Google share price: Google Smartwatch launch in June?

iNVEZZ.com, Monday, February 24: Google Inc, owner of Android, the world’s most popular operating system for mobile devices, is collaborating with LG Electronics Co on an Android-powered smartwatch, according to media reports.

Citing an unnamed source familiar with the situation, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the South Korean consumer electronics company is developing a version of the wrist-worn gadget, but with other manufacturers also likely involved. LG already has a successful partnership with the US online search giant as producer of Google’s Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 smartphones.

Earlier yesterday, tech-focused online media CNET published its own story on the Google smartwatch, saying that the device is to make its debut at Google’s I/O developers conference in June, but with the operating system to be unveiled next month. The website also attributed its information to an unnamed source familiar with the situation.
In Friday’s trading, Google shares closed virtually unchanged at $1,203.79. The company’s stock has gained nearly 7.5 percent so far this year.

**Google smartwatch**
Rumours of a Google smartwatch have been circulating in the tech industry for quite some time. The device is believed to be in late-stage development and, according to the most recent media reports prior to the weekend, set to debut in a few months’ time. It will reportedly be powered by a version of Android centred on Google Now – Google’s intelligent personal assistant – and search features, much like the company’s other wearable computing gadget, Google Glass.

According to CNET, in its design of the device, Google is adopting the model deployed with its Nexus smartphones, whereby Google designs the software and controls virtually every aspect of the launch, leaving the hardware details to a partner kept back from the spotlight.
**Getting crowded**

Google is the latest major technology company to be tied to the fledgling smartwatch category, seen in some quarters as the next big area of growth for gadget makers. According to media reports, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has also been developing a smartwatch device, dubbed the ‘iWatch’, and of course South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co has already released such a device. Galaxy Gear, as the device is called, has received mixed reviews since its release last year, with criticism centred on its bulky design.
In launching its own smartwatch offering, Google will create competition for a new product of its most important ally in the battle for dominance of the smartphone market. Samsung is by far the biggest seller of Android-based smartphones, and the prime reason for the huge lead now enjoyed by the Google platform over its main competitor, Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS.
Also on the weekend, Samsung revealed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that its next smartwatch will not be powered by Android and will instead run on Tizen – an operating system in whose development Samsung has played a major part.
**As of Friday’s US close buy Google shares at $1,203.79**
**As of Friday’s US close sell Google shares at $1,203.79**
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