Yesterday Google announced Android Wear, its SDK for wearable devices. LG confirmed its plans of making a smartwatch in collaboration with Google. Motorola showed off a smartwatch as well, perhaps the most striking smartwatch that we have seen to date. The company designed it with the aim to reinvent the modern timepiece, it shuns traditional square and rectangle shapes in favor of a round shape, which really makes it stand out from the crowd. If rumors are to be believed, design may well be Motorola’s biggest headache when it comes to mass producing the Moto 360.
Motorola really hasn’t said much about the smartwatch. It hasn’t commented on the specifications or the price, all it has said is that the smartwatch will go on sale sometime this Summer. Rumors from the supply chain, based in Asia, hint at the possibility that Motorola might be facing production issues with its new smartwatch.
Since conventional products are often square or rectangular, internal components are generally have an angular design. Crucial components like the display, processors, battery and motherboard have stuck to conventional shapes for a long, long time. The round design breaks that monotony and thus poses problems. Rumor has it that issues aren’t just related to internal components, presumably Motorola is also having problems with cutting round displays. It is believable, that there might be problems with productions, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
Production issues give birth to the possibility that the smartwatch might be in limited supply once it goes on sale this Summer. A complex production method could also mean that the Moto 360 might not be priced in the same range as conventional smartwatches, which usually hover around $200-$300. Motorola isn’t offering much details about the Moto 360, so we’ll just have to wait and see how this plays out.
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