Android Wear: Google's wearables platform announced

Fitness trackers, Watches and glasses? You can't go far on the web without a tech news site talking about wearable tech. Samsung is on it's second version of it's Galaxy Gear smartwatch, Apple is rumoured to be making a smartwatch and that's just the heavyweights. Rumours started surfacing a while back about Google making a smartwatch of it’s own, and today we finally have some good information about what Google is working on.

Today Google announced that they are working on Android Wear a new version of Android designed specifically for wearable devices. Android Wear is designed to be used on a wide range of wearable technology devices however Google says it will start in the area that makes the most sense and that is the SmartWatch.

Android Wear has been designed to bring contextual information to a user when it's most needed. In theory this means getting the latest updates from social apps, instant messaging and photos along with showing you the best/fastest route to get to your next meeting or appointment.

Google released a concept video for Android Wear today which as you can see has much in common with Google Now and Google glass. As with other devices running Google Now, Android Wear is voice enabled following the "Okay Google" dictation scheme of gathering information. Along with providing useful information at glance on your wrist, Android Wear will also feature health monitoring abilities that allow for real time access to data for users and applications on your smartphone.

A key part of making a successful smartwatch includes applications, and this has been proven by the Pebble smartwatch. Google has already released a preview version of Android Wear to existing Android developers to start preparing their existing apps to take advantage of Android Wear. Google also say’s that it will be releasing further API's and resources to developers in the coming weeks.

We are likely to hear a lot more about Google's upcoming Android Wear at the Google I/O conference but so far it certainly seems like an interesting concept and I personally can't wait to see this develop further and become available for consumers. It was said that 2014 was going to be the year of wearable technology and that certainly seems true so far and we are only three months into the year.

What do you think about Google's smartwatch concept? Do you think Android Wear will be a good addition to the Google Android Platform? As usual we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.