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Up close with the Moto 360, the best-looking smartwatch yet

It's not nearly as big as it looks

The Moto 360 isn't actually that big. It's solid and high-end, and it's definitely in the larger end of the smartwatch spectrum, but it quickly felt natural on my wrist. Light, round, and comfortable. We've just had our first chance to spend some real time with the device after Google's keynote at I/O, and after seeing all the available options it's easy to say the 360 is my favorite of the bunch so far.

It comes in a couple of different colors, each with a unique band, but the black-on-black is probably my favorite option. The 360 has a big, round screen that goes completely edge to edge except for one small cutout at the bottom – that's where the display drivers are, I'm told, and it was essentially an unavoidable design oddity. The screen feels big and bright, and is extremely responsive. We had a chance to use one of the demo models in "retail mode," but also to take a look at a Motorola executive's personal device, and it works just as well as the demonstration.

Android Wear devices are mostly made to work the same, offering the same kind of notifications and quick interactions no matter which device you use. But the 360's hardware truly sets it apart: Motorola executives told me that when they started the project they asked a bunch of children to draw a watch. They all drew round ones, so Motorola had its design.

It's definitely too soon to say for sure, but the 360 feels like something special. And it's definitely the star of this year's I/O. Just ask everyone in the huge line to try it out.


Moto 360 hands-on pictures

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