Database Develop

[Q] To previous Android owners

I currently own a Captivate and I'm tired of the ROM-switching, and the laggy interface (On each and every ROM I've installed) and want to give this device a shot, so my questions to people that migrated from Android to WP7 are:
What's better? What's worse? What will I miss? Is it worth the move?
Thanks!

xgibran said:
I currently own a Captivate and I'm tired of the ROM-switching, and the laggy interface (On each and every ROM I've installed) and want to give this device a shot, so my questions to people that migrated from Android to WP7 are:
What's better? What's worse? What will I miss? Is it worth the move?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just left the droid bionic 4 days ago. I am not new to windows phone though. What's better:
Ease of use. Its simple
Reliable. Connects every time
Hardware is now comparable with a lot of dual core droids. This does not lack for speed.
Its attractive and light.
Once you learn the Os, it becomes addictive in its simplicity.
Connects my jabra hands free and allows voice actions. Cool.
What's not so good:
If you have any notion of custom, forget it. What you see is what you get. I mean that...exactly as it sounds.
Apps. WP has many of the more familiar apps, but not all, yet. There is no Starbucks app, or Barnes and noble to name 2. Its getting better though.
Still limited in ringtones. Takes some doing to get your tone.
Battery life is not great. Not awful either.
The buttons on this focus are backwards. The volume id on upper left. A right handed phone holder changes the volume everytime.
No led notifications..at all.
Would I buy this again. Yes. I say this knowing I'm getting the 900 soon. I'll have both. This is a good phone.

Thanks, that is very helpful. One thing you didn't mention is that compared to Androids of the same level the speed is astonishing. The experience is so smooth!
So far I have found most of the same apps I used regularly on Android and a very good alternative to another.
As you said, battery life is not the best in the world, but it sure beats the 7-8 hours I got on the Captivate. I went through a whole day (~13 hours) of heavy use (OTA downloads, take a couple of pics, etc) before I needed to recharge.
The one thing that ticks me off in particular is the way multitasking is managed. I open something and hit the home button. If I go through the active apps (holding the back key) I can get back to the exact place I was in before I left it. If I tap on the tile of the app it restarts the app from scratch. What gives?

xgibran said:
Thanks, that is very helpful. One thing you didn't mention is that compared to Androids of the same level the speed is astonishing. The experience is so smooth!
So far I have found most of the same apps I used regularly on Android and a very good alternative to another.
As you said, battery life is not the best in the world, but it sure beats the 7-8 hours I got on the Captivate. I went through a whole day (~13 hours) of heavy use (OTA downloads, take a couple of pics, etc) before I needed to recharge.
The one thing that ticks me off in particular is the way multitasking is managed. I open something and hit the home button. If I go through the active apps (holding the back key) I can get back to the exact place I was in before I left it. If I tap on the tile of the app it restarts the app from scratch. What gives?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't mention speed because most people's first response to a speed claim is no way, or you missed something. Fact is, I didn't believe it either. I went to t-mobile to pay my bill. There was an in store special on the 710. $20, that's it. So I took it. That little low end phone outpaced the bionic in almost everything. When my bionic went on vacation decided to take off, I did not hesitate. I have not looked back. I'm successfully weaned from android, with no regrets..even my girlfriend made the trip back. She's even more integrated with windows live, office, SkyDrive, OneNote, the entire cloud scenario. She uses the concept at work. They think shes a genius.
So yeah, good concepts, good phone. Perfect, no. Like you mentioned. But a good show none the less.

I just made the switch from the HTC Desire. Honestly, the Focus S is a great phone. It's beautiful, stupidly thin like a cat walk model, great camera, etc.
WP7 is a beautiful OS, oh I've wanted to have it on my phone for so long now, but it's got a gammy leg. My main gripes are:
-Multitasking is a pain - it's so slow to resume applications I'm not sure what the difference is in relaunching an app. That said, without proper multitasking apps that should receive push notifications sort of... DON'T! This whole, let it run under the lock-screen is lame. In Android I thought it was ridiculous that EVERYTHING just ran in the background and now I'm complaining about the inverse. Is there no happy medium?
-Facebook Chat integration is another hobbled feature. I can't send pictures which you can in the Android app. I receive pictures as a LINK to the desktop FB site which is ridiculous because if you zoom you are bounced back to the left margin for some reason. Even the official FB app is useless when it comes to FB chat/IM! I used this with my wife constantly. The alternative is WhatsApp but then the whole seemless continuity from mobile to desktop is shattered!
-Integration with Gmail is a bit ropey, but seems quite adequate I suppose. I guess here too push notifications aren't possible it has to be 30 min intervals.
-I do admit to wishing that the keyboad had the key long press functionality for special characters like in Android. Flipping to the numeric keyboard is labourious
-Notifications are also a little inconsistent. The whole toast thing. Without a doubt the Android (and now iOS) pull down notifications bar is fantastic. This also goes for quick access to stuff like switching wifi, airplane mode on or off, etc
I'm sure I could go on... The positives are amazing. Damn it's smooth, beautiful and functional, but the above issues and others make it kind of a deal breaker for me. Android has sucked for a while, but it has matured and WP7 needs to do the same pretty quickly. I know the above issues might not be a deal breaker for a lot of people, but for me they are
Hmph! I'm a little annoyed now...

Coming from an ATT Cappy, I'm stoked.
Been on the Focus S for a few weeks now and I love it. IMO, it just works. What I need and want a phone to do, it does very well. EYE CANDY! There are a few things I miss coming from Android however.
1. The ability to toggle WiFi always on. This really sucks when sitting on my couch and using my phone to control my htpc (xbmc). It takes about 10 seconds for the wifi to re-connect after the screen is turned on. By no means a deal breaker and I'm sure will be addressed in future updates.
2. Individual audio volume controls. I miss the ability to have my alarm, system, media and other notification volumes at different pre-configured levels.
3. Apps are more expensive and the free ones are still a bit lacking.
4. Home screen customizing. I really would find it useful to have 3 home screens rather than 2 (tiles and apps). There's just too much **** i want quick access too I guess
5. Zero expandable memory. This one totally blows and was almost a deal breaker for me. ~16GB's is enough storage space, but just barely. There is no way I can have all my music, audio books and some movies on here. Currently I just have music :/
That's my 5. Everything else I think is comparable or better than Android currently. This phone is sleek and super fast. We just need some updates and app development to get this thing tip top.

Switched from Captivate to Focus S via the Smoked challenge.
- As far as operation goes, the Focus does indeed smoke the Captivate. Severely. I was always fighting the Captivate, but with the Focus S, the phone actually works as it was intended to. Metro is a bit plain, but the performance is steady and predictable. Personally, I'll take steady and predictable every time.
- The app situation on Windows isn't as solid as Android. Which only matters if the specific apps you are looking for aren't there. For example, if you can't live without Angry Birds, stay home.
- Video transfer *SUCKS*. Moving over large video files (movies) that aren't already formatted in a Zune friendly format takes *hours*. Seriously. Once they are transferred, they are beautiful, but if you are the type that likes moving different movies back and forth, stay far away from WP...at least until Apollo.
- Taken as a whole, this is an easy upgrade to recommend.

sarlo100 said:
Switched from Captivate to Focus S via the Smoked challenge.
- As far as operation goes, the Focus does indeed smoke the Captivate. Severely. I was always fighting the Captivate, but with the Focus S, the phone actually works as it was intended to. Metro is a bit plain, but the performance is steady and predictable. Personally, I'll take steady and predictable every time.
- The app situation on Windows isn't as solid as Android. Which only matters if the specific apps you are looking for aren't there. For example, if you can't live without Angry Birds, stay home.
- Video transfer *SUCKS*. Moving over large video files (movies) that aren't already formatted in a Zune friendly format takes *hours*. Seriously. Once they are transferred, they are beautiful, but if you are the type that likes moving different movies back and forth, stay far away from WP...at least until Apollo.
- Taken as a whole, this is an easy upgrade to recommend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually returned my Focus S for an SGS II. There were just too many little things I missed coming from Android that I couldn't live without. Going to the SGS II seems to be the best of both worlds for me and I'm super stoked.

Who owns a Gear & will answer questions?

I've got a Sony Smartwatch (the original) and am thinking about replacing with a Gear. I have 2 reasons; My Sony watch died a week ago, and the Gear is a new toy
Questions that I would like answered about the Gear that I do (or used to do, anyway) with the Sony starting with the things I *need* it to do:
1) Battery Life. I'm used to charging it every night, so as long as I can go 1 solid day, I'm good. However, Sony has this ridiculous proprietary cable, and I don't remember seeing in video what the Gear uses...?
2) Vibration. I haven't seen it in video, but heard it mentioned a bit. Basically the MAIN thing I need the watch to do is vibrate when I get a call/sms/email. Ideally, this could do different vibrations (1 vibration for mail, 3 for sms, continuous for phone calls). I'm in noisy areas constantly and I don't want to miss calls.
3) Speaker. Does it make noise when you get a sms/call/emal & can this be turned *off* ? I don't really need an audio alert on my watch.
4) Summary of messages. I've seen mixed results by reading reviews. I'd like to see all of the SMS, and the sender/first line or so from email. (without needing to go to the phone)
5) Caller ID. For phone calls, with the option to pick up the phone, and possibly activate the speaker phone on the phone.
6) Tell the time. (I know it can, but through I'd throw it on my need to do list)
Just Gravy Stuff for me, anything below would be nice but isn't needed to make me 100% happy:
7) SMS. Can you send back a pre-programmed quick response (preferably a choice from like 5 or so)?
8) The answer or call from the watch. How is the quality in a non-noisy environment? What happens if you are paired up to your car and watch - which one wins the fight, the car's built in bluetooth or the watch?
9) S-umm-Search (forgetting what it's called. S-Voice?). I have visions of giving a command through the watch and pulling out the phone from my pocket. By the time the phone is out, I'd like to see results.
10) Camera. Anyone know a place with bunches of sample pix? I'm not aiming for high quality, more a novelty then anything.
11) Apps. I presume trying to use Twitter or Evernote or anything is going to be mostly useless. It would be nice eventually, but nothing I can see where I wouldn't just use the phone. I've seen video of other watching uses things like Fleksy and umm.. cute, but not realistic.
12) The watch face: I've seen some video of the built in choices, but can you make your own or it that an api/developer thing. F'instance, if I want to make a Mickey Mouse watch can I do it?
Thanks for any help - looks like I've got a few days to make a decision!

polstein said:
I've got a Sony Smartwatch (the original) and am thinking about replacing with a Gear. I have 2 reasons; My Sony watch died a week ago, and the Gear is a new toy
Questions that I would like answered about the Gear that I do (or used to do, anyway) with the Sony starting with the things I *need* it to do:
- Battery Life. I'm used to charging it every night, so as long as I can go 1 solid day, I'm good. However, Sony has this ridiculous proprietary cable, and I don't remember seeing in video what the Gear uses...?
- Vibration. I haven't seen it in video, but heard it mentioned a bit. Basically the MAIN thing I need the watch to do is vibrate when I get a call/sms/email. Ideally, this could do different vibrations (1 vibration for mail, 3 for sms, continuous for phone calls). I'm in noisy areas constantly and I don't want to miss calls.
- Speaker. Does it make noise when you get a sms/call/emal & can this be turned *off* ? I don't really need an audio alert on my watch.
- Summary of messages. I've seen mixed results by reading reviews. I'd like to see all of the SMS, and the sender/first line or so from email. (without needing to go to the phone)
- Caller ID. For phone calls, with the option to pick up the phone, and possibly activate the speaker phone on the phone.
- Tell the time. (I know it can, but through I'd throw it on my need to do list)
Just Gravy Stuff for me, anything below would be nice but isn't needed to make me 100% happy:
- SMS. Can you send back a pre-programmed quick response (preferably a choice from like 5 or so)?
- The answer or call from the watch. How is the quality in a non-noisy environment? What happens if you are paired up to your car and watch - which one wins the fight, the car's built in bluetooth or the watch?
- S-umm-Search (forgetting what it's called. S-Voice?). I have visions of giving a command through the watch and pulling out the phone from my pocket. By the time the phone is out, I'd like to see results.
- Camera. Anyone know a place with bunches of sample pix? I'm not aiming for high quality, more a novelty then anything.
- Apps. I presume trying to use Twitter or Evernote or anything is going to be mostly useless. It would be nice eventually, but nothing I can see where I wouldn't just use the phone. I've seen video of other watching uses things like Fleksy and umm.. cute, but not realistic.
- The watch face: I've seen some video of the built in choices, but can you make your own or it that an api/developer thing. F'instance, if I want to make a Mickey Mouse watch can I do it?
Thanks for any help - looks like I've got a few days to make a decision!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realise that the Gear will, at present, only function with the Galaxy Note 3 don't you?
The new Sony Mk 11 (oddly named the 2 but it is in fact sony's third watch?) Will work with most Android devices. The Gear will not.

Ryland Johnson said:
You do realise that the Gear will, at present, only function with the Galaxy Note 3 don't you?
The new Sony Mk 11 (oddly named the 2 but it is in fact sony's third watch?) Will work with most Android devices. The Gear will not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm planning on getting the note 3 on Friday, but thanks for checking.

polstein said:
I'm planning on getting the note 3 on Friday, but thanks for checking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay. can you edit your post and number each question so I can reply to each question please. Trying to reply would takes ages using any other manner. Thanks.

Lovin my Galaxy Gear
I had the S4 Active but still went ahead and bought the Galaxy Gear. I think its just fantastic. Yes, it didn't work with my Active, so i went and bought the Note 3 the next day. Once i got it started up and paired and played around with it for a day, i realized why the previous versions of androids (4.2) didn't work with it. The Gear, via bluetooth, is deeply integrated into the Note 3 OS. In Samsung Apps, it has its own collection and quite a good list of apps to start with (including evernote).
I'm gonna try and answer you queries but in random order, hope thats ok.
The phone vibrates while you receive notifications, be it calls or other alerts.
Once pairing is complete with the Note 3, you can use it just by itself.
The Gear is synced with your phone, so calls logs, contacts, everything shows on the screen.
It has caller id and the mic n speaker work perfectly.
You can change the face of the clock by selecting from the preinstalled options or download more from samsung apps for Gear.
Once you answer a call, you have the option to transfer it back to the phone or to a paired bluetooth headset.
Gear has a dialer when you swipe from the bottom upwards.
Camera does a decent job but i'm sure an software upgrade can make it better.
The Gear's software upgrade can be done via the Gear Manager app in the Note 3.
Battery has lasted almost the whole day for me, in spite of making calls, using the camera and fiddling with it all the time.
It can get a bit buggy at times while using third party apps but the default apps have given no trouble.
Hope this helps, if you need specific answers, do let me know.

Ryland Johnson said:
Okay. can you edit your post and number each question so I can reply to each question please. Trying to reply would takes ages using any other manner. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easy enough - done.
@clickqass - thanks for the reply. Sounds like you're enjoying it!

polstein said:
I've got a Sony Smartwatch (the original) and am thinking about replacing with a Gear. I have 2 reasons; My Sony watch died a week ago, and the Gear is a new toy
Questions that I would like answered about the Gear that I do (or used to do, anyway) with the Sony starting with the things I *need* it to do:
1) Battery Life. I'm used to charging it every night, so as long as I can go 1 solid day, I'm good. However, Sony has this ridiculous proprietary cable, and I don't remember seeing in video what the Gear uses...?
2) Vibration. I haven't seen it in video, but heard it mentioned a bit. Basically the MAIN thing I need the watch to do is vibrate when I get a call/sms/email. Ideally, this could do different vibrations (1 vibration for mail, 3 for sms, continuous for phone calls). I'm in noisy areas constantly and I don't want to miss calls.
3) Speaker. Does it make noise when you get a sms/call/emal & can this be turned *off* ? I don't really need an audio alert on my watch.
4) Summary of messages. I've seen mixed results by reading reviews. I'd like to see all of the SMS, and the sender/first line or so from email. (without needing to go to the phone)
5) Caller ID. For phone calls, with the option to pick up the phone, and possibly activate the speaker phone on the phone.
6) Tell the time. (I know it can, but through I'd throw it on my need to do list)
Just Gravy Stuff for me, anything below would be nice but isn't needed to make me 100% happy:
7) SMS. Can you send back a pre-programmed quick response (preferably a choice from like 5 or so)?
8) The answer or call from the watch. How is the quality in a non-noisy environment? What happens if you are paired up to your car and watch - which one wins the fight, the car's built in bluetooth or the watch?
9) S-umm-Search (forgetting what it's called. S-Voice?). I have visions of giving a command through the watch and pulling out the phone from my pocket. By the time the phone is out, I'd like to see results.
10) Camera. Anyone know a place with bunches of sample pix? I'm not aiming for high quality, more a novelty then anything.
11) Apps. I presume trying to use Twitter or Evernote or anything is going to be mostly useless. It would be nice eventually, but nothing I can see where I wouldn't just use the phone. I've seen video of other watching uses things like Fleksy and umm.. cute, but not realistic.
12) The watch face: I've seen some video of the built in choices, but can you make your own or it that an api/developer thing. F'instance, if I want to make a Mickey Mouse watch can I do it?
Thanks for any help - looks like I've got a few days to make a decision!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) The gear uses a cradle to charge the phone, the cable is NOT connected to the watch, the watch sit into or snaps into a complete surround type cradle then the charging cable fits into the cradle. If you leave home for a few days one would need to carry this cradle of one could not recharge the watch. I doubt the Mk2 will be like this, its rather odd.
The battery life is so objective. It will depend on usage. I am getting three clear days so far but have only had the gear since Friday 27th. I would imagine, I don't know, but It is possible for a heavy user to get through the battery in 24 hours. So many factors come into play, the brightness settings to name only one.
2) The gear vibrates and can be calibrated.
3) Turned OFF obviously nothing works. On standby the quality of the speaker is less harsh than the Note 3, it is also plenty loud enough.
4) So far this works for me. I do not know if the SMS would be truncated at some point though due to size?
5) Don't really understand the question. Caller ID does show on the watch.
.......Hang on I have just realised something, rather than me boring you with amateur answers you could go to the Samsung sight and down load the manual as I have done:laugh: I should have made that number one :good:
Just tried to upload it for you but it exceeds the forum limits. Sorry. Go to Samsung and download the manual, all is explained there.
Regards.

Ryland Johnson said:
1) The gear uses a cradle to charge the phone, the cable is NOT connected to the watch, the watch sit into or snaps into a complete surround type cradle then the charging cable fits into the cradle. If you leave home for a few days one would need to carry this cradle of one could not recharge the watch. I doubt the Mk2 will be like this, its rather odd.
The battery life is so objective. It will depend on usage. I am getting three clear days so far but have only had the gear since Friday 27th. I would imagine, I don't know, but It is possible for a heavy user to get through the battery in 24 hours. So many factors come into play, the brightness settings to name only one.
2) The gear vibrates and can be calibrated.
3) Turned OFF obviously nothing works. On standby the quality of the speaker is less harsh than the Note 3, it is also plenty loud enough.
4) So far this works for me. I do not know if the SMS would be truncated at some point though due to size?
5) Don't really understand the question. Caller ID does show on the watch.
.......Hang on I have just realised something, rather than me boring you with amateur answers you could go to the Samsung sight and down load the manual as I have done:laugh: I should have made that number one :good:
Just tried to upload it for you but it exceeds the forum limits. Sorry. Go to Samsung and download the manual, all is explained there.
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Overall how would you rate the GG? Do you feel its actually useful or more of a toy?

2 questions as I ponder purchase.
1. What is the range before the watch and phone lose connectivity? I hear it's only 5 feet.
2. When you received an MMS or Picture mail does it appear on the watch screen?
Or do I have to open the phone to view the pic.

RaptorMD said:
Overall how would you rate the GG? Do you feel its actually useful or more of a toy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good question. I need more time with it to make a more knowledgeable assessment. I will keep you posted. So far I would say 50-50. I don't think it indispensable. Give me a week. BTW, the software has just been updated. Seems Samsung are on their toes?
---------- Post added at 02:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:09 AM ----------
xManMythLegend said:
2 questions as I ponder purchase.
1. What is the range before the watch and phone lose connectivity? I hear it's only 5 feet.
2. When you received an MMS or Picture mail does it appear on the watch screen?
Or do I have to open the phone to view the pic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More like 10m. Who told you 5'?
Cant yet answer your second question.

How is the viewing in day light? Saw a video which showed horrible viewing in direct light but wanted to get a user's opinion. Any trouble seeing it outside?
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

Ryland Johnson said:
Good question. I need more time with it to make a more knowledgeable assessment. I will keep you posted. So far I would say 50-50. I don't think it indispensable. Give me a week. BTW, the software has just been updated. Seems Samsung are on their toes?
---------- Post added at 02:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:09 AM ----------
More like 10m. Who told you 5'?
Cant yet answer your second question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An early preview said the phone locks itself automatically when the Gear is out of range and they said it's approximately 5 feet. Noone else has mentioned it.
Since we are forum best friends I will send you an MMS for testing.

Sony Smartwatch SW2

anyone who tried smartwatch sw2? is it compatible with xperia sp and how does it goes?

Yes I got one! It works well, I don't keep it always connected but in certain situations it is very comfortable to see the notifications on the fly, with a vibration on your wrist... I use mainly Watchit and not all of the extensions available, some of them (for example gmail) are unuseful, because with Watchit you can see all the notifications you want on your watch, from every app or from those which you selected.
It doesn't drain much battery on stock rom, also because you have to consider that the screen time of the phone will be reduced. The battery is very good: if you use the SW2 very intensively you're gonna have to charge it in 3 days, but if you use it mainly as a watch and not always connected you can easily arrive to 5-6 days of usage.
The annoying things are the few watchfaces (I think 8, and some of them are very similar) and the fact that when you read a notification from the smartwatch it doesn't automatically mark it as read on the phone. Sony should update it more, because I think that it could have more potential, even if it's not supported by a great hardware, it works quite well. You don't have to expect a computer on your wrist or something that makes miracles, just a nice watch (with the metal strap I think it looks very good, and the reflective display is great to always see the time) to see your notifications when you're busy and you can't keep watching at your phone, and then it has some cool stuff like vibration alarm, timer, weather app, notes, find-your-phone app, torch and others.. Hope that this can help, sorry if I wrote a lot

I have sw 2 and sp . it work normally
No problem anymore.

seem this world will be filled with smart devices :laugh:

I have it, Works fine for sports apps (endomondo, runtastic..) but I not advise purchase it,there are better options on the market

Best Replacement for a Pebble 2?

I've always found myself explaining to people about how great the Pebble 2 is which many people never really knew about because it's not one of the more expensive and prestigious brands like an Apple Watch. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Tech Junkie and can afford whatever watch I want, but I'm also not one looking to pay a higher price just to wear something to impress people - I want good functionality, practicality and value. Nothing could match my Pebble 2. When I told people I only need to charge it once every 5-7 days, they are flabbergasted. Heart Rate Monitor? Check. HUGE selection of custom 3rd party apps. Check. Design your own custom watch face with dynamic stats (like temp, phone signal strength, etc.)? Check. Waterproof to the point you can swim with it on? Check.
All that, under $150? Check.
Now, my eyes have grown old and I can barely read the text messages that come through as it is a pretty small face. I don't NEED color - I prefer long battery life. So what's out there (I'm an Android Phone User) that people would say is the closest replacement that has a bigger screen? Maybe I just keep wearing my Pebble and wear trifocals all the time - no thanks.
My MUST haves are:
- Long battery life (no more than 2 charges per week are necessary)
- Waterproof (can swim in it)
- Heart Rate Monitor
- Large screen, but I'm not an NFL player so not too gigantic
Nice to haves but not MUSTS:
- SOME degree of customization (some 3rd party apps, custom watch screen design, etc.)
- Built in GPS (I really don't need this - I'm not a runner and my phone is always with me, so would rather avoid paying extra for it, but if I have to have it to get other stuff I must have then so be it.)
All I really need the watch to do is: tell me the date and time, show my text messages and notifications (with setting to increase default text size), track my fitness activities, and don't bug me about charging it every 1-2 days.

Only Garmin Watch

Amazfit bip, Stratos, pace

All Amazfit (bip Stratos....) have almost 0 connected feature, just basic notification a Weather wich works only sometime and nothing else. 0 connected app, so not really smartwatch, maybe just a poor tracker

dersie said:
All Amazfit (bip Stratos....) have almost 0 connected feature, just basic notification a Weather wich works only sometime and nothing else. 0 connected app, so not really smartwatch, maybe just a poor tracker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you give some examples of "connected features" you think that most users would find extremely useful in their daily lives? I've found with many devices, a lot of bells and whistles are just that, bells and whistles to brag about having and when you look at your actual use of the device, you find you really don't use those features.
For example, on my Pebble 2, I can reply to text messages both using canned text responses or voice transcription by talking into the watch. I've had the watch for like 3 years and I've used the text reply maybe two or three times and the voice transcription once. When I used it, I thought, "that was sort of cool." But then why didn't I ever use it again? Because it wasn't THAT useful considering 99% of the time I have my phone sitting next to me or in my pants or jacket pocket and talking to my watch I look like a complete DORK. I can just easily type the reply on my phone. The notification is what's important as sometimes I'm in another room, or have it in my jacket in a place I can't hear the notification or feel the vibration.
So I'm still quite interested in what "connected features" a Bip doesn't come with that are so useful?

In my pebble I add item to my shopping list every day with WunderVoice, I read my List on my pebble with WunderPebble : shopping, to do,........, I read my Google Task, I look every time at the moon location, I take quick note and view also memo quickly, I look at my next event calendar, I mark read my mail notification, I can select snooze 5,10, 30min or dismiss my event calendar, I use multiple timers for 25min, 30min, 35min, 40min to look at my grilled meat, I look my phone battery, I can set my phone to vibe or mute with my pebble , I start some task with tasker, I use multi counter to count different things.....
All this can be done with few click in 10s, in this time I have not the time to put my phone out my pocket

dersie said:
In my pebble I add item to my shopping list every day with WunderVoice, I read my List on my pebble with WunderPebble : shopping, to do,........, I read my Google Task, I look every time at the moon location, I take quick note and view also memo quickly, I look at my next event calendar, I mark read my mail notification, I can select snooze 5,10, 30min or dismiss my event calendar, I use multiple timers for 25min, 30min, 35min, 40min to look at my grilled meat, I look my phone battery, I can set my phone to vibe or mute with my pebble , I start some task with tasker, I use multi counter to count different things.....
All this can be done with few click in 10s, in this time I have not the time to put my phone out my pocket
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With most all of that, shopping list, tasks, moon location, notes - can you explain what *specific benefits* there are to using your watch instead of your phone to input information (via keyboard or voice) and to read lists of information (considering the phone has a much bigger screen)? Why is using the watch so much better to do those things?

Easier and quicker

dersie said:
All Amazfit (bip Stratos....) have almost 0 connected feature, just basic notification a Weather wich works only sometime and nothing else. 0 connected app, so not really smartwatch, maybe just a poor tracker
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Was not the main scope of the op

dersie said:
Easier and quicker
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Man, you must be beside yourself trying to figure out what to do with all that spare time the watch creates being so much quicker?

I just switched back from an Amazfit Pace to my Pebble 2 SE. Notifications just don't work reliably on the Amazfit, and all the fitness stuff is too much for me. I just want a geeky watch with working notifications. That's a Pebble 2 SE

chaozz said:
I just switched back from an Amazfit Pace to my Pebble 2 SE. Notifications just don't work reliably on the Amazfit, and all the fitness stuff is too much for me. I just want a geeky watch with working notifications. That's a Pebble 2 SE
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I've also returned my pace due to bad battery life and notification reliability. I'm using a BIP and the notifications are there in real time(using gadgetbridge like before with PTS) and it gives me a minimum of 4 WEEKS of battery life :highfive:
No single freeze or glitch since months, absolutely reliable for that price! Custom watchfaces easily made.

My 2nd Pebble 2 HR just died & I've been shopping to replace it, but havent found anything that does everything I need it to, or that my Pebble used to. I had upgraded to Rebble prior to their deaths, paid for voice and weather since Rebble was up. I had found some good sites to investigate: Smartwatch Series website lets you look at detailed valuations of specs and comparisons of many smartwatches.
Battery is one of my biggest anxieties, but glowing screens or timeouts also was a concern. I tried the Samsung Gear Sport, then the Samsung Galaxy Active 2, and although they had many great features and 2+ days of use between charges (Active 2 only) with comparable use-time to my pebble, the screen glowed if on all the time, and when I went swimming, the screen face would change unless I locked it before entering the water.
I settled with a compromise... I was able to get a new PowerWatch 2 Luxe edition (usually $699) for $400. Still, way to expensive, but, I get messages (no reply), health basics, always on LCD screen (no glow) with back-lit ability, Heat Rate and GPS, and NO CHARGING NEEDED. EVER. Solar and thermoelectric engine (backup wireless charging dock included just in case) keep it charged always. I can't do voice, can't customize my watch face, can't load apps (stopwatch and timer are there), and no weather.

dumbquestion said:
My 2nd Pebble 2 HR just died & I've been shopping to replace it, but havent found anything that does everything I need it to, or that my Pebble used to. I had upgraded to Rebble prior to their deaths, paid for voice and weather since Rebble was up. I had found some good sites to investigate: Smartwatch Series website lets you look at detailed valuations of specs and comparisons of many smartwatches.
Battery is one of my biggest anxieties, but glowing screens or timeouts also was a concern. I tried the Samsung Gear Sport, then the Samsung Galaxy Active 2, and although they had many great features and 2+ days of use between charges (Active 2 only) with comparable use-time to my pebble, the screen glowed if on all the time, and when I went swimming, the screen face would change unless I locked it before entering the water.
I settled with a compromise... I was able to get a new PowerWatch 2 Luxe edition (usually $699) for $400. Still, way to expensive, but, I get messages (no reply), health basics, always on LCD screen (no glow) with back-lit ability, Heat Rate and GPS, and NO CHARGING NEEDED. EVER. Solar and thermoelectric engine (backup wireless charging dock included just in case) keep it charged always. I can't do voice, can't customize my watch face, can't load apps (stopwatch and timer are there), and no weather.
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Interesting charging design maybe something for the future watches and prices will drop hopefully...

Why not just buy a brand new Pebble 2 on Ebay for low $100 range? You could by two of them, one for future, and save money while we all wait for someone to actually design a good watch for a good price, like the Pebble 2. The only thing lacking on the Pebble 2 is that it's not designer/fancy looking. Otherwise it is still by far the best bang for the buck - battery lasting nearly a week! Lots of apps and customizations. Puts these higher priced watches to shame in the flexibility of the functionality and battery life. But it's no status symbol that people want for their watch, unless you consider being an intelligent buyer a status symbol. LOL.

jazee said:
Why not just buy a brand new Pebble 2 on Ebay for low $100 range? You could by two of them, one for future, and save money while we all wait for someone to actually design a good watch for a good price, like the Pebble 2. The only thing lacking on the Pebble 2 is that it's not designer/fancy looking. Otherwise it is still by far the best bang for the buck - battery lasting nearly a week! Lots of apps and customizations. Puts these higher priced watches to shame in the flexibility of the functionality and battery life. But it's no status symbol that people want for their watch, unless you consider being an intelligent buyer a status symbol. LOL.
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The problem when buying those pebbles: the battery is several years old and might not have a good capacity.
Actually I'm testing a Honor Magic Watch 2 and it's very good, actually one week usage with GPS and lots of calls and down to 49%:good:

strongst said:
The problem when buying those pebbles: the battery is several years old and might not have a good capacity.
Actually I'm testing a Honor Magic Watch 2 and it's very good, actually one week usage with GPS and lots of calls and down to 49%:good:
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I read a review and it sounds promising if you can live without the ability to download apps.
My main question would be, on my Pebble, I can get notifications from all the apps on my phone and select which ones I want to get and which ones I don't want to get, so I'm not just limited to SMS and Email notifications. Can this watch do that, so for instance if the Amazon app displays a notification about a shipment on my phone, will it show on the watch?
Also wondering if a firmware upate fixed this...
"Talking of notifications, we found these to be a little buggy. Most of the time phone notifications came through to the device without issue, but now and then they didn’t come through until some time after they should have, and we also found some notifications came through to the watch multiple times, though we never worked out why."

jazee said:
I read a review and it sounds promising if you can live without the ability to download apps.
My main question would be, on my Pebble, I can get notifications from all the apps on my phone and select which ones I want to get and which ones I don't want to get, so I'm not just limited to SMS and Email notifications. Can this watch do that, so for instance if the Amazon app displays a notification about a shipment on my phone, will it show on the watch?
Also wondering if a firmware upate fixed this...
"Talking of notifications, we found these to be a little buggy. Most of the time phone notifications came through to the device without issue, but now and then they didn’t come through until some time after they should have, and we also found some notifications came through to the watch multiple times, though we never worked out why."
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Everything is working so far. Your quote to my post for example, was notified by fair mail which I selected and shown then on the watch, see pics As long as a notification pop-up is shown on the status bar it will work, but one app did not work it's delta.chat. Don't know why, still investigating. Maybe a app or health issue

strongst said:
Everything is working so far. Your quote to my post for example, was notified by fair mail which I selected and shown then on the watch, see pics As long as a notification pop-up is shown on the status bar it will work, but one app did not work it's delta.chat. Don't know why, still investigating. Maybe a app or health issue
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I'm guessing you can't prevent notifications from certain apps on only the watch?
Did you consider the Amazfit GTS? They seem similar but the Amazfit I think is considerably cheaper.

jazee said:
I'm guessing you can't prevent notifications from certain apps on only the watch?
Did you consider the Amazfit GTS? They seem similar but the Amazfit I think is considerably cheaper.
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You can select the notification what you want to be shown on the watch, see screenshot. Or do you want to have a notification only to be shown on the watch, but not on the phone?
I ordered both watches and the following are my personal pros and cons.
Amazfit GTS: 128€
-can't make calls
-no storage for music
-GPS not that accurate
-no SpO2
Honor Magic Watch 2: 146€
-round design(I wanted a round watch again)

best smart watch ?

I have the Huawei GT but find it boring as it's just read only
Can anyone give suggestions of the best smart watch to use with the p30 pro ??
I know there is an issue with Garmin
Am looking for Google pay or at the very least the opportunity to reply back to messages from the watch
Ta muchly

Whats wrong with Garmin?

nurps said:
Whats wrong with Garmin?
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I believe there is pairing issues
Remember somewhere in the past reading it

For a watch, I only need get info/notification whenever I need it. GT serves this purpose very well with its super long battery time!
If I need reply/interact, I would prefer by phone, not on the small watch screen.

Well so far the initial pairing and connection worked well with the Fenix 5, I hope it stays this way. Otherwise the Fenix 5 presents excellent battery life (up to 20 days if you don't record GPS activities) with an always-on passive lighted display (there is an optional background light with various options). And you can reply to messages with pre-setup texts. Don't know about google pay though.

best watch currently for android is galaxy smart watch why not give it a try.

I have the Skagen Falster 2. Previous to this I had the original Huawei watch. The Skagen is a brilliant little watch (yes is this actually I would say slightly on the small side on my big wrists I was drawn to the watch due to its looks initially and I wanted the extra features of GPS but mainly Android pay.
The screen is excellent quality and a OLED. Black's are really dark plus better energy efficiency Vs the LCD on the Huawei.
Battery life is good for an android wear watch. You really have to charge this every night so you need a charger next to your bed. Take it off and charge it. I use the screen as always on and by bedtime I have had 40% battery remaining (2am bed time). Slim chance of getting 2 days use if you turned the watch off overnight.
The Skagen feels more responsive compared to the Huawei but the processors are largely the same. There is no speaker in the Skagen (some of the watches you can take calls). However, I turned this off when the novelty wore off when I had the Huawei watch. Speaker quality is poor / your phone is normally in hands distance anyway.
I would recommend the Skagen Falster 2.... If you like the look of the watch I don't think you will be disappointed.

Try Huawei Watch 2. It has android pay, Wear OS and works well with P30 Pro. For me it's a better option than Huawei Watch GT (make and receive calls, many apps from play store, etc)