The platform is designed to do the basic things we expect of our smart watches; (from the google site)

• Useful information when you need it most. Android Wear shows you info and suggestions you need, right when you need them. The wide variety of Android applications means you’ll receive the latest posts and updates from your favorite social apps, chats from your preferred messaging apps, notifications from shopping, news and photography apps, and more.
• Straight answers to spoken questions. Just say “Ok Google” to ask questions, like how many calories are in an avocado, what time your flight leaves, and the score of the game. Or say “Ok Google” to get stuff done, like calling a taxi, sending a text, making a restaurant reservation or setting an alarm.
• The ability to better monitor your health and fitness. Hit your exercise goals with reminders and fitness summaries from Android Wear. Your favorite fitness apps can give you real-time speed, distance and time information on your wrist for your run, cycle or walk.
• Your key to a multiscreen world. Android Wear lets you access and control other devices from your wrist. Just say “Ok Google” to fire up a music playlist on your phone, or cast your favorite movie to your TV. There’s a lot of possibilities here so we’re eager to see what developers build.

Notice, NOTHING about taking pictures. Also notice that even though voice is supported in the SDK, the system does not rely on it, so one can imagine that not only where there be very nice high end watches, as we can see from the Moto 360, but simple no frills watches that will compete with the Pebble. And that is what is catching my attention.  Imagine watches that are not trying to be small computers, but instead interface devices.  Remember Google has Nest, ChromeTV and I’m sure a number of other devices that fit into the category of the internet of things. So knowing that what you create will give you access to the internet of things make this more then just a watch.

{ update:  I just bought it! }

There have been other smartwatches, remember the rumors that Apple is working on an iOS watch?  Well this is different because the watch it not trying to run an OS By using the phone do the processing, the watch is basically a semi dumb display that using your phone to get and process data. However, I say ‘semi’ because you can load simple apps that can execute basic programs; like displaying time of course, but you can use it as a bike computer, vibrate on alarms, control music on your phone and just recently announced, you can use iftt (if this then that) tools to make your own rules for when the phone sends messages to your watch.

Apps bring Pebble to life. We’re building some amazing apps for Pebble. Cyclists can use Pebble as a bike computer, accessing the GPS on your smartphone to display speed, distance and pace data. Runners get a similar set of data displayed on their wrist. Use the music control app to play, pause or skip tracks on your phone with the touch of a button. If you’re a golfer, feel free to bring Pebble onto the course. We’re working with Freecaddie to create a great golf rangefinder app for Pebble that works on over 25,000 courses world-wide. Instead of using your phone, view your current distance to the green right on your wrist. These apps will be the first, with more in the works!

Sweet eh?  This is listed on kickstarter and you can order one for $115.  Want to code an app yourself?  We for now you need to write in C, so this not for your amateur coder, but who knows?  Perhaps someone will write a Python or PHP layer on top.  Interestingly, Sony announced today that they are releasing a similar sony smartwatch that connects to Android only.  Based on the press release it takes the same approach the pebble is taking, however at $150, for Android only, and not quite as attractive, I’m still leaning towards the Pebble.
Now here is the Vid.