A Samsung Gear Live Smartwatch is Displayed at the Google I/O Developers Conference in San Francisco
A Samsung Gear Live smartwatch is displayed at the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco June 25, 2014. Google Inc's Android software is coming to cars, televisions and watches this year, as the Internet search giant races against Apple Inc and other tech companies to extend its business into a rapidly broadening field of Internet-connected devices. REUTERS

Samsung has its world's first Android Wear smartwatch, the Gear Live, on board. Though the design of the smartwatch may look like its previous watches, what makes it different is the Google software running it.

When compared with the LG G Watch, PC Magazine considers the Gear Live as the better of the two. It is priced at $199 which is $30 less expensive that the LG smartwatch.

The Gear Live is somewhat identical to its recent Gear 2. The Gear Live measures 1.49 x 2.22 x 0.35 inches and weighs 1.97 ounces. PCMag's Alex Colon comments the device is "bulky." Other reviewers think the Gear Live is lighter than the Gear 2.

The Gear Live offers two colour options, black and wine red. It has a single button on the right side to turn on the display, four small pins to switch wrist bands and a rubber strap. Samsung claims the device is dust and water resistant with IP 67 rating which means the device can be soaked under water up to 3 ft deep.

The Samsung Gear Live is powered by a 1.2-GHz processor, 512 MB RAM and comes with a 4 GB internal storage capacity. It also has a 1.63-inch, 320 x 320 pixel Super AMOLED display. However, the text and the icons seems to be smaller due to the higher resolution.

With the help of Bluetooth 4.0, the watch is connected to the phone. To start using the device, the Android Wear app must be downloaded from Google Play. The Gear Live features an accelerometer, compass, gyroscope and a heart rate monitor. The heart rate monitor works as a fitness tool. It uses an sensor to measure the flow of blood and gives out the reading as fast as 10 seconds.

The Gear Live features a 300-mAh battery which requires charging everyday. PC Mag cites the biggest issue with the device is its battery life. It can be used all through the day but needs to be put on a cradle for charging every night.