The UK e-retailer Expansys has started accepting pre-orders for both gold and silver versions of the LG Watch Urbane. The posh smartwatch is priced at £299.99 (around $465).

At that price point, the Watch Urbane becomes the most expensive Android Wear smartwatch in the market, though it’s worth keeping in mind that this is not its official price. Read more »

In 2015, Apple will sell around 20 million units of the Apple Watch, making it the most successful smartwatch ever, according to a latest report from the market research firm CCS Insight.

According to Ben Wood, CCS Insight’s Chief of Research, the smartwatch will play an important role in taking the wearables market to the next level of growth. “If successful, it’ll create a rising tide that will lift the whole market.” The report, however, warns that if sales of the wearable device fail to meet expectations, it could hurt the whole smartwatch market. Read more »

Sony has announced its new augmented reality glasses, called the SmartEyeglass Developer Edition SED-E1. The glasses pair with your Android smartphone and show information from the phone on the glasses, along with showing information relevant to your surroundings using augmented reality applications.

The SmartEyeglass uses holographic waveguide technology to create 3.0mm augmented reality lenses with a transparency rate of 85%. This means you don’t need a display in front of your glasses, like on Google Glass, and the lenses themselves act as a display. Read more »

Apple has invited nearly 100 third-party developers this month to its Cupertino, California-based headquarters to help them finalize their Apple Watch applications, according to a 9to5mac report. These developers are working on titles for sports applications and productivity software.

As per the report, developers have been asked to travel to Cupertino on an urgent basis, indicating that the apps are being readied for either an upcoming marketing or media event, given that the smartwatch is scheduled to release in April. Read more »

Sony’s original SmartWatch 3 that comes with a silicone wristband has now become cheaper by a cool $50. That’s only true if you buy yours from Verizon, though. Sure, the carrier may not be the first retailer you think of when considering a wearable purchase, but right now it does have the best price for the SmartWatch 3.

You can grab one for just $199.99, which compares pretty favorably to the normal selling price of $249.99. You should know however that there’s no indication of whether this is a limited time deal or not. Read more »

The Samsung Gear app has received an update, bumping it to version 2.2.15011799. Although there isn’t any changelog associated with it, Sammobile is reporting that the update likely brings along fixes for issues related to Android Lollipop compatibility.

Earlier, the app was failing to automatically reconnect to a paired smartwatch after losing connection; the report confirms that the issue has been fixed. Read more »

Several users of the Fitbit Surge, which was announced back in October last year, have reported that the wearable health-tracking device is causing irritation, rashes, as well as broken skin on their wrists.

Aware of the issue, Fitbit has issued the following statement: “The reactions we are seeing with new products are not uncommon with jewelry or wearable devices that stay in contact with the skin for extended periods.” The company also said that the problems stem from wearing the band too tight; sweat, water, or soap being held against the skin under the device; or from pressure or friction against the skin, suggesting users to keep the device clean and dry, and give their wrist a rest. Read more »

If you were wondering how well the Android Wear platform was doing in terms of sales, well, wonder no more. Well known analyst house Canalys has the answer. In 2014, 720,000 smartwatches running Google’s wearable platform were sold.

That’s not much. A grand total of 4.6 million “smart wearable bands” were shipped last year, according to the same source. Read more »

The Apple Watch, which is launching in April this year, will remind you to get out of your desk chair and and move around if you haven’t done so for too long, according to CEO Tim Cook.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs technology conference yesterday, Cook said that the smartwatch will “tap” you on the wrist 10 minutes before each hour, prompting you to get up and take a walk. He also shared that because so many people at the Cupertino-based company are wearing the watch, it’s common to see a lot of people getting up at the same time during meetings. Read more »

Samsung will be selling the Galaxy VR headset through 100 Best Buy outlets across America. This will be the first time the Gear VR is sold offline, which was until now only sold through Samsung, AT&T, and Best Buy online stores.

Best Buy stores will also be getting demo units so people can try out the device before purchasing them. Other than that, it also lets the company get feedback on the product, and if it gets enough positive response it will expand it to more Best Buy stores, and vice-versa. Read more »

In the past, Samsung has hosted its Unpacked events at Mobile World Congress (MWC) as well as in the US, but this time around, that won’t be the case, as the South Korean company has confirmed that there will be no US-based Unpacked event this year.

In a statement to Sammobile, the tech giant said, “Samsung has no plans to host an Unpacked event in the US,” adding that those who are not traveling to MWC, can watch the event via livestream at youtube.com/SamsungMobile. Read more »

Some are using their VR headsets to play a flight simulator and get a first-person perspective of the cockpit. Qantas Airways wants to flip this on its head and use a VR headset – namely the Samsung Gear VR – take you anywhere you want while in a first class cabin of select Airbus A380 flights.

Select first class lounges (in Sydney and Melbourne) will also get the Gear VR so you can preview your destination. Read more »

Microsoft’s Project HoloLens came out of nowhere – no one expected the company to join the VR/AR headset race, but Microsoft deemed it important enough to close its Windows 10 even with it. The headset promises both artificial reality (AR), overlaying virtual objects on the real world, and virtual reality (VR), which replaces the real world completely.

This futuristic piece of tech packs a lot of advanced functionality, but this infographic will give you a digestible look at how it works. Read more »

The last thing Microsoft had to present to the world today has to do with augmented reality. Following a growing trend in the tech world, the company has announced its own entry into the VR headset space, which is called HoloLens. And it comes with some additional features compared to its competitors.

The HoloLens, which you can see above, has see-through holographic lenses that superimpose “holograms” onto the world that’s actually around you, combining the physical with the digital. Read more »

Google has announced that it will be shutting down the Google Glass Explorer Program. Under this program, users could purchase the Glass from Google’s website and provide feedback on the product. The last day to purchase Google Glass under the Explorer Program is January 19.

But even though the Explorer Program is ending, Google Glass itself isn’t going anywhere. Google said in its Google+ post that the team working on the Glass program is graduating from the experimental Google[x] labs division to having their proper division at Google. Read more »