A few days before the announcement of the Apple Watch, Motorola tried to steal the thunder and attempted to take a big bite of the market by releasing the Moto 360 - that's about three months ahead of the Apple's scheduled release of the Apple Watch in 2015.
The Moto 360, Motorola's first wearable, is definitely a head turner. It comes in light and dark stainless steel case with black leather band. This is the first Android Wear smartwatch with a round face that looks like a traditional watch. It connects to smartphones running on Android 4.3 and above via Bluetooth.
It features 1GHz T1 OMAP 3 processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, and a 320mAh battery. Unlike other smart watches today, this one supports wireless charging and requires a dock for over night charging. When you place the watch on the charging dock, it will turn into a table watch.
The 1.56-inch Gorilla glass display has 320×290 LCD with a sleek oblique edge. Its pixel density measures at 205ppi. It also carries an IP67 water and dust resistant rating.
At the bottom of the watch is a health sensor that can track the user's heart rate. It also features a pedometer that keeps track of how many steps a user have taken throughout the day. Users can check anytime their status by turning the watch ON either by a wrist gesture or by tapping and giving the voice command 'OK Google, show my steps' and 'OK Google, show me my heart rate'.
It is primarily the inbox of everything. It shows notifications when the user receives SMS, tweet, or facebook message. It vibrates when it gets calls and gives option to answer or reject calls. The Moto 360 features dual microphones for voice commands for sending texts, calling people on the contact list and telling the phone to give directions. It also tells time, set alarms and timers and reminds users of upcoming events and agendas.
The Moto 360 comes with six built-in faces, a user can change face depending on his mood by just tapping and holding while the watch is lit up. The watch will then vibrate and will show the available faces by swiping sideways, tap the selected face and it would display the new watch face.
One of its unique features is the ambient light sensor. It is the annoying black space found at the bottom of the display that adjusts the brightness of the screen depending on the lighting conditions.
The Moto 360 is the most exciting Smartwatch we have tested in the TechLab so far in terms of looks and functionality. The IP67 water and dust resistant rating is definitely a plus but think twice before getting it wet because of the leather wristband.
The edge-to-edge oblique display makes the watch gorgeous and as a user coming from Pebble Steel and Gear 2, I would surely jump to this watch if my only criteria for my smartwach is good looks. However, the notification of the Moto 360 is not reliable and the battery life is erratic compared to my previous devices.
My verdict? This is the first Android Wear device with round face and it's showing a lot of promise but it also needs improvements in connectivity and responsiveness. Go, get it if you have that extra cash to burn.
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