Google launches Android version powered smart watch

Google yesterday entered the smart watch market launching a device that used a version of its Android operating system designed for wearable devices.

The project called Android Wear, focused first on smart watches, delivers notifications for a variety of information, including sports scores, weather and directions directly to a smart watch. In a video meant to promote wear, users can be seen pulling a QR code to check in for a flight, check out a sports score using their voice, track activity and send text messages through vocal commands.

Sundar Pichai, Google senior vice president of Android Chrome, said in a statement, "(Wearables) understand the context of the world around you, and you can interact with them simply and efficiently, with just a glance or a spoken word.''

According to Pichai, the first Android Wear devices would launch later this year.

Google has been working with companies, including Asus, HTC, LG, Intel and Qualcomm, to create chips and smart watches that leveraged wear. A developer preview was also available starting today.

Motorola had already unveiled its smart watch running Android Wear, the Moto 360, which is to launch this summer.

Google had already set sights on the wearable computing market with Google Glass, its high-tech eyewear that displays search results, captures photos and video and delivers other web data.

According to Larry Dignan writing in ZDNet, the positives for Android Wear were the following:

An ecosystem that included the likes of Intel, Samsung, Fossil, HTC, Motorola and LG among several others; and

Health monitoring applications: The familiar Google Now approach to accessing information as also voice requests started by "OK Google"

Google's approach revolved more around information delivery across multiple screens, according to Dignan.

Dignan says Android Wear could work as Google had not taken its eye off the core mission --- information organisation and delivery.

''Here's to getting the most out of the many screens you use every day-whether in your car, in your pocket or, very soon, on your wrist,'' Pichai noted.

In other words Google's approach rested on cloud computing and data delivery as it had always.