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| College students from India have launched the first fully-featured Android smart watch with built-in Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi and a camera. The Androidly device can also be used to make calls and send texts and costs £150 |
A group of college students from India - including a designer who is just 17 years old - has beaten the likes of Apple, Google and Sony to launch the world's first fully-featured smartwatch.
Called Androidly, the device comes with Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi and a camera built-in.
The £150 watch can also be used as a phone to make calls and send texts using a phone SIM card and packs up to 16GB of storage.
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| Chief Marketing Officer for Androidly, Siddhant Vats, pictured, is just 17 years old. The other designers are all aged 24 |
Although other smart watches, including the Pebble and Sony's Live Watch, can wirelessly connect with mobile phones, Androidly is the first to come with the operating system fully integrated.
Androidly has a 2inch screen and comes with a 2MP camera.
It runs on an older version of the Android operating system called Android 2.2 Froyo.
A speaker, camera and microphone are built into the device and it can be plugged into a USB socket to be used as a storage device.
It can also be used to charge the phone.
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| Apps, such as Facebook, pictured, can be download to the Androidly device |
Androidly is the brainchild of four students from India - software developer Ankit Pradhan, communications professional Pavneet Singh Puri and lawyer Apurva Sukant plus teenager Siddhant Vats.
Sukant said: 'There are other such products in the market, but they mostly sync with a smartphone and are not phones in themselves.
(L) Built-in GPS lets wearers use Google Maps on their Androidly watches. (R) Wearers can also make and receive phone calls on the Androidly device.
'We have ported Android on to a much smaller board and built a wearable phone.'
Puri added: 'We have all been friends for years now.
'I was a member of my college student council then and was getting a lot of calls regarding the college festival.
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| Androidly is the first smartwatch to run a fully integrated version of the Android operating system - Android 2.2 beating the likes of Apple and Google to the title. It has a 2inch screen and a 2MP camera |
'That day, my phone rang at a time when my hands were dripping with chicken curry and I just couldn't retrieve it from my pocket.'
'Later, over dessert, we discussed the episode and figured that things can be made much easier if the device is always within reach, accessible and visible.
'Making it a wristwatch seemed to be the most practical solution', continued Vats.
The Androidly watch was originally a Kickstarter campaign - a fundraising and investment site.
The devices can now be ordered, in black or white, from the Android.ly site for £150 each.
The £90 Pebble watch was the first device to be classed as a 'smartwatch' and similarly launched following a successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year.
The Pebble smartwatch syncs wirelessly with a smartphone allowing users to receive emails and Facebook messages, control their music and even see who is calling them.
Users can also downloads apps to their watch to upgrade its capabilities.
It works by connecting to an iPhone or Android device via Bluetooth, then downloading the Pebble app to transmit software updates.
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| The Androidly watch was originally a Kickstarter campaign. The devices can now be ordered, in black or white, from the Androidly site for £150 each |
Apple is also rumoured to be developing a smartwatch, although the firm has refused to comment on the plans.
Google is also known to be investigating the area.
Explaining the potential of Androidly, the site explains: 'Multi-task like a super hero. Reach out for that refreshing drink in middle of an email, with full confidence.
'Read through your documents, with references on your wrist and a coffee in your hand!
'Cook with the recipe handy, or manage your stocks with a live ticker always at hand.
'Switch between the digital and the real world effortlessly, without putting anything up or down!'
