LG G Watch R Quick Review

Lazada Philippines

When LG came out with their first smartwatch back in March, it looked very plain and simple and had very few features and functionalities. The battery life of about 1.5 days can also be a nuisance since you’ll be forced to re-charge it every single night.

I eventually bought one in Hong Kong last June and tried it out for a couple of months. I was already using several smart bands that time (a Jawbone UP24 and Garmin Vivofit) so an upgrade to a smartwatch running Android Wear seems a nice idea.

So I traded my usual Diesel and TWSteel watches for a much simpler but connected LG G Watch. After a few months, I no longer use it after I keep on forgetting to re-charge at night.

A few months later, LG introduced the second-generation G Watch R with a much nicer design and completely rounded face (the R means round).

The LG G Watch R is perhaps the best-looking smartwatch we’ve seen to date. It has that classic look, a rounded face with nice OLED display that most people would think it’s just a regular watch that glows. The face is protected by a slightly protruding round metal ring so accidental bumps will not harm the glass.

The Polymer-OLED display is about 1.3 inches in diameter and has a resolution of 320×320 pixels. The screen looks pretty sharp and crisp. Outdoor visibility is really good, even under direct sunlight, thanks to the OLED display.

The concept of Android Wear as an operating system is that it allows the watch to connect to an Android smartphone via Bluetooth.

The low-power connection enables the phone and the watch to sync data and connectivity, giving the wearer the ability to receive notifications and make voice commands from the watch.

One can also control the smartphone via the watch in a number of instances – remote shutter for the phone camera, play music, maps and navigation, or simply using Google Now.

The 4GB internal storage of the G Watch R allows the user to actually store music files for playback even when disconnected from the phone. The watch can hook up to a Bluetooth headphone and stream the music directly into it.

For fitness buffs, the built-in step counter or pedometer and the heart rate sensor are very useful features. The photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor emits a green light to the skin which measures blood flow to compute for the heart rate. Based on experience, it’s actually a very accurate sensor.

The watch is powered by a Snapdragon 400 chip with 512MB RAM. This configuration is almost the same as most entry-level Android smartphones out there so we’re confident that future upgrades to Android Wear can still be easily handled by the watch.

With an IP67 rating, the G Watch R is also water and dust resistant, giving you some level of confidence whenever the watch gets the occasional splash.

As for the battery life that we complained from the older model, the new G Watch R is now more efficient and can last close to two days. It’s not still our ideal re-charging cycle but it’s an improvement.

Perhaps the only factor that still makes me hesitate from getting one is the retail price. With an SRP of Php13,990, I feel it’s a bit above the usual price for a smartwatch. I still think the G Watch R is a looker of a smartwatch.

LG G Watch R specs:
1.3-inch P-OLED Display @ 320×320 pixels, 348ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core
512MB RAM
4GB internal storage
9-Axis (Gyro/ Accelerometer/ Compass)
Barometer
Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor
Dust and Water Resistant (IP67)
410mAh battery
Android Wear OS

What we liked about it:
* Classic design
* Fine leather straps
* Decent battery life
* Good performance

What we did not like:
* Very pricey for its category

The post LG G Watch R Quick Review appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Are we ready for Wearable Technology?

We’ve been so engrossed with smartphones, tablets and several other consumer technologies. In fact, some of current tech seems to be overkill already – such as 1080p displays on a 5-inchsmartphone and multi-core CPUs in which platforms aren’t even fully optimized for yet. As time goes, manufacturers look to other elements to perfect and now they’re looking a good look at wearable tech; are we ready?

are we ready

Personally, I do want manufacturers to perfect the smartphone before they look elsewhere. I might have even said that next year could be the year of smartphone cameras as I really like the idea of HTC’s UltraPixel, Nokia’s PureView and Sony’s Exmor RS — they focus on quality/technology over just plain megapixel count (Google’s next Nexus phone is rumored to have a great camera as well).

Moreover, we feel like these companies are looking at something more as each one are confirming that they’re working on something else other than a smartphone or a tablet – specifically a smartwatch.

smartwatch

Samsung has already confirmed that they are working on a smartwatch, while companies such as LG, Apple and Google were reported to be working on one too. This isn’t the first time someone’s making an intelligent wristwatch, as gadgets like the Motorola MotoACTV and the Sony Smartwatch are already available for purchase now. Why the excitement then?

A recent report from analysts say that the time is ripe for smartwatches. If we make that a given, we still can’t deny the fact that companies aren’t only working on smartwatches – but also on other gadgets that you wear. Google already has Glasses for next year, and just recently, they just showcased a talking shoe. Over at the gaming zone, Oculus VR already has the Rift – a head-mounted virtual reality gaming device which is currently being funded and developed.

But let’s get back to the consumer. Do we really need a watch just to check on our notifications when we can just pull out the phone out of our pockets? Or a pair of glasses to take photos when you have a more capable camera lurking in your bag? Above everything else, would it appeal to 3rd-world countries such as the Philippines? Leave your comment and opinion below.

The post Are we ready for Wearable Technology? appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.