As most Google services are blocked in mainland China, China’s tech industry has benefited by developing customized Android ROMs, Android app stores or alternative services. Therefore it’s not surprising to see Chinese developers beginning building customized operating systems or services for Android Wear.
Mobvoi, a Chinese-language voice search service developer, today unveiled Ticwear, a customized Android Wear system in Chinese, in Beijing. It integrates the voice search and recommendation capabilities Mobvoi has developed. Starting with WeChat, Mobvoi has made its voice search service available on Android, iOS and Google Glass.
A dozen customized versions of Chinese mobile apps or web services are now on Ticwear, namely WeChat (messaging), Dianping (ratings, reviews and group-buy), Qunar (travel), AutoNavi (maps & navigation), Didi Dache (taxi booking), Yongche (car hauling), Weibo (microblogging), Dayima (women’s health), Toutiao (news), Jiecao Collection (entertainment content) and Zhonghuawannianli (calendar).
Like many Android ROMs for mobile devices, the Ticwear team release updates on a weekly basis. Currently Ticwear is only compatible with the Motorola Moto 360 smartwatch, though the team are working on other models. Ticwear will support iOS in the near future, according to the company.
Editing by Mike Cormack (@bucketoftongues)