Moto 360 smartwatch appears at Google I/O

Image Credit: Google Images

Samsung´s galaxy gear series has already been manhandled for a while now and now its time to do the same with the latest device running google´s operating system Android Wear, the Motorola Moto 360. Android Wear is the OS launched by Google to with wearable devices like the Motorola Moto 360, the LG G watch and Samsung´s Gear Live. This the first smartwatch to have a circular design which in itself is drool worthy. I may sound a bit rude here but Samsung´s Gear smart watches look ugly when you compare them with this beautiful smartwatch. The first round round-faced Android Wear is just great looking. The Moto 360 looks just like a regular watch.

Image Credit: Google Images

It is a bit on the thick side but is lightweight and comfortable to wear. It will be available in a soft genuine leather straps and also in metal bands. The Moto 360 strikes a stunning pose on your wrist and, particularly in stainless steel garb. The fit and finish of the device is top notch. 

The chamfered edges of both the glass covering the screen and that metal housing give it a luxurious look and feel, and the thick, split leather strap is premium, too. A bit of design flair has the added benefit of showing off the circular display to the fullest -- looking closely reveals that pixels are packed from edge to edge, no cutting corners or bezels.

The Moto 360 has almost the same UI as we usually see in Google Now. Swiping around the UI (up/down to change cards, right/left to dive deeper into them) is super fast and smooth.

Image Credit: Google Images

By default, the screen is off, but when you raise your wrist in the standard check-the-time gesture, the screen lights up. Hopefully that will result in some battery-saving. The screen looked very nice and was easy to read. We're assuming that it too was an AMOLED screen because the blacks were super-deep, and that would make sense for power-savings.

One can make the UI look like a real watch, with multiple dial options to choose from, It seems the watch may be monitor fitness amongst other features like, weather updates, GPS navigation, reminders, reading a Hangout message, watching the caller ID or even accepting or declining calls from the watch itself. From the hardware it looks like this smartwatch will only support wireless charging as there is not input source to plug in a wire into the watch. It only has one hardware button to its right.

Image Credit: Google Images

For now, that's really all we can tell you about the Moto 360 -- that it's a beautiful and sizable smartwatch. Motorola currently had the 360 running a demo mode of Android Wear, so one could not get a feel for how the watch actually will work. That said, Motorola's on its way to proving that sometimes, it's not hip to be a square.

GIF Credit: Google

Hopefully the price—the biggest open question— will be as appealing as the looks. Meanwhile, you may have a look at this video.

Disclaimer: This Video belongs to Motorola Mobility and is embedded here just for informative purpose.

Is apple going the right way with IOS7 and further

Back in 1982, personal computers had monochromatic green screens. If you wanted to design a user interface, you had two tools available: Green letters and blank spaces.

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Steve Jobs had a deep and rich vision in 1981 for how user interfaces could work. If nontechnical users were going to do highly complex tasks on a computer with no training, he felt that Apple would need to make the technology disappear and the operations be utterly intuitive to nontechnical people. 

Here are some examples and difference between ios6 & ios7:-

Image Credit - Google Images

Image Credit - Google Images

Image Credit - Google Images

Image Credit - Google Images

Image Credit - Google Images

Image Credit - Google Images

Image Credit - Google Images

Image Credit - Google Images

Image Credit - Google Images

The iPhone was the highest realization of Steve's vision. Unlike PC applications, iPhone apps were not merely software programs; they transformed the phone into familiar physical objects. The notepad looked like a real notepad; the calendar was like holding a calendar; the clock looked like a clock and the library looked like a real wooden shelf with books. This is called Skeuomorphism. Skeuomorphism makes it easier for those familiar with the original device to use the digital emulation and that it is visually appealing. 

Steve Jobs once said this:-

“people don't know what they want until you show it to them.”

― Steve Jobs

In iOS 7, all of that is gone. Apps are now controlled with cryptic little florescent symbols that are interspersed across the screen. Everything looks the same. No more notepad; no more dials for making selections. It's all just dull software; black letters on white. Even the blue tint that helped you see if the keyboard shift key was pressed has been eliminated.



Apple has brought back the era of the hideously ugly, monochromatic 1982 UI. And it's worse than an IBM PC. Instead of a soft green color palette, iOS uses garish, florescent colors against harsh white backgrounds.

Image Credit - Google Images

This is the a good example of difference between skeuomorphic and flat interface.

Image Credit - Google Images

This is so wrong.

DOCUMENTS V.S. CONTROLS

The worst thing about iOS 7 is that the distinction between documents and controls is gone.

The iPhone always had a feeling like a well-engineered European sports car, with simple, purposeful buttons and dials to control the device. These controls were clearly and substantively distinct from user documents and workspaces. Now it's all blurred together, so you can't tell any more which things are controls and which aren't.
It reminds me of the days when you had to read a manual to learn how to use a piece of application software.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

The designers of iOS 7 forgot that consumers buy Apple products because they want simple, elegant devices to make their lives easier. But it appears to me as if the goal of iOS 7's designers was to look cool and hip, no matter the impact on users.

The new icons are garish, distracting, and less intuitive than the old ones. The new graphical flourishes--like making the lock screen photo go blurry.

I think this is far and away the worst thing Apple has ever done. Not only did the company throw away 30 years of progress, they have pulled all the major app makers down with them.

Apple has made a giant mess with iOS 7. It's hard to imagine the Apple design people owning up to what they did any time soon.

It pains me to say it, but I think Apple has given its loyal customers good reason to start looking at Android and other options.

Image Credit - Google Images