LG has released the LG Watch Urbane LTE in its home country of South Korea at a price of about $589.
The LG Watch Urbane LTE, as opposed to most other smartwatches that are in the market and that are coming out, does not require to be connected to a smartphone to receive and make calls, receive and send text messages, send out push-to-talk calls with smartphones within the same network and make mobile payments through NFC technology.
LG's new smartwatch comes with the device's own universal SIM card, which would allow the LG Watch Urbane to use a carrier's 4G LTE network.
To unlock the full functionality of most smartwatches, it is required that users pair them with their smartphone. This means that customers looking to buy a smartwatch will also need to make sure that their current smartphone supports the smartwatch, or else they will have to purchase a new one that does. For example, smartwatches operating on Google's wearable technology operating system Android Wear will need to be connected with smartphones that are running the a supported version of the Android mobile operating system.
The LG Watch Urbane LTE does not eliminate the capability to link with a smartphone for several functions though, as the smartwatch is powered by the WebOS of LG which the company acquired from Hewlett-Packard back in 2013. LG also uses WebOS for the company's smart TVs and mobile devices, and the version on the LG Watch Urbane is compatible with Android 4.4 or later.
The LG Watch Urbane LTE packs a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, and features a 700 mAh battery and a 1.3-inch plastic organic LED. The screen is one of the better displays in the current smartwatch market, with a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels and a density of 245 pixels per inch. The company also claims that the smartwatch's metallic body is resistant to scratches and corrosion.
The LG Watch Urbane LTE also includes several sensors such as a heart rate monitor, a GPS, a compass and an accelerometer. The smartwatch also features 4GB of internal memory with 1GB of RAM.
After the LG Watch Urbane LTE's release in South Korea, it would be assumed that a launch in the United States is coming soon. However, no date has yet been determined, as according to The Korea Herald, the global launch of the device will be based on its performance in LG's home country.
