Apple may have a new partner for its iPhone 6 payment platform

Thanks to reports that appeared late in August Apple is expected to reveal a new iPhone 6 mobile payment platform in September, and the company has reportedly found a new partner.

Apple has reached an agreement with American Express to work together on the iPhone payment platform, according to Re/code.

The new service will supposedly take advantage of the iPhone 6's rumored NFC capabilities to let users pay with their phones at retail points in physical stores.

According to the latest reports the iPhone 6 payment platform will feature heavily at the iPhone 6 announcement event on September 9.

Pay-date

American Express is the second partner that's been reported to be on board with Apple's new payment scheme, the first being Visa, as The Information said in July.

Apple will need more partners than that if its iPhone 6 payment platform is going to do better than other mobile payment options like Google Wallet, while at the same time competing with established services like PayPal.

Naturally sources are saying that the company is still in talks with multiple other potential partners, but only American Express and Visa have allegedly been confirmed.

Between this and all the iWatch news the site has divulged recently, Re/code is really on a roll with Apple rumors. Hopefully some of these pan out.

• Here's every iPhone 6 leak in one place

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Lumia 730 and 735 show their black and white faces in photo leak

We're anticipating that Microsoft will debut both the Nokia Lumia 730 and the Nokia Lumia 830 at IFA 2014 this September, and the latest photo leak has provided some new clues regarding one of these devices.

The photos appeared on Chinese site Baidu Tieba with watermarks claiming that they show not just the Lumia 730, but also a new Lumia 735 variant.

The Lumia 735 is reportedly the version with 4G LTE, while the 730 has dual-SIM 3G capabilities.

They appear here in black and white, though the release versions will likely come in more colors.

Middle of the road

As a successor to the Nokia Lumia 720, the Lumia 730 and 735 should fall in the mid-range of Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 handsets this generation.

As Windows Phone Central points out, these photos make it look basically like a mix between the Lumia 720 and the Lumia 800/900 series in terms of design.

The Lumia 730 is rumored to carry a 4.7-inch HD ClearBlack display, a quad-core Snapdragon chip, 1GB of memory, 6.7- and 5-megapixel cameras, and 8GB of storage with microSD support - and unlike other Lumia devices, no dedicated hard camera button.

Not the greatest specs, but that's why the term "mid-range" exists.

• Good thing it won't be competing with the iPhone 6

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Apple reportedly considering expensive iWatch price, multiple models

There's been plenty of speculation over what the iWatch will ultimately cost, but a new report claims to have some inside information.

According to Re/code, which has been the source of multiple iWatch rumors lately, Apple has considered charging as much as $400 (about £240, AU$430) for the top-of-the-line iWatch model.

Yes, that also indicates that Apple will release multiple models of its wearable, which shouldn't come as a surprise but hasn't previously been discussed.

If $400 is the high-end iWatch price, then it stands to reason there will be versions with lower price tags as well, possibly with fewer features, less internal storage or inferior specs.

Cutting it close

Strangely the site's sources say that Apple hasn't yet decided on final pricing. That's cutting it pretty close if the iWatch is debuting at Apple's iPhone 6 event on September 9.

Then again, even if the iWatch debuts in September it might not release until 2015, according to a previous report from Re/code - in which case it would make sense for Apple not to have the price down yet.

In any case $400 is a lot to pay in the smartwatch space, where most of Apple's would-be competitors don't even come close to that price tag.

But Apple iFans are used to paying more for their favorite devices, and there's no doubt that Apple knows what it's doing.

• Can't wait for an iWatch? Read up on Android Wear

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In depth: Forget IM: why email is still the ultimate form of online communication

Why email has endured

Young people don't use email. Everyone hates their never-ending inbox. The likes of WhatsApp, Twitter and SnapChat are gaining in popularity. But does all that really mean that email is dead?

For many of us, email is the internet's 'killer app', a neutral, open innovation of the kind it no longer seems capable of creating. It may have first been used in 1971 and it can seem woefully outdated, but email isn't going anywhere.

In an uncertain world where the internet may already be full, email is the one thing we can rely on. It has stamina that new communication platforms can only dream of.

"Email has staying power because it has continued to evolve over the past three decade," says Paul Leprévost, Frontend Developer at Mailjet. "It's a trusted source, as most people have an email address and see it as a reliable channel for sending and receiving messages."

The write stuff

Who still uses email? Well, everyone on the internet... and counting. The Radicati Group report that the number of worldwide email accounts will grow from over 4.1 billion today to 5.2 billion in 2018, with email users increasing from over 2.5 billion now to over 2.8 billion.

The workplace is obsessed with email; The Radicati Group reports that the 108.7 billion emails sent by businesses each day will increase to 139.4 billion by 2018. Simply put, email is massive.

"Email will not be replaced for the foreseeable future," says Dr Peter Chadha, Founder of DrPete and co-author of Thinking of...Going Google Apps – To Save Money and Get Ahead – A guide for SMEs. It has replaced the letter as a format of choice for formal relationships, and until the millennials enter the working environment I can't see that any other forms of communication will replace it."

There is a tiny chink in email's armour; the increase in non-business email usage is slowing, with the 87.8 billion personal emails sent each day estimated to grow to 'only' 88.3 billion by 2018. The culprit? Instant messaging (IM).

What about social media & IM?

Unlike email, not everyone on the internet uses the same system. Social media sites Facebook (1.32 billion), Twitter (500 million accounts), Google+ (340 million), Tumblr (150 million), LinkedIn (200 million), Instagram (100 million) dominate, but there are countless others around the world, such as WhatsApp, SnapChat, Skype, Japan's Line, South Korea's KakaoTalk and China's WeChat. IM is part of all of them.

What's your IM of choice? Depends on who you're communicating with, right? Perhaps you send text messages with close friends, and use either Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp with wider circle of friends, use Google Hangouts with colleagues and Microsoft Lync with clients.

It's a sector in flux. "We are still in the Wild West as far as IM goes," says Chadha. "There is no huge brand name behind them all and no real de facto standard."

Isn't IM a killer app on mobile?

Email is integrated into all modern mobile OS so perfectly that it's arguably easier to access than anything else. Litmus reported in October that a staggering 48% of emails are opened on smartphones and tablets while mobile email users worldwide number 897 million, according to The Radicati Group.

OK, so that's nothing when you consider that 73.44 percent of Facebook's total user base now accesses the service from a mobile device, but in terms of numbers, email wins again. Why else would Facebook have devised its own email addresses?

Who doesn't use email?

Unquestioning eyes might look at the figures and see a demographic time-bomb underneath email. "There is no point in emailing students any more," Professor Sir Steve Smith, the vice-chancellor of Exeter University, told The Times in May. "They get in touch with us by social media, especially Twitter, and we've had to employ people to reply that way. Students will tweet for help if something has gone wrong."

The may be a new generation who rely on social media and IM, and hardly use email, but there are far more internet users that rely far more on email. Besides, those students will soon be in jobs where email is the accepted norm. How else does one send attachments and retrieve old messages?

Who thinks email is dead?

The cloud crowd, those Silicon Valley types who, as well as being young and therefore not emotionally tied to email, can't see any way to make money from anything that already exists. The argument from these guys is that productivity is suffering in the workplace (which just happens to have a collectively massive IT budget).

"If businesses rely solely on email, they run the risk of silo'ing knowledge into individual departments and restricting cross practice creativity that can otherwise be harnessed on wider enterprise collaboration platforms," says Wim Stoop, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Jive Software.

Some complain that email is a time-sink, but there are ways around that. One of the best – and simplest – tricks comes from Unroll.Me; sign-up and your email account is searched, revealing all of your distracting daily subscriptions (it found a staggering 317 in mine). After you've thinned them out, Unroll.Me then consolidates the others, sending you one single daily email called The Rollup containing all of your subscriptions.

Stoop still thinks email, and even IM, are doomed in the long run. "Technology in the workplace should and will go beyond IM and email, empowering employees to innovate collaboratively," he says.

"Virtual workplaces" and centralised communications

Despite email's resilience as a communication tool, the bulging work inbox is the bane of many an office worker's life. "An oversized inbox is a daunting prospect and with technology increasingly available that can boost productivity and dramatically reduce email volume, a change in the way businesses communicate is ahead," says Jon Jorgenson, group director from Access Group.

"The email might not be dead, but the frequency in which it is relied upon may be under threat." Though he admits that there will always be a place for email in the business world, Jorgenson thinks that we're going to start to see a shift toward using technology that can replace emails with more time effective ways of communicating.

"Enterprise cloud communication tools provide ways of allowing people to communicate as they would on email through perpetual messaging," he says, "bringing together elements of instant messaging, group chat and online communities into a group messaging application for businesses."

Myriad new platforms are emerging that try to make email more like social media, with the likes of HipChat, Trello, Salesforce.com, Yammer, Convo and Slack all attempting to replace internal email with a platform that lets employees message each other, share stuff and chat. Slack – the creation of an ex-Flickr co-founder – even has its own Wall of Love on Twitter.

"We've recently started using Slack, and it's the closest anybody has come so far to a viable replacement for email," says Jon Norris, Web editor at Crunch Accounting.

"It's faster, more collaborative, and integrates nicely with lots of our third-party apps. I'd estimate it's saving us at least a few hours a day already." However, there's a catch. "We can't switch over to Slack wholesale as everybody outside our organisation is still using email." That's not going to change anytime soon because very few of us even work in the kind of corporate office environment where such software is available.

How the inbox is changing

"In the long-term I can see email becoming more of an invisible protocol that various specialised apps use to send data to one another, rather than the raw communication layer it is now – we're already seeing the beginnings of this with Google's new Gmail API – and I'm all in favour," says Norris.

The evolution of email has been a constant in the life of the internet. Gmail has its Priority inbox, whereby all circulars go under one tab, and all personal email into another.

Apple has plans to introduce Mail Drop, which lets users choose to send large attachments through iCloud instead of through their recipients' email servers, while Outlook now integrates social media. The email inbox is fast becoming a hub, which shouldn't come as a surprise; wasn't email the original social media? The inbox is becoming a smartbox.

Task-orientated app for smartphones, Mailbox – now owned by Dropbox – was a huge hit a year or so ago, so there's obviously a demand for new kinds of email. Baydin's Boomerang is a productivity plugin for Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo that adds scheduled messaging and the ability to send an email off into the ether, only for it to return at a specified (less busy) time.

"As the email experience has continued to improve … it's clear that email's days are not numbered," says Leprévost, citing how the Mailbox app has created slick email on mobiles.

"Since email is constantly evolving, the email we know today will likely not be the email we know ten years from now – expect to see new hardware and software developed that changes the communication experience, particularly with wearables."

Email, the internet's most trusted brand, has plenty of mileage left in it yet.

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Inflame: Smartwatches are everywhere, so why are they still winding people up?

The big smatwatch wind up

LG and Samsung have released so many types of smartwatch of late you'd think everyone on the planet had at least eight arms - and that people actually cared about smartwatches.

Although this week in smartwatch news, things did get a little interesting. LG discovered a new kind of shape. It's a bit like a wheel, sort of curved at the edges, and looks round. The press release said it was a Circle(TM).

The LG G Watch R, complete with a serious-looking diver's watch face, converted quite a few Moto 360 fans to LG's wearable cause in a flash, although debate turned to how exactly LG's engineers manage to manipulate the bezel to mask the corners of the square display beneath. Some people felt they're being ripped off by having the corner of the square screen hidden from them, which is a little odd.

Samsung also announced its Samsung Gear S this week, a smartwatch that curves along the other axis, bending around the wrist like a bracelet. Ideal for all those top fashion models who fancy trying out the Tizen OS.

But is any of this enough to convince the world that a watch with a battery that only lasts a day or two, and functions like a stripped-down version of the mobile phones we already own, is a good idea?

Normalised

Looking quite like a normal watch is a strange selling point for a gadget, what with normal watches that look exactly like watches not exactly short on the ground.

Beneath a piece on The Verge in which a writer spent 529 words saying he didn't like the look of LG's latest watch-like smartwatch very much, reader Wingzero0 hit incisiveness gold with: "If nothing else, it'll give Apple a template on what people like and don't like and they can go from there."

After some tedious back-and-forth about Nexus 5 battery life and fights about who's a stupid fan of what, discussion returned to the standard watch and the status these ancient, non-smart wearables once inferred on the wearer.

After someone claimed no proper watch enthusiast would consider a smartwatch, reader Pyrolys replied with: "Sorry, but you don't get watches. The 'rebirth' of the automatic watch is due to the renewed interest of people in the craftsmanship it involves. Phones have never been about that."

Reader Decmir is also on the side of things that tick because of cogs rather than due to speakers, saying: "It's OK to buy a new phone every two years. It's also OK to die wearing the watch you were offered at twenty. Personally I'll stick to analogue timepieces!"

Bottom gear

Meanwhile, Samsung's tech announcement of the week was the Gear S, the Tizen-powered gadget it's using to target the sporty crowd. On the Guardian, no one was impressed by its size, with even this second-generation of slightly slimmer, curvier screens not going down too well.

Commenter Nuspeak said: "I think they are all too big, too ugly and with too poor battery life. I think we are a number of generations, possibly 2-3 years away from something that will break the mass market."

To which ageing reader SugarPlumpFairy replied: "Remember the first digital watches in the 70s? They were huge; you had to lift your wrist with your other hand to see the time. I'm sure I still have one shoulder higher than the other."

Reader Threlly thinks Samsung and LG are simply pumping this stuff out there now before Apple steps up and owns the market, posting: "I sense a rush to get products out before Apple come along on the 9th and crush them like bugs."

Rotate wrist toward face and wink to activate time-telling feature

Apple Insider poked its nose in again this week, using the Samsung and LG launches as a way to get its readers slagging them both off to create a riot of page impressions.

Reader Nagromme doesn't seem to think that even Apple can solve the issues currently dogging the wearables scene, though, belittling the devices with his questions: "Screen always visible (without weird twitches or gestures) or not? Battery life for days, or not? If those don't have good answers, then chasing the 'watch' concept is barking up the wrong tree."

Perhaps some sort of kinetic self-charging option might be an option? Imagine the amount of physical activity the wearer would need to get up to in order to keep a smartwatch charged. It could single-handedly end the obesity crisis.

Reader jkichline, meanwhile, is not overly won over by Samsung's wearable aesthetic, saying: "I'm not sure who Samsung is designing for. Buzz Lightyear perhaps? Does it come with a laser weapon too?"

Later, better, more productive

And what of the so-called iWatch itself? Beneath a Gizmodo thing about the trillions of vague rumours and Apple wearable patents that have popped up of late, the knives are already out and attempting to dent the iWatch's rumoured sapphire glass display.

Reader Jonny Smyth leapt in with both feet, commenting cynically: "It'll be overpriced, underpowered and totally not worth it, but the Apple fanboys will defend it anyway."

To which The Artgineer responded: "People will claim it's overpriced, underpowered and totally not worth it before it's even announced, if it even exists."

Commenter The Terminator doubts smartwatches will ever become popular, as their features won't have the same timeless appeal of their non-smart forefathers.

He commented: "A deal breaker for me would be a non-replaceable battery. Unlike mobile phones, watches are meant to last the test of time (no pun intended) as they represent fashion and have a nostalgic appeal. They're not meant to be thrown out with every new iteration."

This is presumably why Apple's not done one yet. What's the benefit to a tech company in making a gadget that you don't have to replace with a new one every 18 months?

• Inflame is TechRadar's weekly look at beneath the fold.

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Cable companies want the FCC to squash local cities' own networks

Local governments in two US cities have taken the internet into their own hands, building high-speed networks for their residents to use.

And broadband association USTelecom - which represents Comcast, Time Warner and other internet providers - is determined to stop them.

It's not just that residents whose municipalities provide internet for them are no longer subject to Comcast and TW's horrible and pricey service; it's that these governments can't be trusted to do it right, USTelecom said.

And now it's petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to stop progress in its tracks.

Haven't heard that one before

Specifically the broadband association wants the FCC to deny petitions filed by the cities of Wilson, North Carolina and Chattanooga, Tennessee asking the Commission to override state laws that could make those cities' own broadband networks illegal.

"States are well within their rights to impose these restrictions, given the potential impact on taxpayers if public projects are not carefully planned and weighed against existing private investment," USTelecom Senior Vice President of Communications Anne Veigle wrote in an official blog post.

"The success of public broadband is a mixed record, with numerous examples of failures," she continued. "With state taxpayers on the financial hook when a municipal broadband network goes under, it is entirely reasonable for state legislatures to be cautious in limiting or even prohibiting that activity."

At least she admits that the association is calling on the FCC to block cities' broadband expansion for that "and other reasons." Wonder what those other reasons could be?

• The FCC wants gigabit internet speeds in every state by 2015

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Updated: iOS 8 release date, news and features

UPDATED: Moto 360 release date, news and features

Moto 360 design, watch face and battery life

Update: How much will Moto 360 watch cost? The price has been twice-leaked along with a release date on Page 3. Specs are on Page 2.

The Moto 360 watch is not only Motorola's circular wonder with Android Wear, it's also Google's best defense against the inevitable Apple iWatch.

First of all, this stylish-looking stainless steel smartwatch exists. We've watched plenty of Moto 360 video, while Apple fans cling to vague hints and a rumored 2015 release date after a September 9 tease.

Second, Moto 360 has the advantage of ditching the square-shaped displays of the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live. Gone are the computerized boxy designs of the Pebble Steel and Samsung Gear 2.

• Important: Moto 360 is half the story. See its Google Now-inspired Android Wear software

It does have two sharp-edged downsides, though. It's the price hasn't been officially confirmed and it's not out yet. Moto 360 is has "summer" release date promised by both Motorola and Google.

An emerging downside comes in the form of new Android Wear competition. LG has been quick to reveal the even more circular LG G Watch R ahead of IFA 2014, the same week as the Moto 360 event.

Thankfully, it shouldn't be too much of a delay. Motorola has teased a September 4 event in Chicago, where it's headquartered. Moto 360 and the follow-up to Moto G and Moto X are expected.

Even with all the mystery, the ambitious Moto 360 is shaping up to be Google's best Android Wear device, especially when paired with customizable leather and metal straps.

It's certainly fit for our variety-seeking 21 century wrists. It just has to get here on time.

Moto 360 watch face and battery life

The computerized Moto 360 screen features a 1.5-inch backlit LCD protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, according to a leak from US retailer Best Buy this week

That's not the the custom-made circular OLED display we heard about previously. But LCDs fare better with white backgrounds, while OLEDs consume 40% less power when displaying black.

OLEDs ability to turn off individual pixels comes at a price. The safer choice is certainly an LCD, and this circular display is no slouch. It still boasts a high 320 x 290 resolution with 205 pixels per inch.

Samsung Gear Live has a 320 x 320 resolution, so save for a few pixels chopped off by the circular frame, Moto 360 is nearly identical and certainly better than the 280 x 280 IPS panel used by the LG G Watch.

Like both already-released Android Wear watches, Moto 360 will feature an always-on screen, which is a power-saving dimmed display that still tells the time like a traditional watch.

Our tests have confirmed that even with their screens unlit most of the time, LG and Samsung's watches eat up a fully charged battery in a day or day and a half.

Motorola may have a few tricks up its sleeve. It perfected a similar active display on its Moto X smartphone, which always includes the time and notifications on the lock screen.

The company could do the same here. In fact, a supposed early review of the smartwatch claims that the Moto 360 lasts two and a half days, which would be a significant improvement for Android Wear.

Battery life is even more important on a wearable; no one wants to charge a watch before the day is out.

Moto 360 specs, battery charging and compatibility

Moto 360 specs

Motorola was upfront about its Android Wear smartwatch plans early on, but it's still shy about revealing the official Moto 360 specs.

It's not too surprising. The internals of a purposely low-powered smartwatch have never been all that exciting when it comes to processing power and memory.

That's okay. Leaks have pointed us in the direction of a Texas Instruments processor that's described as "fast and efficient." We'll be the judge of that on September 4.

The truth is, we know more about the outside of this device. Motorola has confirmed that the Moto 360 can be worn on the left hand or the right hand thanks to its clever orientation-free design.

Yes, there's a classic watch button on one side of the face and not the other, but think about it, this is a digital watch face. The UI can be flipped around so that the knob always points to your elbow.

Whether the Moto 360 is on your right or left wrist, it's equally susceptible to everyday dings and scratches. Scuffing a wrist-worn wearable is just as common as dropping a smartphone.

Moto 360 appears to be ready for a workout with an "optical heart rate sensor," so its beautiful watch face stands a better chance of staying in pristine condition if it's protected Gorilla Glass 3.

That's not the previously rumored sapphire glass, which has a hardness level said to be four times greater than the Gorilla Glass that protects many of today's smartphones.

However, at least it's the latest Gorilla Glass and not going to be its most expensive component. That's an issue Apple may be dealing with in its sapphire glass-tipped iPhone 6 and iWatch.

Moto 360 battery charging

You won't find charging contacts or a micro USB port on the Moto 360 because this Google watch has a innovative charging method. It's the device's "secret sauce" teased Motorola earlier this year.

Sure enough, the company recently confirmed that its smartwatch charges wirelessly via magnetic Qi induction. It can be seen in a handful of photos in which it sits in a charging cradle.

We called this early on. Inspecting the handful of Moto 360 photos, we discovered that the rear of the watch featured a strange purple backing. This is the hallmark of the popular Qi charging method.

Google's Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 smartphones and its newer Nexus 7 tablet take full advantage of a magnetic Qi charger, and Motorola was a Google-owned company up until recently.

Very naturally, the Moto 360 ditches traditional wires in favor of the magnetic Qi wireless charger, which could easily sit on a nightstand before you go to bed.

There's only one problem with this micro USB-free future. Charging Moto 360 would require bringing the wireless charging with you on trips longer than a day if that's the average battery length.

It's a concern, but still better than the proprietary solutions that LG and Samsung have come up with. At least the Qi charger could theoretically juice up a Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 too.

Compatibility

Motorola has confirmed that that unlike the Samsung Gear 2, Geo 2 Neo and Gear Fit, its smartwatch will work with more than just its own hardware. It won't be limited to the Moto X and Moto G.

In fact, the Moto 360 is compatible with all Android 4.3, Android 4.4 and Android L phones and tablets that take advantage of battery-sipping Bluetooth 4.0 technology.

That rules out the possibility that Apple devices like the iPhone 5S and the iPad Air will be able to tether to the Moto 360. Both have Bluetooth 4.0, but for now this is an Android-only device.

Water makes for a completely different compatibility test. The Moto 360 isn't waterproof, but it is water resistant, according to Motorola and Google.

Like both the Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch, it carries a IP67 rating that makes it okay to use up to a depth of one meter for up to 30 minutes.

That makes wearing the new smartwatch a carefree experience, whether you're in the rain or on the wrong end of a splash while bathing a child. Just don't go dunking it in the pool or ocean.

Moto 360 release date and price

Moto 360 release date

Moto 360 was scheduled to be the third Android Wear watch in the US "this summer," trailing behind the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live that have been available since July 7.

However, with the dog days of summer at an end, a slightly delayed September launch date is shaping up more likely. Reset your regular-watch-in-need-of-an-upgrade.

Specifically, we should know about the Moto 360 release date on September 4. That's when Motorola is scheduled to host a big event in its home city of Chicago.

All signs point to us getting hands on time with the Moto 360, Moto X+1 and Moto G2 in conjunction with learning about their US release dates.

Its global plans are even more of a mystery. Motorola has promised to launch the Moto 360 outside of its home territory, saying that it's a "global company." But it hasn't said much more than that.

Moto 360 price

Motorola inadvertently clued us in on the Moto 360 price through the official rules of its watch face contest, suggesting its "average retail value" is $249. Backing this up, US retailer Best Buy lists the same price.

In the UK and Australia, that would translate to £148 and AU$175. Want it for that price? Fat chance! Expect to pay closer to £175 and AU$275 based on the LG G Watch and Gear Live pricing.

After all, direct dollar-to-pound conversions of the US$250 price would make Moto 360 cheaper than the other watches in the UK and Australia. It's new parent company is likely to put the "no" in "Lenovo" when it comes to such a deal.

For comparison, the LG G Watch is on sale for $229 (£160, AU$250) and Pebble Steel is just north of that price in the US at $249 (about £149, AU$267). Samsung Gear Live is cheap too at $200 (£170, AU$250).

Competing with these prices isn't so far-fetched, though it's not like Moto 360 needs to price match. Its wireless charging and circular screen could easily fetch a premium.

Even if the Moto 360 does cost more than a smartphone on-contract, early adopters are likely to pay for the convenience of offloading notifications from the phone to their wrists.

That has been our favorite part of Android Wear so far. Not having to our our phones out of our pockets or rush to our device charging in another room to see why it vibrated is a worthy convenience.

Android Wear promises to do much more than yet, but solving that one pet peeve with easy-to-dismiss notifications on the wrist could make the sleek-looking Moto 360 the must-have wearable of 2014. At least, until the iWatch shows its ticking time face.

• Decision time: Moto 360 vs LG G Watch vs Samsung Gear Live

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