Improve Your Life – In a Hundred Small Ways

At their most recent developer conference, I/O 2014, Google announced the release of three new smart watches based on Android Wear, Google’s new wearable device operating system. These are the [easyazon_link asin=”B00LB2ZQ3C” locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”bestsmartwatchescomparedweb-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”default”]LG G Watch[/easyazon_link], the [easyazon_link asin=”B00LTR5HP6″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”bestsmartwatchescomparedweb-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”default”]Samsung Gear Live[/easyazon_link] (both available for sale now) and the upcoming Moto 360.

Here’s a recent live demonstration of Android Wear, at Google I/O 2014:

Now Available On Google Play

Two days later, Google Play released a few dozen apps for these new Android Wear devices. We have no doubt thousands more are headed to market, soon.

Here’s a quick wrap up of the new apps and their Android-Wear specific features.

Note: You will need Android 4.3+, Google Play 5.0 and the Android Wear app on your phone to use these apps.

Travel & Navigation

Google Maps : Find the best spots in town and the information you need to get there. Smartwatch owners can now search for a location, start navigating, see directions and exits – all on your wrist.

: Find the best spots in town and the information you need to get there. Smartwatch owners can now search for a location, start navigating, see directions and exits – all on your wrist. American Airlines : on your Android Wear device, receive notifications of your status from your present location to the origin airport along with your ETA. Status change alerts, too.

: on your Android Wear device, receive notifications of your status from your present location to the origin airport along with your ETA. Status change alerts, too. Delta Airlines : Support for Android Wear: once checked in, view your eBoarding Pass on your watch

: Support for Android Wear: once checked in, view your eBoarding Pass on your watch Lyft: Get a friendly, affordable ride whenever you need one. Just tap a button, and in minutes you’ll be picked up by a friendly driver who’ll take you to your destination safely and on time.

Home Automation

HUE Lighting: control Hue lighting in your home over the internet using your Android wearable.

Social & Messaging

Google Hangouts : internet messaging and video conferencing. When you get a Hangouts or text message on your watch, your device will vibrate, and you’ll see the message on a card. You can read and reply to both a text and Hangouts message. You cannot initiate a Hangout, though.

: internet messaging and video conferencing. Highlight : meet interesting people nearby and see how you’re connected to the people around you. With a glance of your watch, you can now see when … – People you’re meeting with have arrived – Old friends touch down at a nearby airport – Friends from other parts of town are close by – There’s someone nearby you should meet

: meet interesting people nearby and see how you’re connected to the people around you. With a glance of your watch, you can now see when … Glympse : safely share your location with someone in real time. Exclusive to Android wearables: send a Glympse to a Favorite Phone Contact. View any active Glympse and swipe to see more options.

Pinterest : share stuff you love with others. Get nearby notifications of Places you have pinned on your Android Wear and Android device.

: share stuff you love with others. Get nearby notifications of Places you have pinned on your Android Wear and Android device. PathTalk : view friend and family messages — from maps, to stickers, to photos — on your Android Wear device. To reply, check the checkmark to say “Got it” with one tap – or use voice-to-text to respond hands-free.

: view friend and family messages — from maps, to stickers, to photos — on your Android Wear device. To reply, check the checkmark to say “Got it” with one tap – or use voice-to-text to respond hands-free. TalkRay : Make free internet calls and chat. Auto-reply to chats on Android Wear devices. Send voice messages by talking into your Android Wear, too.

: Make free internet calls and chat. Auto-reply to chats on Android Wear devices. Send voice messages by talking into your Android Wear, too. IFTTT: a wildly popular app integration tool. Introducing the Android Wear Channel — trigger recipes and read notifications from your wrist.

Music and Entertainment

musiXmatch : the #1 Music Lyrics Player on Google Play. View lyrics on your smartwatch. Supports scrobbling from Google Play Music and Spotify, too.



: the #1 Music Lyrics Player on Google Play. View lyrics on your smartwatch. Supports scrobbling from Google Play Music and Spotify, too. BandsInTown : The #1 concert listing and discovery application for Android. Get just-announced notifications on your wearable device, flip through important details and RSVP on the spot.

: The #1 concert listing and discovery application for Android. Get just-announced notifications on your wearable device, flip through important details and RSVP on the spot. PlayerFM: podcast discovery app that helps you find great shows, syncs across devices, and works offline. Browse and launch episodes straight from your wrist. To see your playlists, just say “open player fm”.

Shopping

Fancy : Crowd-curated shopping. Use voice commands(“Start Fancy”) to launch Fancy and browse items from your collection. Fancy, Buy, Reply with them – from your wrist.

: Crowd-curated shopping. Use voice commands(“Start Fancy”) to launch Fancy and browse items from your collection. Fancy, Buy, Reply with them – from your wrist. LevelMoney : see what you can spend today, this week, or this month. Your latest transaction notifications will now show up on Android Wear. Swipe over Wear notification to show Spendable and Transactions.

: see what you can spend today, this week, or this month. Your latest transaction notifications will now show up on Android Wear. Swipe over Wear notification to show Spendable and Transactions. Eat24 : Order food delivery from over 25,000 restaurants in 1,000+ cities. Re-order from your favorite restaurants with just a few simple voice and finger commands. This is awesome for a couple reasons, the main one being YOU CAN ORDER PIZZA FROM A WATCH.

: Order food delivery from over 25,000 restaurants in 1,000+ cities. Re-order from your favorite restaurants with just a few simple voice and finger commands. This is awesome for a couple reasons, the main one being YOU CAN ORDER PIZZA FROM A WATCH. Zumper: find your dream home or apartment for rent. Get real-time notifications of apartment listings directly on your Android wearable device.

Sports

Runtastic : The best running, fitness & tracking app on Android. Control your Runtastic app with Android Wear. Start a run or bike session via voice command. Read your favorite stats from your wrist. Display post-workout session details, including maps.

: The best running, fitness & tracking app on Android. Control your Runtastic app with Android Wear. Start a run or bike session via voice command. Read your favorite stats from your wrist. Display post-workout session details, including maps. GolfShot GPS: view aerial flyovers and stats for every hole you’re playing. On Android wear, you can view stats, hazards and information about each round and hole.

view aerial flyovers and stats for every hole you’re playing. On Android wear, you can view stats, hazards and information about each round and hole. OneFootball Brasil-Worldcup: View live information such as live scores, ball possession, and goal scorers on your watch.

News, Finance and Weather

Banjo : your all-access pass to live events and breaking news around the world.

: your all-access pass to live events and breaking news around the world. The Guardian : Get news alerts on your watch.

: Get news alerts on your watch. Thompson Reuters Eikon : Get Market Data, News, and Research alerts on your Wear device. Quickly check the markets and breaking news on your wearable.

: Get Market Data, News, and Research alerts on your Wear device. Quickly check the markets and breaking news on your wearable. Personal Capital Finance : an award-winning finance app that enables you to monitor your personal finances with easy-to-understand charts and graphs. On your wrist, get daily notifications at market close on the performance of your portfolio and how it performed against major market indices. Swipe to see specific gainers and losers in your portfolio.

: an award-winning finance app that enables you to monitor your personal finances with easy-to-understand charts and graphs. On your wrist, get daily notifications at market close on the performance of your portfolio and how it performed against major market indices. Swipe to see specific gainers and losers in your portfolio. 1Weather: the most loved weather app on Google Play. Weather and Current Conditions and Forecast will now appear on your wearable device.

Medical & Reference

MediSafe : Top Rated medication reminder. Sync reminders to you smart watch. You’ll get a notification on the watch even if it’s not connected to the phone. “Shake to Take” on the watch: shake your wrist to mark the dose as taken.

: Top Rated medication reminder. Sync reminders to you smart watch. You’ll get a notification on the watch even if it’s not connected to the phone. “Shake to Take” on the watch: shake your wrist to mark the dose as taken. DuoLingo : Learn Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and English – on your smart watch.

: Learn Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and English – on your smart watch. Allthecooks Recipes: the best place to share recipes with a vibrant community of cooks. Sync recipes to watches. Just open the recipe and it will synchronize in your watch timeline. Press “open on watch” to wake up your watch and start cooking.

You can download these apps now from Google Play. Remember that these apps only work on the new [easyazon_link asin=”B00LB2ZQ3C” locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”bestsmartwatchescomparedweb-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”default”]LG G Watch[/easyazon_link], [easyazon_link asin=”B00LTR5HP6″ locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”bestsmartwatchescomparedweb-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”default”]Samsung Gear Live[/easyazon_link] and the upcoming Moto 360.