you'll see that the body extends out towards the lugs quite a bit. I suspect the extra tech is hidden in those chunky bits. The G watch R has the same styling; and whilst that could just indicate that Huawei and LG have no design smarts (which is often true) I'd be a little surprised that the two companies independently hit on the exact same ugliness by chance.
I suspect that at the moment some compromise has to be made: you can hav
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Of course it's not the only problem for these watches. Virtually all smart watches lack a fundamental reason for being, sucking at the basics whatever else functionality they claim to implement.
Tizen wins still (Score:2)
Moto 360 can't take calls and doesn't have a big screen like the Saumsung watch
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>Moto 360 can't take calls and doesn't have a big screen like the Saumsung watch
1) It is a watch, not a phone.
2) It is not proprietary like Samsung stuff, but open... using Wear
3) The screen is plenty big enough
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My coworker swears by his. It is a pita to grab a phone out of your pocket to take a call. He can be busy working on a computer or driving and still take calls and answer emails. A good watch is a cell phone replacement
WOW! Two days! (Score:1)
Blah! C'mon people! Get your shit together and make the fucking planet livable for all of us, okay? Then we can all play with our little trinkets.
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I used to think so too, but then I got one as a gift and started wearing it. There were a few things that I then found out were nice:
- Android Wear devices can unlock your Android phone for you, so you don't have to enter your password/pin/pattern every time. This by itself is so compelling that I'd wear a smart bracelet with just this feature if it was available.
- You can use your watch to ring your phone, if you lose it under the couch or something.
- It's actually very convenient to be able to glance at m
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Android Wear devices can unlock your Android phone for you, so you don't have to enter your password/pin/pattern every time. This by itself is so compelling that I'd wear a smart bracelet with just this feature if it was available.
Android (4.1+?) can do that with any Bluetooth device -- your watch, your car, your home soundbar, any device that you trust is not likely to get stolen at the same time as your phone. I'm sure there are cheap fitness tracker bracelets out there with bluetooth that would do the trick if that's what you're looking for.
Still not getting the point of these things (Score:1)
I mean... if I have a smartphone... and I have to have one to make this thing work... why do I need/want it? its just another thing I have to recharge every day.
I have three things I have to recharge every day. Three. Not including living things which sort of need to be recharged but... lets skip over that.
But I have three every day and that's quite enough thank... actually... hmmm... no, four... four things. That's quite enough thank you.
So lets just drop the smart watch thing for now. What I'd actually li
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We can see from the pebble its actually that pretty high res screen that is draining your battery.
The processing is mostly offloaded on the smartphone and the bluetooth etc is pretty energy efficient. Its the screen. Put one of those e-ink displays on it and I betcha it lasts for a week on a single charge.
As to dumping all my shit on some sort of charging mat. I still need to leave it on that mat while it charges. Not a fan. Yes I have to sleep and stuff but I frequently need to be out and about using my ha
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So why do I need the fucking watch again? To tell me the time? This implies that there are not clocks around me at all times telling me the time. My computer that I'm staring at right now is telling me the time. My microwave tells me the time. The damn clock on the wall tick tick ticks the time. I don't need anything to tell me the time because I already have a zillion things telling me the fucking time.
How about when you take the dog out for a walk? Or go to the pub with your friends? Or in a shop? Or you're camping at a music festival?
Yes, I know you can use a phone instead of a watch in these situations, but some of us don't like either leaving a phone in front of us while we're socialising, or having to take it out of your pocket to tell the time when it's easier to glance discreetly at your watch.
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This is pocket watch and wrist watch versus just pocket watch.
You'd prefer to carry around a pocket watch AND a wrist watch... I would rather just carry around one and since he wrist versions all need the pocket version... I'll just keep the pocket version.
It's just handy (Score:2)
First of all - three things? I charge the Apple Watch watch every day, my phone every other day or so, sometimes more.
That's like one or two a day.
I guess you might mean a laptop, but it's not like you really have to remember that generally since it just gets plugging in when I get home to attach to a larger external monitor. But that would still be three at most.
Anyway, as to why the Apple Watch is useful - it's just handy.
There's not one thing that's amazing. But It's nice to see notifications a little
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>Note that I said the Apple Watch at the start of that, because although the Pebble Time has some nice features
I don't disagree with your posting, but I am puzzled as to why you are going on about the Apple and Pebble watches, when the topic is the Moto 360. You weren't replying to anything, so it seems a bit odd.
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The original poster was saying smart watches are not useful at all, so I gave him information about two I have direct experience with. I do not have enough direct experience with the 360 over weeks to provide the same level of informed opinion.
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As to notifications quicker... notifications of what?
My phone beeps when it gets a text or something and I'll take it out if it isn't already in my pocket. Takes between two and five seconds depending on if I've had to charge it in my backpack. I do that about once a week.
As to the pebble being inferior... if notifications are the thing you care about, I would think the pebble has you covered there.
What does the iwatch do that the pebble doesn't?
I say this as someone that owns neither.
I think these things a
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Takes between two and five seconds depending
And with a smart watch it takes less. With a notification that appears only on my phone and not my watch that goes to zero depending on context, because it means something I can look at much later.
It also can be a matter of minutes difference between walking and driving somewhere, but people still drive, take taxis, buses, etc.
if notifications are the thing you care about, I would think the pebble has you covered there.
Two problems:
1) There is no filter, the peb
Re: Still not getting the point of these things (Score:2)
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I'll have to take your word for it. It looks like a toy to me still.
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actually, it's good that you have to recharge it every day (or every 2nd, if you pull an overnighter), because its regularly. if the watch battery were to last 7-10 days, you'd have to watch for the battery
Yeah, it's a feature, not a bug. Sure.
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Nobody's making you buy one. You can ignore it if it doesn't meet your needs.
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I know, I was just saying I didn't get it.
Maybe I'm the guy that doesn't get the point of underwear... I don't know... I just look at those things and think... "why?"... notifications?... of what? Emails/texts/tweets? Meh.
TL;DR version (Score:1)
It still sucks.
Easy way to differentiate (Score:1)
I'm glad there are smart watches and people who will wear them. It's an easy way for me to identify douches.
It's like Google Glass without the surveillance, but with all of the douchiness left in.
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I would so mod you down if I could. Your view is completely narrow and whacked. Wearing a watch is *nothing* like wearing Glass.
Watch? (Score:2)
I haven't worn a (wrist) watch for decades.
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I haven't worn a (wrist) watch for decades.
Agreed, a proper hunter on a gold chain in your waistcoat pocket is the only suitable timepiece for a gentleman.
Here are the differences (Score:2)
I have been wearing it for a year, hardly ever notice the slice at the bottom of the screen. And I know several people who also have the 360 and none of them really notice or care. Having the light sensor that goes with it is FAR more important, trust me. I would love to have BOTH a light sensor and no cut out to go along with the tiny bezel, but that is still just not really possible.
If I could have any change for the 360, it would be either thinner or always-on display (for non-sport). The 360.2 offers
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Thanks for the first informative post to this article!
Myself I first also scoffed at the idea of a SmartWatch and thought that I never would use one. But then my employer gave us all a Moto360 as Christmas present last Christmas and I have now noticed that when I walk outside and have forgot the watch I really really miss it. Every time the phone pings that there is a mail or sms to read I look at my arm and realise that the watch isn't there at the moment :)
Missing one aspect... thinner (Score:2)
I'm quite happy with the "flat tyre" on the 360 considering what it gives in return. It's still too thick though. I can see why people will buy it though. I will hold out for gen 3.
Phillip.
36 hours? (Score:2)
I know the has been beaten to death, but this is still an abysmal battery life for a watch. Even the Pebble, which sacrificed "smartness" for battery performance, still struggles to reach 4 days on a charge.
For a device you're intended to wear i find this unacceptable and limits the usefulness of smart watches pretty much to urban environments only. We're a far cry away from having solar smart watches or miniature long-lasting batteries.
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Yes, it HAS been beaten to death.
The 360.1 and .2 have at least 24 hours and usually far more hours of battery life per charge with normal use. When I get home from work after 9 hours off the charger, it usually has about 75% battery remaining.
As long as you can go a waking day (16-18 hours) on a charge, it doesn't matter. You charge your phone every day, so you charge your watch every day. Put it on the charger before bed.
No big whoop. I have used the 360.1 for a year. Not ONCE have I ever needed to c
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It is kind of a big whoop - there's plenty of use cases for a watch that require more than a days worth of juice. Ever took a long flight?
I'm not a hater. I can see a lot of interesting use cases for a smart watch. But it is a watch nevertheless, and 1.5 days of usability is awful for something you're supposed to wear to read the time every now and then.
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You charge your phone every day, so you charge your watch every day. Put it on the charger before bed.
You are presumably too young to remember when phones lasted a couple of weeks before needing to be charged.
People are prepared to accept the sacrifice to get the goodies on a smartphone, but that doesn't make it acceptable on a watch.
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>You are presumably too young to remember when phones lasted a couple of weeks before needing to be charged.
Hardly. Let's say I have watched times from NO cell phones until now.
>People are prepared to accept the sacrifice to get the goodies on a smartphone, but that doesn't make it acceptable on a watch.
It isn't a sacrifice to place the watch on a charger pad instead of placing it not on a charger pad when one takes it off before going to bed.