Google says time is right for an internet-connected watch

Google thinks it’s time for an internet-connected watch that performs many of the same tasks as a smartphone but with fewer distractions and rude interruptions.

The internet’s most influential company is trying to unleash a new era in mobile computing with a version of its Android software tailored for high-tech watches and other devices that can be worn instead of held.

The “Android Wear” operating system released on Tuesday is an altered version of Google’s popular software that powers more than one billion of the world’s smartphones and tablets. The new software will run on an array of so-called smartwatches scheduled to be released later this year.

The Android watches will be less conspicuous - and perhaps less obnoxious - than Google Glass, the high-tech headwear that includes a small camera and thumbnail-sized display screen attach to frames that look like a pair of spectacles.

Google so far has only sold the US$1,500 Glass device to a limited number of people known as “explorers.” Some of those early Glass adopters have been mocked as goofy-looking geeks while others have been ridiculed and scorned for being able to take video and photos surreptitiously without the consent of those around them.