News: Smartwatch launches offering traffic jam alerts

DRIVERS WILL have a new weapon in the battle to beat holiday jams this summer: a smartwatch that monitors their location and notifies them of nearby snarl-ups.

Called the G Watch, the device will go on sale this summer. It can connect wirelessly with an Android smartphone to bring traffic updates to the wearer in real time, and may have wi-fi and 3G connections too, meaning you won’t have to stay in range of your mobile. It is also capable of learning the wearer’s habits, so if you drive home from work at the same time every day, it will have lined up information on traffic flow and the weather in advance.

Made by LG, the G Watch will be the first device to run Android Wear, a version of Google’s software designed to work with wearable gadgets. It is expected to go on sale next month at £180, with a similar Motorola smartwatch following soon after. If Apple ever releases its long-rumoured “iWatch”, it will have to fight to find space on your wrist.