Moto360 smartwatch is capable, but not always cool
Talking to your wrist doesn't feel as good as it looks on TV, writes CBC's Anand Ram
Dick Tracy. Michael Knight from Knight Rider. Penny from Inspector Gadget. The original Power Rangers. All classic characters over many generations, all popularizing the idea of a wristwatch doing more than telling time.
That idea — wearable technology — is now thriving. With today’s launch of the Moto 360, Canadians can talk to their watch, get vital information off of it and even respond to friends.
But the day-to-day realities of having a connected wrist are about as cool as Inspector Gadget or the Power Rangers are in 2014.
The device itself is well-made. Despite the popularity of the term "smartwatch," Motorola doesn’t call its wearable device that. It prefers "timepiece," to demonstrate the thought process behind the 360: Make it look and feel more like a dress watch and less like a 1980s Casio calculator watch.
The leather strap is very comfortable and combined with the stainless steel housing, keeps the watch very light. Wrists, big or small, won’t feel put off by the 11.5-millimetre thickness and 46-millimetre diameter.
All that keeps the Moto 360 very unassuming. During my two weeks of wearing it, no one really noticed it was more than a watch.
The round, vibrant, touchscreen display is made of the latest Gorilla Glass and held up to rain, sweat and spit. (Just try talking to your wrist without at least a few droplets flying out.)
The voice controls, however, aren’t perfect. After three attempts of trying to tell my wife on WhatsApp that I’ll pick up the milk, I resorted to scrolling through a preset list of responses.
When the voice controls do work, it’s very smooth. You feel a sense of accomplishment by leaving your phone in your pocket.
Surprisingly embarassing
To be clear: I only felt that accomplishment talking to my 360 when I was alone. In public, I hunched over, whispering for fear that someone would see me, wondering, "How loud do I have to speak? How close do I have to bring it to my mouth?" Dick Tracy’s trench coat would have helped — I was surprised by how embarrassed I felt.
That awkwardness aside, the 360’s functionality goes beyond the gimmick of talking to your wrist. Since it’s connected to your Android phone (running version 4.3 or higher), it’s great for handling notifications.
Don’t want to read that fifth email about a work server being down? Swipe, delete. Can’t answer a call in a meeting? Swipe left to refuse. Pause your music? Tap.
It also uses Google Now, the made-for-you set of cards on Android that show contextual information such as flight times or transit directions. You can even use navigation, which makes a short vibration at every turn-by-turn direction.
All this makes the Moto 360 very capable, hitting more than it misses.
Its battery can last all day, but charges only on a dock that comes with it, which can be inconvenient.
Another question is whether you want to pay $279 for what is essentially an accessory, some elegant hardware that will probably be obsolete in a couple of years.
Finally, there’s still the issue of what a smartwatch is — in essence, a wearable device that does less than your phone.
People heaped the same criticism on tablets when they first came out, but they soon became a must-have gadget. And with the Apple Watch coming out next year, there will be a greater public consciousness over the connected wrist — perhaps even making it cool to talk into one.
For now, though, it seems only crime-fighters on TV can get away with it.