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YouTube and its YouTube AdBlitz channel are always popular destinations for watching Super Bowl ads that will air on TV during and online leading up to the game– and this year even an alternative half-time show. Following yesterday’s Super Bowl 50 with the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, YouTube has now shared some data on what the most popular ads were this year based on views as of this morning, and we’ve embedded the list in video form below for easy viewing…

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Feature Request is a new regular 9to5Google series where authors offer their opinion on how to improve popular hardware or software products.

I think most of us who have used it are aware that Android Wear isn’t exactly a complete platform yet. It feels a little beta-ish. And that’s okay for now. One of the best things about Google’s software efforts is that we get to go along for the ride as it publicly experiments and launches new features. It’s not a case of waiting for months, or years, for it to secretly ‘perfect’ its product before telling us we’re ready for it.

Android Wear is still young enough that there’s plenty Google could change without upsetting the apple cart too much. One feature I think should be implemented soon (this year if possible) is a Force Touch-like technology. In other words: Android Wear should have a deeply engrained system to take advantage of pressure-sensitive touchscreen displays…

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Despite not selling its flagship smartphone in the United States, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei has a hold on the third-place position in the world, behind Samsung and Apple. According to a report today from The Wall Street Journal, however, Huawei hopes to expand the availability of its flagship smartphone to the United States very soon…

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Google today has updated the Android Wear companion app to version 1.4.0.2470307.gms and while it’s a minor update, it brings back one feature that many have been missing since version 1.4 was released last month…

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Mentions of TAG Heuer’s entry into the Android Wear market have been tossed around for a really long time now, but — as we learned just a couple of weeks ago — the device’s launch is finally right around the corner. We haven’t up to this point had any kind of peek at what the watch will actually look like, but a new teaser image tweeted today by the company itself gives us a little bit of a glimpse at this beast in the flesh…
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Four months ago, the team behind the BLOCKS smartwatch — a device not all too different from Google’s Project Ara smartphone in principle — said that it would begin crowdfunding in the “summer”. While the company may have missed that deadline by a few weeks, it looks like it’s going to happen nonetheless. The device is set to finally hit Kickstarter on October 13th…
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The Huawei Watch is definitely an Android Wear watch, but it does have a few features that set it apart from its competitors. Even though it may be priced a little on the steep side compared to other offerings in the space, Huawei has truly seized this opportunity to further prove that it is serious about building hardware for Android platforms. The Huawei Watch is the watch to beat right now, and there are at least 5 reasons that’s the case…
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China-based Elephone isn’t known for making any high-end hardware, and besides being yet another maker of really cheap Chinese phones, they aren’t known for much of anything at all. But that might change soon, as the company is purportedly preparing to launch a smartwatch running Google’s Android Wear. And while that alone might not be all too exciting (other Chinese OEMs like Huawei have beaten them to the punch), this could — knowing Elephone’s target market — be part of Google’s bigger plan to make a move back into mainland China…
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Update: Huawei has shared the following statement regarding the Amazon listing, which is now pulled:

Earlier today, incorrect information about the upcoming launch of the Huawei Watch was published on a partner website. We have nothing to announce at this time. Stay tuned for more details next week.

Even though the device was first made public a full 6 months ago, the Huawei Watch price — which was rumored to be upwards of $1,000 — has been a mystery for quite some time. Now, thanks to a new pre-order page on Amazon’s website, we can see that the watch will be priced between $350 and $800 depending on the model you choose…
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Pebble has updated its Kickstarter page, advising that the first batch of Pebble Time smartwatches will begin shipping on 27th May, and that all orders placed through Kickstarter will ship by mid-June.

Great news: the first batch of Pebble Time shipments are scheduled to go out Wednesday, May 27. With things moving along at this rate, we expect all Pebble Time Rewards to be manufactured by the end of the month […] Every backer with a Pebble Time included in their selected reward tier should receive a tracking number from us by mid-June.

Despite raising $20M from the Kickstarter campaign, however, TechCrunch is reporting that the company is having trouble raising additional funding “in order to stay afloat” …

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This may not be the most exciting new product ever, but you can now purchase a replacement charging cradle for the LG Watch Urbane on the Google Store. This comes as the second of a couple updates that the Mountain View company seems to have rolled out on the Store today, the first being the removal of the Samsung Gear Live smartwatch from purchase…
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While Android Wear has not yet set the world alight, Google is not sitting idly by while Apple grabs all the media attention with its Apple Watch. The company has announced a deal with Tag Heuer and Intel to create a smartwatch version of one of the watchmaker’s best-selling models, the Carrera.

TAG Heuer, Google and Intel have announced a partnership to launch a Swiss smartwatch powered by Intel technology and Android Wear. The effort signifies a new era of collaboration between Swiss watchmakers and Silicon Valley, bringing together each company’s respective expertise in luxury watchmaking, software and hardware.

While the company did not go into details, Reuters reports that the watch “will be a digital replica of the original Tag Heuer black Carrera, known for its bulky, sporty allure, and will look like the original.”

Sincere or not, Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver says that he welcomes the launch of the Apple Watch … 
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The HTC smartwatch—specifically one running Android Wear—has been rumored for a long time now. In fact, many were expecting the Taiwanese company to introduce it at the company’s press event a couple days ago. Obviously that didn’t happen, and the company instead told us about another wearable—its GRIP fitness tracker. Don’t be too worried, though, because HTC has told CNET that they’re still working on their smartwatch; they just want to be careful to get it right.

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As was expected (thanks to an advertisement spotted in the Barcelona Airport), Huawei came out this year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain to announce its first entry into the Android Wear race: the Huawei Watch.

A first impression of the device might quickly lead you to believe that this is one of the most—if not the most—attractive Android Wear devices to launch, and based on what Huawei’s shown us, this thing might just be worthy of such a judgment…

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LG has taken the Watch R and added a little class to it with the new ‘Urbane’. Specs-wise, it is pretty much a Watch R except with a thinner bezel and gold or solver trim with IP67 dust and water resistance. From the initial images, it does look nice.

“The LG Watch Urbane’s classic design and smart features make it the perfect smartwatch to complement our G Watch and G Watch R, which were designed as more casual and active devices,” said Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “LG Watch Urbane is an important part of our strategy to develop wearable devices that are worn and viewed as everyday accessories, not electronic gadgets.”

More details including price, release date and more will be announced at Mobile World Congress at the end of the month. We’ll be there!

Head south for Press release and Specs…
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