Google “surprised” us all yesterday by announcing that cellular support was coming to Android Wear. Cue in Oooohs and Aaaaahs and gasps of jubilant shock. Having already heard about the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE through its teaser video back in September, it was pretty much a given that Wear watches were about to learn a new trick and cut their umbilical cord tether to their phones. But understandably, Google had to make things official just in time for the release of the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE. (I’ll call it WU2LTE from now on, ain’t nobody got time for that shit!)
The WU2LTE is coming to the US in the next few days, and it’s already available for pre-order on both ATT and Verizon’s sites. ATT will be selling it starting $199.99 with a two-year contract. Units should ship and be available in retail stores on November 13. As for Verizon, it’s feeling a bit more greedy and asking for $499 full price, or $449 on a two-year contract. Its units will be shipping and available in retail locations on November 19.
Aside from the LTE addition, the WU2LTE has a lot going for it. It looks great in my opinion, casual but chic at the same time, and has three quick-access buttons on the side that should make it easier to control when you’re sweating or moving too fast to focus on tapping the screen. Inside, there’s a Snapdragon 400 processor, 768MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, a 570mAh battery, and GPS and heart rate sensors. The outside is taken by a big 1.38″ 480×480 p-OLED display. The entire thing is IP67 rated for water and dust resistance.
NFC aside, it has everything I have wanted from an Android Wear watch and my wrist is starting to ache for one. Unfortunately, the specifics of a worldwide release haven’t been announced yet, just that some key markets in Europe and Asia will follow in the next months.
- Source:
- Press Release,
- Verizon Wireless