So, have you been waiting for those fancy Samsung and LG smartwatches? You got it. Google’s India playstore now shows up Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch! It is still under “Coming Soon”, however, the prices have been declared and it will not be long before they start shipping to Indians.
These smartwatches appeared on the store immediately after details of Android Gear were announced at the ongoing Google I/O conference in San Francisco, USA.
Lets Look at both these smartwatches in more detail.
Samsung Gear Live
The Gear Live smartwatch weighs 59 grams and has a 1.63 inch SuperAMOLED screen with 278 ppi density. It is powered by 1.2 GHz processor backed up with 512 MB RAM and 4GB internal storage. The device operates wirelessly using Bluetooth 4.0 (low energy) in conjunction with your Android phone.
It also has a USB connector and has 4 sensors inbuilt – Accelerometer, Digital compass, Gyroscope and Heart rate monitor.
The battery has 300 mAH of power which is sufficient for single days usage.
Samsung Gear Live is priced at Rs. 15,900
LG G Watch
The LG G smartwatch is pretty much identical to Gear Live. It weighs in at 63 grams and has a 1.65 inch PIS LCD screen with 280 ppi density.
It is also powered by 1.2 GHz processor backed up with 512 MB RAM and 4GB internal storage. The device operates wirelessly using Bluetooth 4.0 (low energy) in conjunction with your Android phone.
It also has a USB connector and comes with a charging cradle. It has 9 axis sensors – Accelerometer, Digital compass and Gyroscope. Heart rate monitor seems to be missing!
The main difference between Gear Live and LG G Watch is that it has nearly 25% more battery power at 400 mAH which is will last you longer that its competitor.
LG G watch is about Rs. 900 cheaper than Samsung Gear Live at Rs. 14,999! Interestingly, rather than “coming soon”, it says “Leaves warehouse by July 8.”, so you can actually prebook it right now..
Will Smartwatches Sell in India?
In our view, smartwatches may meet only a moderate success in India. Only die-hard techies and Android fans will go for it at that price. Rs. 15k price tag for a watch will be far too much for majority of Indians.
Having said that, smartwatches are obviously not a mass market device like Smartphones. They will be targeted towards a specific segment of Indians only.
Do let us know what you feel about smartwatches coming to India…
