Gear : Watches : LG Watch Urbane LTE
Gear : Watches : LG Watch Urbane LTE
The big smartwatch reveal from MWC this year was from LG. With two new smartwatches, the LG Watch Urbane and Watch Urbane LTE, LG is looking to define the playing field for Android-friendly smartwatches in 2015. They’re both impressive in their own way, but it’s worth noting that there are more differences between the two than just the inclusion of LTE on one of them.
The most important development on the LG Watch Urbane LTE (outside of the LTE part), compared to previous LTE smartwatches is the looks. The LG G Watch R didn’t look bad, but the Urbane is an improvement, with silver-colored stainless steel on the watch face. However, the LTE version is made to look more like a rugged, all-purpose watch, with a rubberized band and the three physical buttons on the face. If you’re looking for luxury, you might want to just skip the next few paragraphs and go to the bottom.
The LG Watch Urbane LTE features the 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, a 1.3″ 320 x 320 P-OLED display, 1 GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 4 GB of internal storage, LTE, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and NFC, all powered by a 700 mAh battery. That’s mostly the same as the G Watch R from last year, but there are some important differences. The 1 GB of RAM is an increase from 512 MB, the battery is much bigger (410 mAh in the G Watch R), and the inclusion of NFC connectivity will make mobile payments possible with the LG Watch Urbane LTE.
The biggest addition, of course, is in the name—LTE connectivity. That means that the LG Watch Urbane LTE can be a standalone device, without needing to be paired with a smartphone. Your watch can have its own phone number, and you can make calls and send messages right from the device using voice controls or the touchscreen interface. Push-to-talk is also possible, so you can use the Watch Urbane LTE as a walkie-talkie, too.
Because the LG Watch Urbane LTE is a standalone device, it wouldn’t make sense to run Android Wear, which is designed to be a complementary wearable OS to Android smartphones. Instead, the watch runs the LG Wearable Platform, which is an adapted version of webOS. Using that platform, you’ll be able to use apps to make calls, send messages, or make payments using NFC connectivity. To help with controls, the LG included those three physical buttons on the side of the watch face. One will immediately bring up settings, the center button will switch between the watch face and the apps home screen, and the other will act as a back button.
LG hasn’t forgotten about fitness features, either. The Watch Urbane LTE features a heart rate monitor and motion sensors, which track the usual milieu of fitness stats, like steps taken and distance traveled. The watch will also include a fitness app that can store custom stats for golfers, cyclists and hikers. It’s also IP67-certified for dust and water (up to 1 meter), making it a viable fitness tracker in extreme conditions, too.
OK, everyone who was looking for luxury can start reading again. LG is also releasing the Watch Urbane, a non-LTE version of the above watch. Instead of going for the rugged, masculine look, the Urbane tries its hand at luxury. The stainless steel watch face comes in either silver or rose gold (everyone’s doing rose gold these days), while a thick, comfortable leather wristband comes standard. There will be interchangeable bands for the Watch Urbane, so this is definitely meant to be the more fashion-forward choice. That said, the watch face might still be a bit too big for this smartwatch to successfully pass itself off as a luxury watch in the most formal of settings.
There’s another trade-off—not only is there no LTE, but the bump in RAM and battery size and the inclusion of NFC was left off this version of the watch, making it the same inside as the G Watch R. And, because this watch doesn’t have LTE, it’ll strictly be a companion device for Android smartwatches, meaning this model will run Android Wear instead of the LG Wearable Platform. That’s not bad—Android Wear is more focused on Google Now voice search integration and push notifications, and is probably the most refined wearable platform out there right now.
We don’t know about pricing or availability yet, but we do know that AT&T is confirmed to carry the LG Watch Urbane LTE when it is ready for release.
Contact LG Electronic
Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Google+
Contact ChipChick
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google+ | YouTube
Sources : LG Watch Urbane LTE Photo | LG Watch Urbane LTE Article
The big smartwatch reveal from MWC this year was from LG. With two new smartwatches, the LG Watch Urbane and Watch Urbane LTE, LG is looking to define the playing field for Android-friendly smartwatches in 2015. They’re both impressive in their own way, but it’s worth noting that there are more differences between the two than just the inclusion of LTE on one of them.
The most important development on the LG Watch Urbane LTE (outside of the LTE part), compared to previous LTE smartwatches is the looks. The LG G Watch R didn’t look bad, but the Urbane is an improvement, with silver-colored stainless steel on the watch face. However, the LTE version is made to look more like a rugged, all-purpose watch, with a rubberized band and the three physical buttons on the face. If you’re looking for luxury, you might want to just skip the next few paragraphs and go to the bottom.
The LG Watch Urbane LTE features the 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, a 1.3″ 320 x 320 P-OLED display, 1 GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 4 GB of internal storage, LTE, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and NFC, all powered by a 700 mAh battery. That’s mostly the same as the G Watch R from last year, but there are some important differences. The 1 GB of RAM is an increase from 512 MB, the battery is much bigger (410 mAh in the G Watch R), and the inclusion of NFC connectivity will make mobile payments possible with the LG Watch Urbane LTE.
The biggest addition, of course, is in the name—LTE connectivity. That means that the LG Watch Urbane LTE can be a standalone device, without needing to be paired with a smartphone. Your watch can have its own phone number, and you can make calls and send messages right from the device using voice controls or the touchscreen interface. Push-to-talk is also possible, so you can use the Watch Urbane LTE as a walkie-talkie, too.
Because the LG Watch Urbane LTE is a standalone device, it wouldn’t make sense to run Android Wear, which is designed to be a complementary wearable OS to Android smartphones. Instead, the watch runs the LG Wearable Platform, which is an adapted version of webOS. Using that platform, you’ll be able to use apps to make calls, send messages, or make payments using NFC connectivity. To help with controls, the LG included those three physical buttons on the side of the watch face. One will immediately bring up settings, the center button will switch between the watch face and the apps home screen, and the other will act as a back button.
LG hasn’t forgotten about fitness features, either. The Watch Urbane LTE features a heart rate monitor and motion sensors, which track the usual milieu of fitness stats, like steps taken and distance traveled. The watch will also include a fitness app that can store custom stats for golfers, cyclists and hikers. It’s also IP67-certified for dust and water (up to 1 meter), making it a viable fitness tracker in extreme conditions, too.
OK, everyone who was looking for luxury can start reading again. LG is also releasing the Watch Urbane, a non-LTE version of the above watch. Instead of going for the rugged, masculine look, the Urbane tries its hand at luxury. The stainless steel watch face comes in either silver or rose gold (everyone’s doing rose gold these days), while a thick, comfortable leather wristband comes standard. There will be interchangeable bands for the Watch Urbane, so this is definitely meant to be the more fashion-forward choice. That said, the watch face might still be a bit too big for this smartwatch to successfully pass itself off as a luxury watch in the most formal of settings.
There’s another trade-off—not only is there no LTE, but the bump in RAM and battery size and the inclusion of NFC was left off this version of the watch, making it the same inside as the G Watch R. And, because this watch doesn’t have LTE, it’ll strictly be a companion device for Android smartwatches, meaning this model will run Android Wear instead of the LG Wearable Platform. That’s not bad—Android Wear is more focused on Google Now voice search integration and push notifications, and is probably the most refined wearable platform out there right now.
We don’t know about pricing or availability yet, but we do know that AT&T is confirmed to carry the LG Watch Urbane LTE when it is ready for release.
Contact LG Electronic
Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Google+
Contact ChipChick
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google+ | YouTube
Sources : LG Watch Urbane LTE Photo | LG Watch Urbane LTE Article
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