Motorola's Moto 360 smartwatch goes on sale Friday at noon EST, priced at $249 as expected, and early reviews on the Android wearable, which was initially announced a few months earlier, seem to be a mixed bag of compliments and criticisms.
The smartwatch, which is one of the few that actually looks like a traditional watch, is available at the Motorola store, Google Play, select Best Buy stores and Best Buy's website.
Its circular design is the big differentiator in the ocean of smartwatch choices though LG has taken a similar classical circular route with its smartwatch revealed this week.
As TechTimes reported the LG G Watch R, announced Thursday, prior to Friday's IFA industry event, also boasts a circular plastic OLED display. But some believe Moto's design is a step or two ahead, with one reviewer noting Moto 360's "display is something of an engineering feat, in that it fills almost the entire round face, with pixels running right up to the metal edge."
The Moto 260 smartwatch offers a pedometer and optical heart rate monitor and can also send and receive notifications via a voice command or hand swipe.
That notification feature, however, may become one reason Moto 360 owners soon leave the watch on the nightstand or dresser. As one reviewer shared after wearing the smartwatch for a few days the continual buzz or vibration can be a bit annoying in work and personal life situations.
An industry analyst believes, despite the more compelling design which most reviewers cite heavily as a positive, the Moto 360 isn't going to rock the wearable device industry.
"Frankly the Motorola brand is not quite as strong as it once was in consumer markets. Even if the product is very good, the bottom line is that the brand may not be strong enough to carry it off," said Neil Mawston of Strategy Analytics. "I think sales will be relatively modest as everybody is essentially waiting for Apple to revolutionise this sector."
That revolution is expected to kick off Tuesday, Sept. 9 when Apple announces not only its next iPhone, the iPhone 6, but is reportedly going to debut its first wearable, dubbed in the media as the 'iWatch.' Yet some other reports claim the wearable announcement won't come until October as Apple has typically kept big events focused on one product.
In addition to Motor 360 Motorola also debuted the Moto X+1, a refreshed version of its top-tier smartphone. New features include four infrared sensors that allow users to wake the phone without touching it.
