Does the watch still have a lot of functions that work if I leave my house and leave my smartphone at home?
I am wondering how "tied" the watch is to my android smartphone. For example, what can I do with the watch when I don't have my smartphone nearby and paired to it via bluetooth.
A lot of third party apps run just fine without a connection. You still have all of the functionality of the watch, pulse monitor, and even your music provided you've opted to store some of your music on the 360's memory. Of course you can sync it with a Bluetooth headset making it easy to take a short run without reaching for your phone. Where it really shines is when it's connected to Google Services and your phone. The Google Voice search and Google Maps for the 360 have come in very handy. Having notifications at a glance without the phone is priceless!