Google to release Android SDK for wearable devices in two weeks

Google's Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas has revealed that the company will release a software development kit (SDK) in the coming two weeks that will allow developers to build Android software for wearable devices.

CNET quoted Pichai as saying, "In two weeks we are launching the first developer SDK for Android. That will lay out the vision for developers in how we see this market working."

Pichai also noted that the company aims to take the Android platform beyond smartphones and tablets.

In January, some leaked code was spotted that pointed to the development of an Android Fitness API to harness wearable devices. It was said that Google has been reportedly working on an API to allow developers to harness the potential of smartphone hardware.

The Android Fitness API was being speculated to enable the storage of data via multiple sources to the user's Google account. The apps could further show charts and other information from the data derived. It is, of course, not yet known whether the new API would arrive with the next Android release, or as a Google Play Service.

There have been earlier reports about Google working on a smartwatch of its own, a wearable device that could be revealed within the first half of this year.

Google's rumoured smartwatch is said to be manufactured by LG, which has been its OEM partner for Nexus smartphones (Nexus 4 and Nexus 5) for two consecutive years.

Contradicting the wearable device trend an earlier report suggested that despite the hoopla, wearable gadgets like wristwatches for checking text messages or eyeglasses that can capture video are unlikely to make a splash with consumers anytime soon, given the clumsy designs, high prices and technological constraints of many of the current offerings.