Did Android Wear Just Bomb, Or Did Moto 360 Just Win?
Today we've posed a wearables question to readers of SlashGear and Android Community in a variety of forums: Have you purchased an Android Wear device, and why or why not? The overwhelming response has been "no", with a reasoning most often centering on a complete lack of reason – why would I purchase something that I have no need for? Was Tim Cook right?
Back in May of 2013, Tim Cook spoke at D11 about wearables. "There's nothing great out there that I've seen – nothing that's going to convince a kid that's never worn glasses or a band or a watch or whatever to wear one."
Above you'll see a hands-on look at Android Wear for our reviews of the LG G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live.
In around 50 responses in an hour's time, 10 suggested that they had not purchased an Android Wear device yet because they were waiting for the Motorola 360. The rest were mixed between the following:
No, Already have a watch: 3No, No reason to buy one: 20No, I don't wear watches: 5No, Too expensive for now: 10No, Waiting for Moto 360: 10Yes, I own or will soon own an Android Wear device: 0
While responses above are from Facebook and Twitter, Android Community asked the Google-made Google+ social network their side of the story. Here you'll find a slightly different mix. In around 20 minutes, the mix was as follows:
No, Already have a watch: 1No, No reason to buy one: 1No, I don't wear watches: 0No, Too expensive for now: 4No, Waiting for Moto 360: 7Yes, I own or will soon own an Android Wear device: 3
One responder had purchased both the Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch, one had purchased the LG G Watch, and one got their LG G Watch from Google I/O 2014 for free as a developer.
NOTE: You can follow these polls in Facebook and Google+ above to see how they continue to grow and change. We'll update this post as necessary.
Is it that Google's presentation of Android Wear on two devices that look and feel extremely similar hasn't hit the mark? Or is it that Motorola did a far better job of creating an Android Wear device that people would lust over?
Above you'll see a video released by Motorola today that might give you some insight on why the Moto 360 has struck a chord with consumers. Product Lead Lior Ron speaks up on the design of the Moto 360 – on how traditional watches were the inspiration for their smartwatch. Below you'll see our hands-on with the Moto 360 as well.
Do you think Android Wear will strike out? Or are you anticipating a home run when Motorola's smartwatch is released later this year?
Have a peek at the column by Don Reisinger called Why I'm Waiting for the Moto 360 (and you should too). Also have a peek at the column by Chris Davies called The Moto 360 is Motorola's New RAZR.