LG’s latest Android Wear device lands in Australia today, with the G Watch R becoming available in retailers this afternoon. LG is making a lot of noise about this one — it’s the first Android Wear device with a circular P-OLED display which uses 100% of the watch-face, unlike the Moto 360 which is notorious for that ‘flat tyre’ look.
Being an Android Wear device, you already know about most of the features, but one that will be popular with the health buffs is the photoplethysmography sensor, which is a complicated way of saying optical heart rate monitor. Having used similar technology on other watches, I can confirm that this is indeed pretty cool.
Powering the G Watch R is 4GB of storage space for all your offline music needs, 512MB of RAM (which is standard), and of course, a larger battery than the original G Watch. How much larger? 410mAh vs 400mAh, so it’s not a huge difference. For those who like the low down, here’s the specs straight from LG’s press release:
- Chipset: 1.2GHz Qualcomm SnapdragonTM 400
- Display: 1.3-inch P-OLED Display (320 x 320)
- Memory: 4GB eMMC / 512MB RAM
- Battery: 410mAh
- Operating System: Android WearTM (compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3 and above)
- Sensors: 9-Axis (Gyro/ Accelerometer/ Compass), Barometer, PPG
- Colour: Black
- Other: Dust and Water Resistant (IP67)
Perhaps the biggest news is that the LG G Watch R is available today from retailers including Harvey Norman, JB HiFi and Optus for $359. The astute will note that this is $10 more than the Play Store price of $349, but on top of that you have to factor in a shipping cost, taking the total cost of ownership to about $368.95.
If you’re out and about for a new watch, and have been waiting for this puppy, be sure to head to your preferred retailer this afternoon and take a look!
I hope it arrives in stores soon because I really need to see this watch in store before judging its design… It looks kind of like a knock-off watch in pictures, but reviewers seem generally impressed by its look and feel.
If it’s turns out to be great then I’ll probably get it over the Moto.
Hearing that there is no stock is making me feel better about buying from the Play Store this morning. My order has already shipped, and is at the processing facility in Hong Kong.
JB Chadstone has the moto360 now for sale and will have the LG R next week.
Just checked in at JB HiFi Mount Ommaney Qld. None in stock, none on order, but it is registered in the system on 05 Nov. Guy that I was talking to estimates a couple of weeks for stock to arrive.
Yeah this is another read the press release not verify with sources article. Umm Guys, please do your home work as these yay its released articles are wrong more often than not.
Scott – we try our best, but then it’s fairly pointless and counter-productive to call the company who makes the product a liar.
LG themselves told us that the product would be on sale from today. If the supply chain doesn’t have the product on shelves at 12 noon, there’s not much we can do about that. We didn’t have any reason to doubt the information given to us.
so they beat the Moto 360 to retailers? LOL
No one in my area has them either. HN, JB, etc. No one has a clue.
Sources Ausdroid? Where did you get this information from?
LG – the issue with statements from companies is that they often have no control over supply chain which is handled by third parties.
doesn’t seemed to be a problem with the fruit company. blaming it on 3rd party gets old when others can do it efficiently
Yeah but Apple only have a few products so it’s easier to manage distribution, and most Apple products are in high demand so there’s a lot of incentive to get them into retail channels quickly. Relatively marginal Apple products like the 2013 Mac Pro have actually suffered significant delays.
By contrast, the G Watch R is one out of a million LG products, and let’s face it – the only people who care about it are Android aficionados.
significant delays because it’s not a mass produce product? I believe the new mac pro is sorta handbuilt in a dedicated factory in the US.
Apple controls their entire supply chain – it’s part of the Apple process. For a better comparison look at Samsung, they generally have stuff in-store and they control a lot more of their supply chain rather than dealing with distributors.
I read that Apple uses a 3rd party distributor for Australia.
I just searched and here’s the article: htt p://www .arnnet.com.au/article/415126/ingram_micro_becomes_apple_distie_australia/
If you think that Apple doesn’t have that entire process tied up in SLA penalties… Apple DOES NOT leave things to chance
my original point is still stands. blaming it on distributors when others can do it efficiently is an old excuse.
Dude – give it up man. Your original point that because the most a nal retentive and fascist company on the planet can do it – everyone should be able to, is just a joke. Give it up dude. We live in the real world where there isn’t a huge demand for LG, Motorola, etc products.
Lol, Yeah. Comparing Apple to LG – PML, I bet deliveries are monitored non-stop from factory to store by Apple, or at the very least that companies sign away their lives to ensure that stock reaches stores on-time no matter what.
This is tempting. Might get it if I manage to sell my LG G Watch for $100+
If it’s to be used as a replacement for a Garmin device or similar, then two most important specs – weight? battery life?
Have you guys got a source? Was in at JB and Optus and both had no idea what I was talking about.
Source is LG themselves. As usual they don’t actually control the supply chain once stock is shipped from the factories, this is handled by Australian companies who are given the release date and it’s up to them to get it to stores.
As much as I love it , no way its worth that price tag, no GPS and does exactly the same thing as a $160 gear live. Granted it does look loads better
Hi, where can you get a Gear Live for $160? The cheapest I’ve seen is $199 at Officeworks.
This is such a random comment against paying more for a product. Every watch does does the same thing, but you pay more for quality and style.
made some calls, none of the retailers have them today 🙁