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Last Thursday, as the tech world tittered about Apple's highly anticipated Tuesday announcement, Chicago's Motorola Mobility showed off some new products of its own at its home in the Merchandise Mart, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The most anticipated among them is the Moto 360, MoMo's own smartwatch. Yes, the Moto 360 can tell time. It can also send text messages, give directions, accommodate apps, and measure its user's vital signs.
“The Moto 360 isn't actually that big,” said David Pierce, a reporter for The Verge who received an early review unit. “It's solid and high-end, and it's definitely in the larger end of the smartwatch spectrum, but it quickly felt natural on my wrist... Android Wear devices are mostly made to work the same, offering the same kind of notifications and quick interactions no matter which device you use. But the 360's hardware truly sets it apart: Motorola executives told me that when they started the project they asked a bunch of children to draw a watch. They all drew round ones, so Motorola had its design.”
Apple also announced similar wearable tech today, as it was widely expected to do. The two mobile giants' competition should prove interesting.
Motorola also introduced a tiny in-ear device called the Hint, designed especially for drivers who don't want to risk traffic accidents or break the law. The Hint can integrate with a smartphone and allow users to search the web, make phone calls, and get precise navigation using only voice commands.
These new products are part of Motorola's ongoing struggle to reclaim its prominence in the mobile market it largely created, according to an in-depth Chicago Magazine article on the company's historical ups and downs.
Motorola Mobility became its own entity in January 2011, splitting off from what is now known as Motorola Solutions. MoMo recently relocated to the city, from suburban Libertyville, just before it was acquired by the Chinese tech company Lenovo.
