Motorola has officially released the Moto 360, the most anticipated of the Android Wear smartwatches announced a few months ago.
Retailing at $250, the Moto 360 was officially made available in the United States, selling in select retailers in the country including Best Buy. As previously shown, Motorola's smartwatch features a round display that sets it apart from previously released Android Wear devices sporting square faces.
Aiming for the high-end market, Motorola fitted the Moto 360 with a leather strap from Horween Leather, a Chicago-based tannery. The strap comes in black and gray and feels soft to the touch, which others are saying is too soft it can make a wearer doubt it is wearing leather. Whether that comes off as a bad thing or not is a matter of personal preference. Moto 360s with metal bands, however, will be released later in the year and Motorola is even exploring plastic straps as another option.
While one of the Moto 360's biggest strengths is that it looks like a traditional timepiece, it features several display options that users can choose from. In total, there are eight watch faces available, including a simple black face with the second hand in bold red, a chronograph layout, and a clean, white design that offers the date alongside the time.
Unfortunately, its strength is also its weakness. Unless the plain black watch face is used or a notification is being shown, the Moto 360's display appears incomplete, with a portion of the display at the bottom chopped off. Motorola is well aware of this flaw, saying the band of black at the bottom of the display is where engineers put in the driver and the ambient light sensor used by the Moto 360.
Another problem with the Moto 360 is its battery life. Motorola said it's working on smaller versions of the smartwatch but as it is the Moto 360 can only last a day on a single charge. Sometimes it won't even last the whole day. Other smartwatches fare better with two to three days of juice so this may be a point against the Moto 360 that may keep consumers from buying it.
Generally though, Motorola has a good thing going for the Moto 360 because it's the best-looking Android Wear smartwatch at the moment. But Apple is due to announce the iWatch in a few days and LG is also gearing up with the G Watch R so the Moto 360 might not have long in the spotlight.
