Earlier this week, LG officially announced their intent to show off and subsequently release a new smartwatch. Then, the internet went crazy. Well, that’s an exaggeration, but there were more than a handful of people feeling that LG offered them some sort of discount for releasing a new watch so soon after their original. Some people even went as far to criticize LG for not telling people what they were up to earlier in the year. This is all a little ridiculous, and if you don’t like seeing new products come along quickly one after another, then you’re in for a rough ride over the next 6 – 12 months.
It’s not just LG’s new G Watch R, ASUS is to announce a smartwatch, more wearable fitness trackers are on their way and there’s talk of HTC even getting in on the act. So far, we’ve already seen the new Gear S from Samsung and the Moto 360 – you know, the watch most people are waiting for – is to be released shortly. So, more of these devices are coming, and you know what? This is a good thing, a great thing even. More choice and more options mean that more people are more likely to adopt a platform like Android Wear or even Samsung’s Tizen OS on the Gear line. For developers, this means that there’s more reason than ever to go out and develop meaningful apps for us to use. For the end user, it means there’s more choice and there’ll be more apps and such for us to choose from, more variety is what something like Android Wear needs to become something really great.
Tackling the G Watch R madness once more, I fail to see what the problem is. I own an “old” G Watch except that it isn’t really old at all. Sure, the 320 x 320 resolution vs 280 x 280 is annoying to see, so is the use of OLED which I’m sure will deliver better battery life, but other than that I don’t feel like the watch on my wrist has aged much at all. I don’t like that Swatch look with the outer ring around the display and I’m really happy with the minimal look of my G Watch coupled with a high-quality leather strap. Sure, my G Watch isn’t perfect, but I’m really happy with it, and a circular display (I’ve always worn square watches, like the classic Braun designs) isn’t something that appeals to me. To those that feel LG owe you any money off or some sort of free upgrade, let me just say this; nobody made you buy anything.
Back to the matter at hand and I’m really excited to see what devices launch over the course of the next few months. I just picked up a Sony SmartBand to see what this lifelogging stuff is all about and I’ll be doing a full review for the site, but I’m more excited as it’s the first fitness tracker type device I’ll have ever used. Why I bought the Smartband over the Jawbone Up24 or Fitbit Flex is because I wanted something to get me away from the desk and active more than anything, seeing a week’s worth of my activity is likely to shame into being more active.
I chose Sony’s option because I could, because there was more than just a few devices on the market. With new Android Wear devices from ASUS, LG, Motorola and even perhaps HTC will really help boost the whole ecosystem. As for the fitness trackers, well, the more the merrier. When it comes to something we’re asked to wear 24/7, there’s no one right answer. people like diferent styles and they want different things in a tracker, so the more choice, the better.