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kdarling

macrumors P6
Original poster
Okay, so most people know that the LG WR is black coated stainless steel:

lg-watch-r-black.jpg

What's interesting is that the original photos of it before it went to market, were only partly coated:

lg-watch-r-half.jpg

Well, so someone took fine sandpaper to his LGWR, and removed (most of) the coating to reveal the stainless steel underneath.

lg-r-chrome1.jpg

Then he paired it with a matching link bracelet:
lg-r-chrome2.jpg

It looks almost like the forthcoming LG Urbane in silver, only nicer with black accents left around the bezel pieces.

I'm charging up my Dremel, because I really want to do this to mine, which I bought used off eBay for about $220. Not too shabby for a stainless steel smartwatch with an always-on round OLED display.

Now, if Apple would approve Android Wear for iOS, and Google's next watch update enables the WiFi that most of these watches have dormant inside, this'll be an extra sweet option.
 
Last edited:

Technarchy

macrumors 604
May 21, 2012
6,753
4,927
If I have to take a dremel to my watch, any watch, smart or otherwise, that's an instant product fail, especially for anything more than a $25 China town knock off special.

And is the round face meant to be a selling point, because I find them impractical for tech based upon my time with the Moto 360.

The display on my S6 isn't round. The display on my MBA isn't round. The display on my Kiddy samsung tablet isn't round. That would be a clue.
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,488
5,413
It's not a bad smartwatch, the round face is definitely a plus. A square/rectangle face is the first sign a smartwatch has failed on the aesthetic front. My only issue with this watch is the fake diving dial, it looks very corny and worse yet doesn't move so provides no function. It basically looks like LG wanted to cover up the screen bezels with a divers dial.

Moto 360 is the only one to really have nailed it IMO with having no bezels. Contrast that with the Apple watch which has. Horrid 2007 bezels. But I'd still consider the LG if they made a stainless model, the way the bands attach is far superior to the Moto 360.
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
Original poster
If I have to take a dremel to my watch, any watch, smart or otherwise, that's an instant product fail, especially for anything more than a $25 China town knock off special.

Oh, good golly. No one has to do anything.

Personally, I just like to customize things. Always done it, from doing my own custom automotive body work and painting when I was younger, to designing my own navigation slide rule for flight training, to sticking the guts of a Jornada PDA in a ST:TNG medical tricorder toy, to renovating my own houses.

And is the round face meant to be a selling point, because I find them impractical for tech based upon my time with the Moto 360.

Then don't use one. As for me, I've spent years with square wearables. I'm ready for something a little different. Moreover, partly because of its size, the Moto 360 display shows just as much, if not more, than the Apple display with its square screen and huge bezels.

It's not a bad smartwatch, the round face is definitely a plus. A square/rectangle face is the first sign a smartwatch has failed on the aesthetic front.

Bingo.

My only issue with this watch is the fake diving dial,

I dunno, doc. I don't think it's meant to look like a diving dial, because it's missing the entire scheme which those dials have with the specially marked last few minutes.

Instead, it looks like one of those real watches which have the minutes marked around the outside bezel.

That said, I've been thinking about adapting a rotating bezel to it, simply because I want to do an E6B pilot's watch version for myself.

But I'd still consider the LG if they made a stainless model, the way the bands attach is far superior to the Moto 360.

That's my other hobby project. I've been looking on eBay for a new/used traditional watch case that I can move the 360 guts into. If I can't find one I like, then I might put it in a pocketwatch case. Mind you, I like the way the 360 looks now, but again I like customizing things.

One-off gizmos are always a conversation starter. And it keeps me busy. Idle hands are the devil's playthings :p
 

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
If I have to take a dremel to my watch, any watch, smart or otherwise, that's an instant product fail, especially for anything more than a $25 China town knock off special.

And is the round face meant to be a selling point, because I find them impractical for tech based upon my time with the Moto 360.

The display on my S6 isn't round. The display on my MBA isn't round. The display on my Kiddy samsung tablet isn't round. That would be a clue.
Most electronic displays aren't round because the tablet/phone/monitor was/were based on text input which humans have learned based on books, scrolls, papyrus, stone tablets... Which have all been square/rectangular.

Watches and clocks from the beginning (since the Sumarians) have been circular or created circular time partitions on the ground, because the earth revolves around the sun. With the creation of the pendulum clock and gears, watch faces have been round. We learn early own to read round clocks and don't even need numerals to be able to tell time on a round display. There are reasons we have phrases like, "Around the clock" and not something like "The left hand side of the clock".

Bottom line, your analogy doesn't work.
 

Technarchy

macrumors 604
May 21, 2012
6,753
4,927
Bottom line, your analogy doesn't work.

Works fine because the key component to a smart watch is to be a tech piece first, and merely a time piece second.

I've yet to see marketing literature that puts great emphasis on "Hey it tells time really awesomely."

The round interface on the display is a step backwards. One can say they prefer it, but that doesn't mean it isn't a step backwards.
 

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
Works fine because the key component to a smart watch is to be a tech piece first, and merely a time piece second.

I've yet to see marketing literature that puts great emphasis on "Hey it tells time really awesomely."

The round interface on the display is a step backwards. One can say they prefer it, but that doesn't mean it isn't a step backwards.

Round displays are in the human psyche because it is how we have been taught from a young age to read the time and as a consequence it is subconciously made a preference. (Although maybe that is changing in today's schools? Are all clocks now digital in elementary and high school?)

And yes, I prefer my time pieces to have a round display and in this regard I agree with you. It is a preference. But how can you say a round interface for 'any' watch, smart or not, is a step backwards? A smartwatch is designed to be a watch first, hence the 'watch' part being in the name, and an information/data acquisition piece second.

And I have yet to see any literature that says a square is a better way to get information on your wrist over a circle (or vice versa).
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,488
5,413
Oh, good golly. No one has to do anything.

Personally, I just like to customize things. Always done it, from doing my own custom automotive body work and painting when I was younger, to designing my own navigation slide rule for flight training, to sticking the guts of a Jornada PDA in a ST:TNG medical tricorder toy, to renovating my own houses.



Then don't use one. As for me, I've spent years with square wearables. I'm ready for something a little different. Moreover, partly because of its size, the Moto 360 display shows just as much, if not more, than the Apple display with its square screen and huge bezels.



Bingo.



I dunno, doc. I don't think it's meant to look like a diving dial, because it's missing the entire scheme which those dials have with the specially marked last few minutes.

Instead, it looks like one of those real watches which have the minutes marked around the outside bezel.

That said, I've been thinking about adapting a rotating bezel to it, simply because I want to do an E6B pilot's watch version for myself.



That's my other hobby project. I've been looking on eBay for a new/used traditional watch case that I can move the 360 guts into. If I can't find one I like, then I might put it in a pocketwatch case. Mind you, I like the way the 360 looks now, but again I like customizing things.

One-off gizmos are always a conversation starter. And it keeps me busy. Idle hands are the devil's playthings :p

Very cool, I'm looking forward to seeing what you invent.
 
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