LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition back on sale

Remember the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE – the Android Wear smartwatch capable of making calls? Well, it’s back baby.

Originally announced back in November, and subsequently pulled just days after going on sale, the next-gen Urbane is available to pre-order through AT&T. It costs $199.99 with a 2-year smartphone deal, or $359.99 without, or indeed $99.99 with the new LG G5 phone. Shipping is set for 29 March.

If you’d erased the Urbane 2 from your memory, allow us to get you up to speed. The 3G/4G connectivity is a first for Google’s smartwatch platform, allowing tether free functionality including calling.

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Like the Tizen-powered Samsung Gear S2, the Urbane 2nd Edition LTE uses AT&T’s NumberSync tech to keep you connected. NumberSync redirects calls and texts to your connected smartwatch, using your existing phone number, so people don’t have to add a new line to your contact card.

Users can read and respond to text messages, make and answer phone calls, and even listen to their voice messages. They don’t need to be linked to a phone using Bluetooth – they could leave their handset at home.

When the first wave of Urbane 2s were cancelled in late 2015, the Korean company has this to say: “Late in the quality assurance process for the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE, our engineers were made aware of a hardware issue which affects the day-to-day functionality of the device.

“After further investigation, the decision was made to cancel the rollout of the Urbane 2nd Edition LTE due to the complicated nature of the issue.”

Let’s hope it’s all been properly sorted now as tether-free Android Wear action is a big deal indeed. We spoke to Qualcomm recently, who told us that it was working with multiple companies on “connected smartwatches”, i.e. smartwatches that work independently of smartphones.

For Android Wear then, the 2nd Edition Urbane, could be somewhat of a trail blazer – even after its stuttering start.