Android Wear is GO

On the back of the Google I/O conference in San Francisco, the first Android Wear watches have been released.

LG's G Watch ($229/£159) and Samsung's Gear Live ($199/£169 - more expensive in the UK for some reason) can now be pre-ordered for early July delivery.

Motorola's much anticipated 360 (around $250) is expected sometime during the summer.

On the wrist

Of course, the point of this first generation of smartphones is - like the Pebble - to link to your phone and act as a notification point for messaging and Google Now, as well as providing the opportunity for voice search.

They will also sync with peripherals such as heart rate monitors, although it's not clear that these devices will attract the  fitness crowd per se. Design-wise, they're just a bit professional.

Next up, let's see if Apple can fulfil its "50 million sales" expectations...

Why smart watch market share estimates remain meaningless hokum

According to market intelligence outfit Strategy Analytics, the smart watch market is exploding.

It reckons global shipments were up 250 percent year-on-year in Q1 2014 to over 700,000 units.

The key driver of this growth was Samsung, which shipped 500,000 units, taking an estimated 71 percent market share.

What tosh...

Whether the numbers are correct or not - and the fact these are units shipped not sold is a clue - it's pretty clear Samsung is not going to be the market leader on this sort of scale.

After all, back in 2013, rival market intelligence outfit Canalyst estimated that Samsung had a 54 percent market share but that was when it had shipped lots of Galaxy Gear smartphones, many of which were subsequently returned to retailers because it was a rubbish product.

But did Canalyst track those returns? Did it heck.

Of course, the more vital issue with Samsung smart watches is they only work with Samsung phones. Sure, that's a big market but it also demonstrates that Samsung doesn't get the potential of smart watches in the way that Pebble (which supports iOS and Android phone) does - and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Pebbler.

But, perhaps even more importantly, the smart watch market is so nascent at the moment that until we've had a couple of quarters of Android Wear hardware shipping (and more importantly being sold and worn by real people), there's little point even discussing market share percentages.

Still, if you have $6,999 burning a hole in your pocket, feel free to buy Strategy Analytics' no doubt awesome 6-page report. 

Can Google oust Tizen as the OS for wearables?

While it makes complete sense for Google to say it wants to position Android as the OS for wearables (as quoted at SXSWi), it's also worth pointing out that Samsung's just switched from Android to Tizen for its new Gear 2 smartwatches.

That decision was apparently made in terms of battery life and performance considerations.

Of course, given its work with Google Glass and its rumoured Nexus smartwatch with LG, Google will have plenty of skin in the game. Thing is, though, performance and battery life are pretty big considerations in the wearable space, and if Samsung thinks Android doesn't currently cut the mustard, looks like it has some ways to shrink. 

MWC 2014 Digest #1: Google, LG, Samsung, HTC and Huawei strap up

Google <3 LG
Rumourmill: Google and LG are working together on an Android smartwatch. It's assumed this operation will be similar to the way the two companies have worked together over the Nexus phone and tablet hardware. Presumably we'll find out more at Google I/O in June. NB: LG already has a fitness tracker.)

Samsung's wrists drops the Galaxy
Everyone was very rude about Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch, so Samsung has semi-ditched the brand.

Its new version is the Gear 2 smartwatch, which runs the Tizen operating system for better performance, and promises better battery life as well as being lighter. Of course, it still only works with Samsung phones. The Gear 2 also has heartrate monitoring functionality and a camera, although you can get the cheaper/smaller Gear 2 Neo sans camera. Both are expected to be available in April.

HTC builds on Toq
Everyone was confused when Qualcomm announced its Toq smartwatch. The news that HTC's first smartwatch will be based on Toq provides some context, however. Apparently HTC is also working on a wearable device that will rely on the Google Now software.

Huawei - coming in your ear

Chinese outfit Huawei is well known for its mobile infrastructure smarts, not for its consumer devices, at least in the west. It's looking to get into the wearable fitness market, however, with its TalkBand B1. The twist here is that the wrist band also converts into a Bluetooth headset. Priced at 99 euros, it's due to be released outside China in Q2 2014.