The Moto 360 appears to have gotten another pre-release date sighting, appearing on a Best Buy listing right before the retailer pulled it down. Could this be a case of Motorola and/or Best Buy “trolling” consumers as they eagerly wait for the Moto 360’s actual release?
Although the Moto 360 was launched at Google I/O 2014 along with the Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch, the device is the only one of those three companion smartwatches that has yet to be seen in retailer stores. But thanks to Best Buy, as well as a few other sites that have published the details leaked out in that quick sighting, consumers now have a much better idea of what to expect from Motorola’s upcoming smartwatch.
The Moto 360, as shown on the listing, will cost $250, making it slightly more expensive than the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live, but still more affordable than Samsung’s Tizen-powered Gear 2 smartwatch from earlier this year. If the listing is to be believed, it will also come with a 1.5-inch display with 320 x 290 resolution, a heart rate monitor, a Gorilla Glass 3 display, a heart rate monitor, and a durable stainless steel casing. The Moto 360 is also expected to be powered by a Texas Instruments chipset.
The use of a TI chipset has been singled out as the most interesting basic spec of the Moto 360, and that’s because Motorola, like other Android OEMs, has typically used Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. Peculiar as this move may sound, TI has been making some moves to become more recognized as a mobile parts provider, so it may not be that surprising after all to see TI working with Motorola this time around.