Sunday 23 February 2014

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans


Report: Google Smartwatch to launch at IO 2014 in June, made by LG

Posted: 23 Feb 2014 09:08 AM PST

Google-Nexus-Smartwatch

According to a knower of things, @evleaks, Google’s long rumored entry into the budding smartwatch market will come at this year’s Google IO in June and will be manufactured by LG.

We haven’t heard much from Google regarding a smartwatch, often leaving tech bloggers and enthusiasts to piece the puzzle together over the past year.  We know that last year Google purchased WIMM, a smartwatch manufacturer, and quietly added the wearable company into the Android fold. We also know that Google has been awarded a patent or two for smartwatches in the past, slowly adding to the intellectual property needed for successful entry into this market.

As for LG as the manufacturer of choice, LG and Google have a good history together, producing televisions with Google TV, the Nexus 4, and the recent Nexus 5. In fact, it was reported a year ago that LG was getting into the Android smartwatch craze, so this little gem should be right up LG’s alley.


Image Source: T3 Concept

Samsung officially outs Tizen-based Galaxy Gear 2 and Galaxy Gear 2 Neo smart watches

Posted: 22 Feb 2014 11:09 PM PST

It looks like all the rumors were true, folks — Samsung was, in fact, working on a follow-up to the original Samsung Galaxy Gear much sooner than we expected. The company has officially revealed their latest developments in the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 and the Galaxy Gear Neo.

Gear 2 Gear 2 Neo

Samsung Galaxy Gear 2

While gaudy processor and RAM specs don’t quite have the same importance for smart watches as they do phones, it’s still important. The Galaxy Gear 2 slightly improves on the original with the following suite of silicon:

  • 1.63-inch 320 x 320 AMOLED display
  • 1GHz dual-core processor
  • 512MB of RAM
  • 4GB of internal storage
  • 2 megapixel camera
  • Pedometer, heart rate sensor, sleep cycle monitor and more
  • Bluetooth 4.0 LE
  • irLED
  • Accelerometer and gyroscope
  • 300mAh battery good for about 2-3 days of “typical” usage

And that’s the gist of it. It’s actually pretty advanced under the hood for a smart watch. So what else is new compared to the original? For starters, the camera is now part of the watch body instead of the strap, making way for interchangeable wrist bands. Samsung says those will be available in Charcoal Black, Gold Brown and Wild Orange. You’ll also be able to customize your home-screen backgrounds, watch faces and fonts.

Another big deal is the fact that Samsung’s smart watch platform is no longer based on Android — it’s all Tizen, baby. We’re not sure what this will eventually mean in terms of third party development and apps. It’s also worth noting that Samsung is still making these things a Galaxy-only affair, so don’t even bother if you don’t have some of their latest smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 Neo

Specs, features and whatnot? All of the above, sans the camera. It’s literally the same watch otherwise, though Samsung is looking to offer up a slightly different suite of interchangeable wrist straps. They’ll be available in Charcoal Black, Mocha Gray, and Wild Orange.

Pricing and availability

No information on how much dough this’ll run you just yet, but we imagine Samsung will look to get back to that uncomfortable $300 price tag for the base model. The Neo is expected to cost a bit less, though we’re not sure how significant of a difference we’ll be seeing. Samsung says we should be seeing both launch worldwide starting this April.

No comments:

Post a Comment