Motorola starts selling circular smartwatch Moto 360

PanARMENIAN.Net - Google's Motorola division has begun selling its highly anticipated circular smartwatch, the Moto 360, BBC News reports.

The firm said it believed the model offered a stylish design after what it suggested had been a series of unappealing wearable tech launches by its rivals.

The release of the watch comes at a time of transition for the business. Sales of Motorola's smartphones are on the rebound and the business as a whole is about to switch ownership to Lenovo.

But while analysts have been generally positive about the look of the new timepiece, they expressed doubts about its potential to become a bestseller.

Motorola also unveiled new smartphones and a small Bluetooth earbud designed to allow owners to interact with their handset by voice.

The Moto 360 features a 1.5in (3.8cm) LCD touchscreen encircled by a thin metal band.

The waterproof device is powered by Google's new Android Wear operating system - which is designed for small screens - and also features a built-in heart rate monitor and pedometer step counter, but no proprietary sleep monitoring software.

It only lasts about a day between charges. The version already on sale in the U.S. has leather straps, and versions with metal bands will follow.