LG Watch Urbane LTE Uses A Mobile OS Based On The WebOS

The LG Watch Urbane LTE, which uses an operating system based on the WebOS, was unveiled recently by the mobile device manufacturer from South Korea. The smartwatch is the first wearable device that has the capability of connecting to high-speed 4G wireless networks.

It does not use the popular Android Wear software of Google, instead it uses an operating system known as the LG Wearable Platform operating system. The OS is based on the mobile operating system that was initially used on Palm devices. The operating system is also the software currently being used on the smart televisions of the company.

LG acquired the WebOS in 2013 from Hewlett-Packard. The use of the OS on the two devices gives an indication of a possible long-term plan of the company for the proprietary OS. Similar to the Tizen mobile OS of Samsung, the operating system of LG allows the company to gradually move away from the use of the Android OS of Google while increasing the number of devices that can use its own OS.

The Tizen was developed by Samsung in collaboration with Intel and is utilized in affordable smartphones aimed at emerging market customers. It is also used on a number of Gear Smartwatches of Samsung along with its smart televisions.

The WebOS had to deal with a number of issues before it made its way to the LG Watch Urbane LTE. It was initially used on the Pre smartphone of Palm. It was designed for a small fan base and experienced mixed success in the mainstream market. The company was sold to Hewlett-Packard, which had an ambitious plan for the OS. However, the company focused on an open-source platform before the mobile OS was picked up by LG. The South Korean company initially wanted the mobile OS due to its multi-tasking capability but recent developments show that it will likely have a bigger role in the mobile market.

LG Watch Urbane LTE - image credit: engadget,com

But, it appears that LG may continue to use the Android. The company launched the LG Watch Urbane, a version of the LG Watch Urbane LTE that does not offer 4G connectivity and uses the Android Wear software. The differences in the user interface of the two mobile operating systems remain uncertain since no screenshots of the two operating systems were shown.

It is possible for LG to continue to use the two operating systems until it is able to develop an alternative platform that can adapt to its requirements. For the moment, Android Wear remains unnoticed in the market as the six devices that use it have a total sales of 720,000 units, which is a minute number compared to the total number of wearable products sold last year.

While market acceptance of smartwatches remains uncertain, the Apple Watch has yet to be released into the market. The LG Watch Urbane LTE is the fourth smartwatch offering of the South Korean company. Similar to the G Watch R and Urbane, it features a plastic-organic LED circular display. Both the LG Watch Urbane and LG Watch Urbane LTE feature a 1.2GHZ Snapdragon 400 processor from Qualcomm and a 4GB memory.

The main differences between the two smartwatch offerings of LG is the independent LTE connection of the Urbane LTE that allows it to receive text messages and calls. It also features a bigger 700mAH battery that allows it to remain on standby mode for a number of days. The near-field communication chip on the smartwatch allows it to be used as a mobile wallet in the future.

It also features three physical buttons located along its right side. The top button provides access to settings, the center button allows the device to switch from watch to applications and vice-versa, and the bottom button is the back button of the device. This button can be held down by users to activate a safety beacon that is sent to preset emergency contacts. The Urbane has two color options, silver and gold. On the other hand, the Urbane LTE is limited to silver.

The LG Watch Urbane and LG Watch Urbane LTE are set to be displayed during the Barcelona Mobile World Congress.

Posted by George Daniels on Thursday February 26 2015, 11:42 AM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Technology. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0