Smartwatches have been around for some time, but it's only possibly with the arrival of the Pebble that they started catching on. While the category still hasn't truly hit mainstream yet (that will happen once the Apple Watch comes out), the tech world sat up and took notice when Motorola started promoting the Moto360 (Rs.18,499). There was disappointment at Google I/O when Motorola failed to release the watch and then when it finally came out in the second half of 2014, a cacophony of disappointment as the watch could not keep up with all the hype. It was too slow, battery was an issue and the Android Wear software too half baked. A few software updates later, those complaints are now much more muted.Well, just about 6 months post its global release, the Moto360 is now on my wrist. Its only been a couple of days, so this post would just be my initial impressions.
Hardware
- Great looks, with a nice, big, (almost) fully round display which gets really colorful and bright.
- Sturdy power button at the side which looks like the crown of a watch
- Surprisingly light for a big watch, even lighter than some of the bigger traditional watches
- Extremely comfortable leather strap (something I was a little apprehensive about), great for all day use
- Built in pedometer and a heart rate monitor which makes it great for fitness tracking
- Battery life is middling, lasting around 30 hours on a single charge, which is not great but certainly better than I expected. I'll keep an eye on it to see if it improves
The Software
- Surprisingly refined and smooth for an OS which is less than an year old
- Easy set up
- Notifications get synced from your phone promptly and Google Now cards seem to have found a proper home. Notifications about meetings, travel times to office or home, the weather etc. are available as and when required.
- Most apps are also Android Wear compatible which means Whatsapp and FB Messenger messages show properly on the watch
- Its very cool to respond to messages using either your voice (which is pretty accurate) or a set of canned responses.
- Only works with Android phones and is almost useless if your phone conks out
- Poor selection of apps for Android Wear, but this will get better. While there is a bunch of half decent Android Wear apps like Coffee (an sms app for Android Wear), you sort of get the feeling that app developers are waiting for the Apple Watch to come out before getting in on the smartwatch app business.
Overall, I have been pleasantly surprised by how naturally I have taken to the Moto360. Right now, am still exploring the bold new world of Android Wear, but it does seem like one I could quickly get used to. Do stay tuned for my detailed review in a week or so. For now, let me dig out the wireless charger (included) to juice up this baby while I leave you with some pics of the gorgeous Moto360.
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