Related
As I was anticipating getting the Note 2, I realized as my phone got bigger, it would require a different way of use than a smaller device. With the rumored Note 7", if it's allowed to handle calls, it is even more important to me if I upgraded to that to have a convenient way to handle calls without having to pull the whole device out.. Imagine the device in your pocket as the communications hub - you pull it out when you need to deal with the screen, but for simple tasks like calls, your smartwatch and headset would be the only things you need to interact with.
In the past, there were bluetooth headsets with caller ID displays, but I found they're not practical as you still have to look at the display, then put in your ear or you have the display part hanging around your neck/clipped on your shirt like those Sony's I've seen. A watch which can show the caller IDs, incoming texts and emails is more appealing to me.
I read from reviews that other smartwatches were either too bulky, had miserable battery life, or had issues staying connected with the phone reliably. I found the last two issues to be the case with the Sony 2nd gen Smartwatch so sent it back. I loved the promised functionality, but in practice the battery life wouldn't even last the day, which was a dealbreaker. It also would randomly disconnect from my phones so the lack of reliability for what I wanted it for was frustrating.
It seemed the Pebble was everything I was hoping for (on paper, at least), so I backed on Kickstarter and was hoping it would be out by the time I got a Note, but since it's not shipping yet, I went and got the Metawatch Frame. So far I'm really liking it, even though there aren't a lot of widgets/apps developed for it at this early stage. My primary requirement of at least a days worth of battery life (actually can go several days) and reliable bluetooth attachment so that it instantly shows incoming caller ID is working great. Even shows the contacts picture on the watch (in low res monochrome). http://metawatch.myshopify.com - I got the Frame version since I thought Strata looks too bulky.
So far I have it set up to do email/SMS/Caller ID, weather forecasts. You can set up more notifications, but they will eat up battery life and I didn't want to always have every little notification show up on my watch.
You will have to update the firmware on the watch if it ships w/ 1.1 to 1.2 so it supports the Metawatch Community Edition - a simple email to their support will promptly get you a link and instructions to upgrade the FW.
Watch Manager you load on your phone: https://play.google.com/store/apps/...t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5tZXRhd2F0Y2gubXdtIl0.
Watch Manager Community Edition (has more features, but needs 1.2 FW): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.metawatch.communityedition&feature=search_result
Apps: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=metawatch&c=apps
Is anyone else using a smartwatch w/ their Note 2? How are your experiences with them?
Hi.
Do u run stock ROM? Android 4.1.2?
I have ordered the Metawatch frame and from what I have heard, metawatch and Android 4.2.1 is not a good match atm. (BT bug)
I'm useing CM10.1 on Note2
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
i was using the motorola motoactv until i decided to test how water resistant it was. needless to say, it didnt handle heavy rain very well.
My Motoactv meets my needs. While it isnt water proof, as the above user mentioned, I love it. You can get text, call, weather and Facebook alerts. Rooting the device can add more functions as well.
chino0131 said:
My Motoactv meets my needs. While it isnt water proof, as the above user mentioned, I love it. You can get text, call, weather and Facebook alerts. Rooting the device can add more functions as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mmm, i loved it. the only things missing were a vibration function and google maps/navigation out of the box.
considering buying another one.
Hmmm I wonder what is better, if the metawatch or the pebble... Im getting interested on something like this.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
lfrp said:
Hmmm I wonder what is better, if the metawatch or the pebble... Im getting interested on something like this.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UPDATE: Just recieved my Metawatch see next page for update.
The Pebble first caught my eye a little while back and I was planning on getting one. But after learning about the Metawatch the other day and looking at the functionality of both, I just ordered a Metawatch. I read and watched several reviews in coming to my conclusion. I went with the Frame model instead of the Strata because the black model of the strata is on back order (I like simple understated colors).
The main reason was that the Metawatch currently offers more functionality, from what I can tell. Both offer notifications for calls, e-mails & text, but the Metawatch allows you to:
- Answer calls, dismiss calls or answer with speakerphone from the watch (Can't hear or talk from the watch of course, but can answer a take call over BT headset from the
watch after checking it for caller ID)
- Displays weather, something I haven't seen on the Pebble yet.
I also like having widgets on the Metawatch that allows you to have more info on one screen, Time/date, local weather and notifications (e-mail, SMS & calls). I rather have the option to have all this info on one screen.
Likes and dislikes of the Pebble are as fallow...
Like:
- The higher resolution screen than the Metawatche's screen.
- The supposed Runkeeper integration (though not available yet). AS a Runkeeper user this is big to me. (I may get one eventually if the
Runkeeper integration actually comes togeather.
- I like the look of the Pebble over the Strata (though I'm getting the Metawatch Frame witch I think looks as good or better than the pebble).
- The magnetic charging setup is superior the the Metawatche's clumsy silly looking clip.
Dislikes:
- Limited functionality compared to the Metawatch (ablitly to answer (preferably with a BT headset , dismiss or send calls to speakerphone).
I'm sure the Pebble's functionality will expand over time, but it's not yet there, not for me at least.
- The clock faces should have a sub-menu in the in the home screen so there not all in there with music, set alarm and settings options. Not to
mention that the three default clock faces are at the top of the above music, set alarm and settings option then any clock faces you download
are under the music, set alarm and settings options. Again not well thought out.
- It's will probably be 1-3 months before the catch up shipping and are able get watches out to new customers. I'd be willing to wait if it offered
more functionality, as it is I'm not willing to wait.
All things considered I find the Metawatch the more appealing option for me. Though the Runkeeper functionality the Pebble is promised to have in March or so really make me consider getting Pebble eventually. The Metawatch is suppose to have a run tracking app built in But I already use Runkeeper and would like to use one single app to track my runs. Thus far I have found no info in run tracking functionality on the Metawatch so I have no idea what to expect.
WIMM
I am currently using the Wimm One, but you can't buy them any longer. Mine works pretty good with either my GS3 or GN2.
Just like the OP, I needed something for caller ID, etc.
I really, really wanted an excuse to get the MotoActiv, but the lack of a vibrator motor was a deal-killer for me.
If and when my Wimm dies, I will definitely be getting a suitable replacement. I didn't back the Pebble because I had already had the Wimm.
I am going to go check out the Meta.
I LOVE the idea of a smartwatch! I've been doing extensive research and am intrigued by the available options.
My problem is, I would hate the look of a small color screen on my wrist. It simply doesn't look professional to me. While there are other alternatives out there, none of them does what I'm interested in or are within my price range.
I've looked at I'm Watch, Sony Smart Watch, Pebble, Martian, etc. The only one visually appealing to me is the cookoo. But its only for iPhone!! Who in there right mind would design and release a product that's for the smartphone market, yet be proprietary to one OS. Morons.
So. I'm on a mission to make something myself. And to be honest the design would be rather simple. A watch wjth the following capabilities.
Bluetooth, low powered.
Time mechanism with a separate power source
Vibrate motor
Notification ring light
Manual set time dial
Bluetooth pairing button
Dismiss notification button (long press show battery remaining)
Magnetic charging dock
Android / WP8/ iOS / BB10 App
All I want is a phone that shows me via customizable lights/vibrate pattern whats happening on my phone. I don't need to complete the actions on my watch, to me that's just silly. I can glance and simply see I have a pending email, text, Facebook/twitter notification etc. Best part is, the batter can last for weeks.
Too bad I have no means to complete this lol
The most interesting watch to me is the
Sent from my SGH-I317M using xda app-developers app
Hi,
To those who have purchased this watch did you have to purchase the charging clip separately? It's currently showing out of stock.
Also how much are you guys paying for shipping? My shipping costs are estimated at $61 Australian. Excessive but none the less I am still looking at purchasing one.
Thanks
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
Can someone tell me about the running/cycling app? I can find no info on this at all.
---------- Post added at 01:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:02 AM ----------
LuvinN1 said:
Hi,
To those who have purchased this watch did you have to purchase the charging clip separately? It's currently showing out of stock.
Also how much are you guys paying for shipping? My shipping costs are estimated at $61 Australian. Excessive but none the less I am still looking at purchasing one.
Thanks
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The charging clip should come in the box with the watch.
Wow, that shipping cost sucks! Have you considered getting one from e-bay. You can get it for less and save a bunch on shipping. This is where I ordered one last night. I wnet with the Frame model as I wanted it in black and the Strata is back-ordered for the black one.
Strata model:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metawatch-m...266?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f21bf71ba
Frame model:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metawatch-m...733?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f21cc73ad
or this Frame model from the UK:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metawatch-B...es_Watches_MensWatches_GL&hash=item35c3e5fa04
RojasTKD said:
Can someone tell me about the running/cycling app? I can find no info on this at all.
---------- Post added at 01:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:02 AM ----------
The charging clip should come in the box with the watch.
Wow, that shipping cost sucks! Have you considered getting one from e-bay. You can get it for less and save a bunch on shipping. This is where I ordered one last night. I wnet with the Frame model as I wanted it in black and the Strata is back-ordered for the black one.
Strata model:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metawatch-m...266?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f21bf71ba
Frame model:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metawatch-m...733?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f21cc73ad
or this Frame model from the UK:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metawatch-B...es_Watches_MensWatches_GL&hash=item35c3e5fa04
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate. Forgot about ebay. The misses wants one too. You have saved me hundreds. Planning to get the white and black frames.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
LuvinN1 said:
Thanks mate. Forgot about ebay. The misses wants one too. You have saved me hundreds. Planning to get the white and black frames.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad I was able to be of service. I hope you enjoy. Mine should arrive this week, excited!
Oh and feel free to it the THANKS button if you like
added some info I had forgot to mention
Here's an update as my Metawatch arrived yesterday. I got the frame model instead of the more sporty Strata. See here:
http://metawatch.myshopify.com/collections/watches-all
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
UPDATE: 2/13/2013
After talking to a few developers (Special thanks to the developer of Augmented Smartwatch Pro) I switched to Community Manager from the Noah Edition of the Metawatch Manager, as recent updates to Noah seem to have caused issues. So far today I have had no freezes and the batter is still reading 100% two and half hours off the charger. Still to early to tell but at least some of the issues may have been related to the update to Noah edition. Noah had an update this morning, but I haven't tried it yet. I'll be trying Augmented Smartwatch Pro soon to see if that is also working better now that I'm using community edition.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
UPDATE: 2/14/2013
Since the update to the Community Edition and Noah Edition of the Metawatch Manager apps my watch has worked almost flawless, without freezes and the battery life has improved. Charges it and had it pared with my watch since last night so It lasted 20 - 24 hours. Not the 3 -5 days that the spec sheet claims but the could be the the Metawatch Manager app i'm using. Going to try Noah Edition again tomorrow as it been updated and should not give me the issues I was originally having when I first received my watch.
The screen is still had to read in anything but a well lit room or outdoors during the day. On the plus side it is very visible in direct sun light.
It this point I'm satisfied and don't regret getting the Metawatch.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
UPDATE 2/18/2013
Well, I'm happy to report that I seem to improved my battery issue. I tried as someone recommended and did a reset after charging (holding the two middle buttons for a few seconds). Yesterday my after about 12 hours my battery was at 87% instead of the 34% I was getting before.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
First the screen I'm not a big fan of. On the good side it is always on so you can tell the time with a glance (kind of). It is also easily readable in direct sun light. The problem is it's best viewable in a bright room. when I'm in room that not WELL lit it's hard to see the screen. You have to find the angle that allows the watch to catch the light. Yes, there is a LED light it the top, but it a bit of a pain and you I haven't found a way to change the time out. If you turn on the light and start doing something on the watch it will time out in 4 - 5 seconds then you have to keep hitting it to finish doing what you doing. The text is also small and often difficult to read and navigate. Ofter just a short time with the watch I really really wished it had a touch screen. Using the buttons to navigate with the tiny tiny icons that tell you their function get very tedious.
If you use the Metawatch Manager Community Edition (A third party modified version of the official Metawatch manager that adds much more functionality) you can not only get notifications for calls, gmail, and text.... you can also answer you phone with a push of a button (with the use of a BT headset), or answer you phone via speakerphone from you watch. going into you phones setting>accessibility and giving the Metawatch software permission it you can notification from just about any app that shows notifications on you notification bar, I haven't figured out how to get notifications for my regular (NON-Gmail) e-mails. Also I like having my time, weather phone battery status and missed call and missed text on one screen.
The really bad so far, In the day and a half I've owned this watch I've had 4 - 5 freezes. The watch becomes totally responsive. I have to connect and disconnect it from the charging clip over and over and over (8 - 28 times) to get it to reboot. I was out today having a bite when this happened. Not having the clip and power source available made the watch useless until I got home. I decided to re-flash the latest firmware again (witch I did on day one) and see if that helps. I may try FW 1.2 as that may be more stable and still work with Community Edition.
To keep this short I'm just going to give you some pros and cons for the rest:
Pro:
- Good functionality: Can get all kinds of notifications (with Community Edition) and even Answer (with headset), ignore, or answer via
speakerphone.
- Can scroll and read entire messages (text, gmail)
- Nice looking watch compared to many others. Classy enough to wear in any occasion.
- I have a screen where options to: quick dial my favorites, put my phone in or out of silent mode or ping my phone (to find lost phone). Also
has a option titled, "voice search", but so far it doesn't seem to do anything. Oh, and an option to view a list of notifications (text, calls, any
and all notifications that have appeared on you phone.
- Vibrates with alarm clock (but only stock alarm, and I'm used to using Alarm Clock Plus).
- Vibrates with notifications something that the Motoactv dose not do ( I have a Motoactv on the way).
- Screen is always on and doesn't time out.
- Can see a calendar and with a button press can view a list of events on my calender.
Cons:
- Freezes too often. I hope re-flashing the firmware (1.3) or flashing the previous (1.2) firmware will fix this.
- Screen can be difficult to read if not in a well lit place.
- LED light at the top just seems so 1980's. Wish screen would stay lit with button presses so I could navigate with out having to continually turn
on the light. Text is small and hard to read at times. I think I'd prefer a Motoactv or Sony Smartwatch screen even if they are not always on.
- There often a delayed response to the button presses. Sometimes I push it it again thinking it didn't register only to then have to register two
button presses.
- It suppose to have a built in running and cycling app of some kind, but so far it just, "coming soon".
- Buttons and no touch screen makes navigation really start to feel tedious a times.
Battery is hard so say as I got the watch yesterday, but so far it not meeting their claims. It cam off the charger yesterday at about 5:00 or 5:30 pm and by 10:30 this morning it it was showing zero and I attached the charger. It came off the charger at about at around 12:30 or 1:30. It is now 2:23 am and it showing 54%, so it will probably not last past tomorrow morning. I'll give it some time before I make a final determination on battery life.
The freezing issue aside (hoping firmware will resolve) aside the screen is my biggest complaint. I would like something more readable and have come to the conclusion that a touch screen should be a must for a smartwatch.
I haven't tried the Augmented Smartphone Pro app that is said to bring some additionality functionality to the Metawatch (as well as Sony Smartwatch, Motoactv and Pebble). But will be seeing what if offers next week. Also next week I should have a Sony Smartwatch and Motorola Motoactv in my hands next week.
Though I like the more understated and classy look of the Metawatch I'm looking forward to receiving the Sony Smartwatch and Motorola Motoactv. I think I will enjoy the screens more both for readability of text and the touchscreen.
interesting and nice overall review. I'm temped to grab something like this. Just haven't been able not to talk myself out of it.
What you said about the screen seems to be the overall theme I've read from other reviews as well. It's the trade off from having some kind of LCD/touch screen which are more power hungry, and seem to only last a few hours. Can't necessarily argue against your point, but it may not be biggest knock, considering the trade off.
lovekeiiy said:
interesting and nice overall review. I'm temped to grab something like this. Just haven't been able not to talk myself out of it.
What you said about the screen seems to be the overall theme I've read from other reviews as well. It's the trade off from having some kind of LCD/touch screen which are more power hungry, and seem to only last a few hours. Can't necessarily argue against your point, but it may not be biggest knock, considering the trade off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its funny I read a lot of people talking about the Sony Smartwatch and how its battery is horrible. I bought mine when I had an SGS2 and the battery life was horrible. lasted <1 day. Also seriously drained my phones battery. When I got my SGN2 I pulled it out of my gadget drawer and set it up again. It works perfectly. Watch battery lasts around 3 days, and it doesn't impact the battery life on my phone at all. If anything a few percent per day. I do wish for an "always on" display, but I've gotta say the smartwatch works pretty well with my note2.
Thanks!
Thanks for taking the time to give us your initial experiences with the Meta.
I am still using my Wimm One, and before that, I had the Sony. I absolutely HATED the Sony. In fairness, it was their first-gen watch, but unless it has improved dramatically, I think you are going to be more disappointed in it than you were the Meta. The Sony can't even stand-alone and function as a watch without being paired to and in range of a phone.
I just wish the Moto had a vibration motor and I think it would be the undisputed choice.
So I have a STRATA coming soon. Got a really good deal on eBay (I am not sure how the price can be so low, so I am skeptical that something might be wrong with it). I also have a Pebble coming (Grey so who knows when I will get it) and I think I can use both. So thanks for your review I like the idea of having the widgets on the screen and think the small developer community is trying to really make a good device out of it. I looked at the Sony and the Moto briefly. The one thing about the Moto was it seemed like it was geared towards activity (running mostly) and I was looking for something that would show notifications (calling, email, etc), weather, ebay, really anything that can push information. How does the Moto fit there?
lovekeiiy said:
interesting and nice overall review. I'm temped to grab something like this. Just haven't been able not to talk myself out of it.
What you said about the screen seems to be the overall theme I've read from other reviews as well. It's the trade off from having some kind of LCD/touch screen which are more power hungry, and seem to only last a few hours. Can't necessarily argue against your point, but it may not be biggest knock, considering the trade off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I understand the idea behind the screen and battery life, but honestly I rather have something that is more easily read and navigated even if it has to time out and I have to charge it every night. It very easliy read out door in in the brightest of sunlight, but indoors you have to move the angles to find one in witch you can make it out (in less it a very well lit room. Heck, I charged it over night until about 11 am today, it now 10:15pm and it at 22% according to the display. The Sony and Motorola can do better than that.
It did lock up on me twice today. I e-mailed support and asked for firmware 1.2 to see if it was better, but they told me that FW 1.2 never made it out of beta and they recommend 1.3. They gave me some instructions to unpair the device and reinstall the app. Their instruction where for iOS and I'm on running Android (Galaxy Note II), so I unpaired the watch uninstalled the app and reinstalled it. I even rebooted the watch and phone. So we'll see if tomorrow brings any more freezes.
robroy90 said:
Thanks for taking the time to give us your initial experiences with the Meta.
I am still using my Wimm One, and before that, I had the Sony. I absolutely HATED the Sony. In fairness, it was their first-gen watch, but unless it has improved dramatically, I think you are going to be more disappointed in it than you were the Meta. The Sony can't even stand-alone and function as a watch without being paired to and in range of a phone.
I just wish the Moto had a vibration motor and I think it would be the undisputed choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the Sony Smartwatch has gotten some good updates, and is a much improved device from when it was first released. It can even keep time even if it looses it's connection to the phone. It's actually a pretty capable device at this point, especially when paired with an app called Augmented smatwatch Pro. The thing makes it a bit ugly is the built in clip that makes almost twice as think as it would be otherwise.
Character Zero said:
So I have a STRATA coming soon. Got a really good deal on eBay (I am not sure how the price can be so low, so I am skeptical that something might be wrong with it). I also have a Pebble coming (Grey so who knows when I will get it) and I think I can use both. So thanks for your review I like the idea of having the widgets on the screen and think the small developer community is trying to really make a good device out of it. I looked at the Sony and the Moto briefly. The one thing about the Moto was it seemed like it was geared towards activity (running mostly) and I was looking for something that would show notifications (calling, email, etc), weather, ebay, really anything that can push information. How does the Moto fit there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Moto is geared to fitness activities, but it can also receive notifications. In fact you can answer call either via a wired headphones with mic (included) or wireless headset (I have the Motorola S11 Flex HD I use when running). Again the Augmented Smartphone app adds functionality as far as receiving notifications in the motoactv as well. You can get weather on the Motoactv also (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.motorola.notifier.plugin.accuweather&hl=en).
You can even root the Motoactv and run many Android apps (thought not all apps will work or have totally functionality). With it's built in WiFi, BT and GPS it's almost like a tiny tablet.
The only thing it lacks to make it what I would consider an awesome smartwatch is the lack of a vibrating motor for notifications. If it had vibrating alerts I'd consider making it my only smartwatch.
Got mine yesterday and so far would not recommend this watch to anybody. It has given me nothing but troubles. The community edition app kept freezing my watch so I'm using Noah's meta watch app and purchased augmented smart watch pro for extra functions.
The most irritating trouble I am facing apart from the freezes is with the phone call screen and messaging screen. When receiving calls or messages I cannot go back to the original or 1st screen. In addition none of my buttons under the action screen works.
I also purchased one for the misses to be used with the iphone. Does not crash or freeze but is useless with the limited functions available. Watch does not even vibrate during incoming calls even though I have enabled this feature. Her music control functions and toggling between screens works and seems smooth (mine does not work on android). Again the downside for her is with the limited functions and connectivity issues. It keeps disconnecting and connecting.
Now I am stuck with 2 useless watches. I wear mine only because I purchased it. I'm thinking of just placing it back in the box because I am about to lose my mind.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
Hey folks
Im wanting to buy an activity wearable to work alongside my M8. Iwant to use it for Powerwalking, Jogging and sleep. It would be nice to have a watch on it , but not a deal breaker as step and fitness accuracy is more important than a smart watch.
As the M8 is now bundled with fitbit software, then I have considered a fitbit band, but with so many wearables and reviews for any Android, its hard to pick a band. I dont want to spend more than £100.
I was just wanting to know of anyones experience of using any Android wearable (not just fitbit), Is it accurate for exersize stats, would you recommend it.
Many Thanks
NightOrchid said:
Hey folks
Im wanting to buy an activity wearable to work alongside my M8. Iwant to use it for Powerwalking, Jogging and sleep. It would be nice to have a watch on it so i could log a few extra steps here and there , but not a deal breaker as step and fitness accuracy is more important than a flashy smart watch.
As HTC are now using fitbit software, then a fitbit band would match the m8 well, but with so many wearables for any Android around and so many updates patches and fixes as well, its hard to pick a band. I dont want to spend more than £100.
Also, it would be nice if I didnt need to carry the M8 with me, but the band could store the data and dump it to the M8/PC when im home, but again not a deal breaker
Any advice please
Many Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Garmin Vivosmart works fairly well. It had some hiccups when it first came out (mainly with keeping a solid connection with phone) but it works pretty well for me after a couple firmware updates. It may be a bit more than £100 but not a whole lot unless you get the version that comes with a heart rate strap. Besides the typical Fitbit type tracking (steps, sleep) it also will notify (vibrate) you on any phone notification. You can specify what app notifications you want pushed to the Vivosmart. You can read the notification (email, facebook, twitter, sms, incomming phone call, etc) but can't dismiss on the band.
That said the newest Fitbit with heart rate functionality built in has caught my attention. I'd probably look at it pretty closely if I didn't just get the Vivosmart a couple months ago.
Edit: and it's waterproof up to 50 meters. I never take it off other than to charge every 4-5 days.
henderjr said:
Garmin Vivosmart works fairly well. It had some hiccups when it first came out (mainly with keeping a solid connection with phone) but it works pretty well for me after a couple firmware updates. It may be a bit more than £100 but not a whole lot unless you get the version that comes with a heart rate strap. Besides the typical Fitbit type tracking (steps, sleep) it also will notify (vibrate) you on any phone notification. You can specify what app notifications you want pushed to the Vivosmart. You can read the notification (email, facebook, twitter, sms, incomming phone call, etc) but can't dismiss on the band.
That said the newest Fitbit with heart rate functionality built in has caught my attention. I'd probably look at it pretty closely if I didn't just get the Vivosmart a couple months ago.
Edit: and it's waterproof up to 50 meters. I never take it off other than to charge every 4-5 days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive edited my OP to make it a bit clearer..........
Thanks for the quick reply. Ive actually found the Gramin on Amazon for £120, which ide consider, but the January sales are happening in 6 weeks so I may hang on till then. When you mention the "new" fitbit.. is that the Surge or the Charge HR.?.
NightOrchid said:
Ive edited my OP to make it a bit clearer..........
Thanks for the quick reply. Ive actually found the Gramin on Amazon for £120, which ide consider, but the January sales are happening in 6 weeks so I may hang on till then. When you mention the "new" fitbit.. is that the Surge or the Charge HR.?.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Charge HR is one I find interesting due to heart rate monitoring though really do prefer to have one that's waterproof like the Vivosmart. There are a few things I wish the Vivosmart had like multiple alarms (it only allows one), better sleep tracking (fitbit wins this by a bunch), and ability to work with other companies so you can find more friends to challenge with. I don't know anyone that uses a Vivosmart of the older Vivofit so I have no connections in their app. I had 5-6 on Fitbit. Pretty much all the above is mentioned on the different reviews that are out there. I also keep an eye out on their forum, https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?478-vivosmart.
Accuracy seems fine for me, steps wise. It doesn't really track any other activity. For other activities I log them in MyFitnessPal which the Vivosmart can sync with. I did wear it for a day with my old fitbit force and it registered more steps than my fitbit but it wasn't more than a one or two percent.
Jawbone UP
http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/14/6001153/the-best-fitness-tracker-you-can-buy
henderjr said:
The Charge HR is one I find interesting due to heart rate monitoring though really do prefer to have one that's waterproof like the Vivosmart. There are a few things I wish the Vivosmart had like multiple alarms (it only allows one), better sleep tracking (fitbit wins this by a bunch), and ability to work with other companies so you can find more friends to challenge with. I don't know anyone that uses a Vivosmart of the older Vivofit so I have no connections in their app. I had 5-6 on Fitbit. Pretty much all the above is mentioned on the different reviews that are out there. I also keep an eye out on their forum, https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?478-vivosmart.
Accuracy seems fine for me, steps wise. It doesn't really track any other activity. For other activities I log them in MyFitnessPal which the Vivosmart can sync with. I did wear it for a day with my old fitbit force and it registered more steps than my fitbit but it wasn't more than a one or two percent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After looking at the Garmin.. i think ide like a few more features for my money than just counting steps.. plus I read that the Garmin mobile app is a little sparse. It would also be nice too count calories and sleep patterns, but the charge HR and flex look nice. While i dont necxessarily need something as feature packed as say Samsings S Health, a few app features would be nice.
darkintragedy said:
Jawbone UP
http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/14/6001153/the-best-fitness-tracker-you-can-buy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This looks interesting., but it seems all done through apps than a watch. Do you use it yourself?, Do you find it accurate?.. I thought the Jawbone was more for iPhone.. is that right?
Im open to any ideas
I have the jawbone up24 and use it exclusively with my M8. I also owned the fitbit flex prior to owning my jawbone Up24. I liked the fitbit, but I LOVE my jawbone. The fitbit gave me tons of issues, not syncing correctly, battery status not showing correctly. Battery not lasting anywhere near the week it was supposed to (think 3 days), and wasn't the best looking band. After switching to the UP24, it's been smooth sailing. No connection issues, battery life was already good, but the new firmware update extends battery life up to 14 days between charges. I thought not having a screen would bother me, but honestly, with the smart alerts that the app gives you, I don't find myself longing for a screen. It also syncs with other apps such as runtastic and myfitnesspal (apps to track your run, and track your food intake). If i didn't already have one, I'd take at the jawbone 3. It does everything the up24 does, but adds changeable bands, and a heart rate monitor. Hope that helps.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
eep02b said:
I have the jawbone up24 and use it exclusively with my M8. I also owned the fitbit flex prior to owning my jawbone Up24. I liked the fitbit, but I LOVE my jawbone. The fitbit gave me tons of issues, not syncing correctly, battery status not showing correctly. Battery not lasting anywhere near the week it was supposed to (think 3 days), and wasn't the best looking band. After switching to the UP24, it's been smooth sailing. No connection issues, battery life was already good, but the new firmware update extends battery life up to 14 days between charges. I thought not having a screen would bother me, but honestly, with the smart alerts that the app gives you, I don't find myself longing for a screen. It also syncs with other apps such as runtastic and myfitnesspal (apps to track your run, and track your food intake). If i didn't already have one, I'd take at the jawbone 3. It does everything the up24 does, but adds changeable bands, and a heart rate monitor. Hope that helps.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, that helps alot. Ive read up on the Jawbone Up24 and it looks like so many people having sync issues or theyre breaking as its realitively new to Android. I think what I read was it used to be IOS only. Ill certainly take a look. I like the idea of being able to integrate other apps into it to trasck food and running.. instead of just a pedometer. Is the Jawbone not quite chunky on your wrist ?.
Ill take a look at the Jawbone, Garmin and Fitbit and decide.
EDIT:
My local store has the black flex for £50 on special, which seems tempting .. but still looking
NightOrchid said:
Thanks for the reply, that helps alot. Ive read up on the Jawbone Up24 and it looks like so many people having sync issues or theyre breaking as its realitively new to Android. I think what I read was it used to be IOS only. Ill certainly take a look. I like the idea of being able to integrate other apps into it to trasck food and running.. instead of just a pedometer. Is the Jawbone not quite chunky on your wrist ?.
Ill take a look at the Jawbone, Garmin and Fitbit and decide.
EDIT:
My local store has the black flex for £50 on special, which seems tempting .. but still looking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The jawbone seems slimmer than the fitbit. As for the syncing issues with the jawbone, that was before when it was only for iOS. Now that it syncs with android, I've had no issues. I honestly had more sync issues with the fitbit than I did with the jawbone. You should be able to catch good deals on either one though. Another option that's could be worn on the wrist or clipped to you is the jawbone move. It's basically a jawbone up24, but with a user replaceable battery. It's also significantly cheaper than both the flex and up24
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Ordered a misfit flash.. On black Friday needless to say hasn't even shipped yet. It was a bargain at $24, it does distance, steps, calories burned and sleep. Pretty sure it has a clock too.
Might post a review at some point if I'm happy with it
I'll be the first to admit that a large part of my rationale for purchasing the LG G Watch R was gadget lust as opposed to a logical cost/benefit evaluation.
Here's what I've learned:
1) I don't use the notifications nearly as much as I thought. Why? Because honestly it isn't that hard to pull out my phone and look. While the watch interface is cool, it is just too small to "do anything" with as with a small effort I could do that same thing much better on my phone.
2) A large reason I got this was to reduce distraction of looking at my phone while driving. Well again, the problem is, the text is so small and cannot scroll without two hands that it may actually be MORE distracting, not less. Also, I wear glasses to drive. Since I am near-sighted, I cannot see whats on my watch while wearing my glasses. So if I get a notification while driving I need to take off my glasses and take my eyes off the road to look. Hopefully while doing all this I don't hit a school bus full of somebody's babies.
3) Much of the notification work the watch does is already done by my small but powerful bluetooth headset. Text messages read, check. Turn by turn navigation read, check.
Funny thing is that most of the time what I find myself using the watch for is telling the time, temp and battery levels of my devices. Granted I don't go to a lot of meetings so getting texts surreptitiously on my wrist is not a benefit for me while it may be for others.
The #1 drawback (besides the price) of this watch is simply that I have to wear a watch. I have a $6,000 Rolex that I never wear for work because it annoys me when typing. The LG G R has the same issue.
So anyway, if I had to do it all again, would I? No, probably not. What does intrigue me is the new idea of a small curved LCD notification attachment for the wristband of your current mechanical watch. Now that would be useful.
I'm slowly gearing up to sell mine. The novelty has worn off and I really don't wear it as much as I thought I would - it just doesn't DO anything useful aside from having a customizable colorful watchface and showing me notifications, for which I have to take the phone out anyway to respond.
Also, I constantly worry that I'll damage it by hitting or bumping it somewhere, and that only stresses me out.
I got it for $210 with tax and shipping when T-Mobile had that 30% off coupon (along with 5% cash back from my Discover card), so I'm going to probably break even since it's in pristine condition.
I bought mine to replace my old Sony Smartwatch2. It's a great device and I found that I cannot live w/o a smartwatch to my wrist. Thanks to this little buddy, I'm barely touching my phone which leads to great battery life. Watch on the wrist, bluetooth handsfree in the ear, phone in the pocket ... no need to touch it unless I have to send a message.
So my answer is YES ... definitely.
Today I will buy it again hands down, in fact if I lost it or break it I will buy another one as soon as I get Internet access. I've had a Smartwatch (meaning a watch connected to your mobile by bluetooth) since 2009 and I can't understand how did I manage to have a mobile phone without these watches before.
Yes, I've worn a wristwatch since I remember, never had a problem typing or anything else, I'm used to it.
I love a vibration in my wrist rather than in my pocket/backpack/table while charging... (I like my mobile making sounds just when I intentionally play that sound)
I love notifications with no vibration or noise as well, it just stays there on my watch waiting for me.
I check temperature, possible rain, wind speed and direction, just with a quick look, I know what to wear faster than before.
I read and archive non-important emails faster than before, I read messages that doesn't need to be replied faster than before.
I can switch my Wi-Fi light in the garden easily while riding my bike when I'm getting close to my house.
I can check my shopping list while shopping, leaving my hands free to grab things and avoiding the risk of my mobile hitting the floor.
I could keep writing reasons for a while more, but you get my point, I love it, I need it and yes, I'll buy it again and again (until there's one better out there for me to buy)
I hope I didn't do too much harm to English language BTW.
Cheers!
Yes, I would buy again. Especially since I got mine for just $210, when T-Mobile had a discount code.
I replaced a Samsung Gear Live. I'm very happy going from square to round. The only thing the Gear Live has over the "R" is that it does not have screen burn in as easily. But I'm change my watch face all the time with my "R", so burn-in has not been an issue for me.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
One of the things which has lessened my enjoyment is that when I walk away from my phone and the Bluetooth disconnects, often it takes forever to reconnect if it does at all. Weird that my $30 bluetooth headset reconnects instantaneously but my $300 smartwatch cannot.
I guess I was hoping for a smarter "smart" watch.
mitchellvii said:
One of the things which has lessened my enjoyment is that when I walk away from my phone and the Bluetooth disconnects, often it takes forever to reconnect if it does at all. Weird that my $30 bluetooth headset reconnects instantaneously but my $300 smartwatch cannot.
I guess I was hoping for a smarter "smart" watch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suspect that would cost much more battery. It's probably just a matter of the polling rate.
I also think it may depend on how long things are away from each other. To me, when I'm away a short period of time it reconnects faster, than when I'm away a longer period of time. So it's possible the polling rate adjust to wait longer when, it seems you'll be away from the phone for a while.
I have never had a case where the "R" failed to reconnect, but sometimes it takes longer than other times.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
Darnell_Chat_TN said:
I suspect that would cost much more battery. It's probably just a matter of the polling rate.
I also think it may depend on how long things are away from each other. To me, when I'm away a short period of time it reconnects faster, than when I'm away a longer period of time. So it's possible the polling rate adjust to wait longer when, it seems you'll be away from the phone for a while.
I have never had a case where the "R" failed to reconnect, but sometimes it takes longer than other times.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't think battery life has anything to do with it. My tiny Bluetooth headset reconnects instantly and it has 11 hours talk time. I think its just bad engineering. Its unreasonable to expect the user to accept a disconnected smart watch for any more than a millisecond.
You should not compare a bluetooth handsfree with a smartwatch. The protocols used are different as well as the transferred content and amount of data.
And, because the protocols are different, it is also a matter of hot the phone is behaving with the bluetooth pooling of the clients. Don't jump into blaming bad engineering.
Anyway, my watch is reconnecting in a matter of seconds after I get back in the range of the phone (Z1 Compact).
I'm not using my smartwatch all that much simply because I don't get too much notifications
Would I buy it again? Definitely
I have been and would be wearing a regular watch (which was more expensive than the LGWR) anyways and I love the little “extra” I get from a smartwatch
Most importantly, for me the watch is a fashion statement and that’s where the LGWR does an OK job, which makes it feasible to me (looks good and you can’t immediately identify it as a smartwatch). Are there better looking watches out there? yes, but to me the smart is worth it
I would buy again, But i am typically an early adopter of alot of things. I want to run the face full time on but havent yet. Still nervous. Ive had it since released at TMo. Coming from the Pebble Steel, Id like the watch to always be on.
I had a normal Pebble before. I dont want miss this watch anymore. I wont sell it. I knew how the system is before I got it. So I knew what it can do and what it cant do.
Im very pleased.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
I definitely would buy a smartwatch, but not now.
I love my G Watch R, but I think there are a lot of important things the watch still misses, such as NFC, a speaker, and a better version of Android Wear, and as a student, I wouldn't be able to buy another GWR + the next generation.
So I think that, if I lost it or if I broke it, I would probably wait for the next generation, if I'm able to wait.
I think before being a Gadget, the smartwatches are watches, and it has to be bought as a watch.
I use my smartwatch all the time, to read notifications, mails, messages ... But also as a sleep tracker, and even to read my shopping list when I go to the supermarket. I used to read my shopping list with my phone, and I have to admit that it's a lot better with the watch ! It's very usefull to make simple calculs with the calculator app as well.
All these extra things doesn't justify the price, but comparing to the price of a normal watch, it worth it as a watch for sure !
mitchellvii said:
Don't think battery life has anything to do with it. My tiny Bluetooth headset reconnects instantly and it has 11 hours talk time. I think its just bad engineering. Its unreasonable to expect the user to accept a disconnected smart watch for any more than a millisecond.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery is the exact issue at hand here. It's your phone thats making the reconnect request, not the watch. The Android Wear app is designed to request a reconnect at certain intervals (I believe it's 16 seconds a couple of times, then 32, 64, 128, then finally topped out at 256). This is used not to destroy your phones battery life. I'm suspecting they designed it this way KNOWING that we will walk away from our phones a lot more often with a watch, as compared to a bluetooth headset.
So, for the record, it's quite the opposite of bad engineering. Maybe in time someone will figure out how to mod the app to change the intervals.
Anyways reading your OP, it sounds like a lot of the issues with this watch are pertaining to personal issues/preference. To each is their own of course, I actually have none of the issues that you describe (besides the longer 128 and 256 reconnect intervals), so I would definately buy this watch again. Works like a dream, a lot better than the Pebble Steel I previously owned and sold. Working in the public safety sector, this watch definitely helps me out.
Yes. I love it. It's great at work in the business world
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Bad user experience means bad engineering, period. You can spin it all day and the result is the same. For whatever reason my $800 bleeding edge phone struggles to connect to my $300 (supposed to be bleeding edge) smartwatch while my $30 Bluetooth headset connects and reconnects instantly.
I mean how much battery life is failing to reconnect in a timely manner saving me and why should I care since my long lived smartwatch won't connect to my phone?
Good intentions don't make good engineering. Good results do and this sucks.
mitchellvii said:
Bad user experience means bad engineering, period. You can spin it all day and the result is the same. For whatever reason my $800 bleeding edge phone struggles to connect to my $300 (supposed to be bleeding edge) smartwatch while my $30 Bluetooth headset connects and reconnects instantly.
I mean how much battery life is failing to reconnect in a timely manner saving me and why should I care since my long lived smartwatch won't connect to my phone?
Good intentions don't make good engineering. Good results do and this sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, I am not trying to "spin" anything. I am not a hardcore fanboy, I am just giving simple facts, and you're entitled to your opinion just as I am with mine. I have no problems with my watch "struggling" to connect to my Nexus 5 AT ALL (regardless of their value), what I do notice is the polling taking awhile to connect if I am away from my phone for any extended period of time. You can say its "bad engineering," or software development all you want, but what they are trying (and succeeding) in doing is preventing the Android Wear and Bluetooth apps from popping up in your battery stats with a large amount of battery usage. There would be a lot of people crying here if the watch was sucking up battery because your phone is trying to connect to your watch in 1 second intervals every time you walk away (and for some people who aren't attached to their phones, this would be a big battery drain).
"Bad" user experience as you put it doesn't always mean poor engineering or software development, it just means there's no better way of doing it at the moment. What would have been smart of them to do is have a setting where you can change the polling rate if the user, like yourself, so wanted. Like I said, if your away from your phone for extended periods of time (like an hour at a time per se), that can actually add up to big battery drain if your phone is trying to send the same packets over and over every second.
@mitchellvii : in your case (yes, I read the other topic too) is a problem generated mostly by the phone, not by the watch. Samsung is known to have software issues and a bloated operating system. More than that, if you are on Lolipop with your Note4 this only adds a new layer of uncertainty, especially coming from Samsung.
Don't blame the engineers because they did their job beautifully. From my point of view, this watch delivers very good results.
Then, there is the other possibility: a faulty unit. Nevertheless, my watch is bought in the same day when it arrived in stock here, in Sweden (so I assume is one of the early units) and I did not had any issues with it.
doubleohseven said:
So, for the record, it's quite the opposite of bad engineering. Maybe in time someone will figure out how to mod the app to change the intervals.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
completely agree - but it should be user-configurable
xposed would be the way to go (at least for the non-Lollipop users), hopefully someone can come up with something that makes everyone happy
First 24 hours with the G Watch R after returning a Moto 360 and I couldn't be happier. The heart rate monitor works better, battery life much better, and it is working better with Google Fit. Last night, for the first time, Google Fit was able to detect that I was riding my stationary bike when I was working out as opposed to other activities I had logged previously. Sleep monitoring using Sleep As Android resulted in 85% battery left this morning where the 360 would be dead half of the time. I love being able to have the screen always on and get through a full day with battery to spare. I find it more responsive than the 360 and actually prefer the look of it over the 360.
Snagged one online through Verizon and did overnight delivery. So I'm going to give 2 impressions here
1) Appearance
2) Usabality
For for the 1st impression on appearance the watch is exactly what I wanted, I love the silver, I love the roundness, I LOVE LOVE LOVE a true "always on" screen mode, and I like the leather band. I may actually keep the band for awhile before swapping it out with a silver one somewhere. The watch faces are pretty, the resolution is nice, and the overall appearance of elements is colorful and nice.
EDIT: Ok apparently there was even MORE updates after the initial update payload. I did check that I was running 5.1.1 but after about an hour another "system update swipe left to install" appeared. After that update completed I noticed what appeared to be a bunch more apps sync'ing, such as Maps, Keep, notification toggle, etc. FINALLY once all of these completed the watch appears to have returned to normal and is currently running GREAT. Smooth high fps screen transitions, responsive touch control, responsive voice recognition, etc. Make sure you let this watch sit for a good few hours before attempting to do much with it. Google does A LOT to it in the background at first boot.
For the 1st impression of usability the watch is complete garbage. Lots of "android wear stopped responding", lots of "little cloud indicator showing you have disconnected", and LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of LAAAAGGG!! Omg this watch feels borderline beta, completely unstable. Maybe it's because it has only been running for 15 minutes, and maybe it's because it took half an hour to update (I'm guessing Verizon did not ship it with 5.1.1). The thing took forever on first boot, but now that it's running it's just out of control. Totally unresponsive. You'd seriously think something is wrong with it. You tap the screen nothing happens, you tap it again you feel it buzz but nothing happens, you stop tapping and stare at it for 10 seconds and then suddenly 10 things happen. It's as if the watch is just completely clogged up with background CPU tasks that it's playing catchup. Pretty lousy. I'm hoping this will pass after a day of usage or so.
My only gripe right now is that this is really poor form and only furthers the bragging rights Apple users get. My buddy got an Apple Watch and that thing worked beautiful out of the box. Apple knows customers dont want a ****ty first impression and made sure their devices perform amiably the moment it is powered on. Google apparently doesnt give a **** and anyone is allowed to do whatever they want with their brand, such as crippling Android Wear with a clearly untested product launch.
Oh well, only time will tell.
RunNgun42 said:
Snagged one online through Verizon and did overnight delivery. So I'm going to give 2 impressions here
1) Appearance
2) Usabality
For for the 1st impression on appearance the watch is exactly what I wanted, I love the silver, I love the roundness, I LOVE LOVE LOVE a true "always on" screen mode, and I like the leather band. I may actually keep the band for awhile before swapping it out with a silver one somewhere. The watch faces are pretty, the resolution is nice, and the overall appearance of elements is colorful and nice.
For the 1st impression of usability the watch is complete garbage. Lots of "android wear stopped responding", lots of "little cloud indicator showing you have disconnected", and LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of LAAAAGGG!! Omg this watch feels borderline beta, completely unstable. Maybe it's because it has only been running for 15 minutes, and maybe it's because it took half an hour to update (I'm guessing Verizon did not ship it with 5.1.1). The thing took forever on first boot, but now that it's running it's just out of control. Totally unresponsive. You'd seriously think something is wrong with it. You tap the screen nothing happens, you tap it again you feel it buzz but nothing happens, you stop tapping and stare at it for 10 seconds and then suddenly 10 things happen. It's as if the watch is just completely clogged up with background CPU tasks that it's playing catchup. Pretty lousy. I'm hoping this will pass after a day of usage or so.
My only gripe right now is that this is really poor form and only furthers the bragging rights Apple users get. My buddy got an Apple Watch and that thing worked beautiful out of the box. Apple knows customers dont want a ****ty first impression and made sure their devices perform amiably the moment it is powered on. Google apparently doesnt give a **** and anyone is allowed to do whatever they want with their brand, such as crippling Android Wear with a clearly untested product launch.
Oh well, only time will tell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using mine for about an hour and have not seen ANY lag. I have also not disconnected from the phone once. my R did it a few times a day. The first boot and connection did take forever, but mine has been working lag free and perfectly the whole time. I know it is early, but maybe you just got a lemon
Pretty much the same experience here. The initial boot and sync process (then subsequent update) take forever, but after that, this thing is butter.
So far, I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of the leather strap. Maybe it just needs time to be broken in, but I'm already eyeing replacements.
Did I mention this thing is GORGEOUS??
L_E_O said:
Pretty much the same experience here. The initial boot and sync process (then subsequent update) take forever, but after that, this thing is butter.
So far, I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of the leather strap. Maybe it just needs time to be broken in, but I'm already eyeing replacements.
Did I mention this thing is GORGEOUS??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I am the same as you on the strap..... Maybe because it is just so new, it seem to make the watch hover above my wrist
Hello guys, may I ask you how does the watch work when is connected over WiFi? For example are you able to access to your play music library? Or in general are there some unknown tricks? Thanks and good buy
Korean version Vs US version?
Does anyone know if there is a difference between the Korean version that everyone is getting off ebay Vs. The US version say from Google, Verizon, att&t?
AnthonyTex said:
Hello guys, may I ask you how does the watch work when is connected over WiFi? For example are you able to access to your play music library? Or in general are there some unknown tricks? Thanks and good buy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I can tell, the best way to think of the WiFi functionality is "extended bluetooth". It doesn't seem to have any independent WiFI or network functionality. It still has to be talking to the phone, which does have to have some type of connectivity, but the phone doesn't have to be on the same network or on WiFI at all. I turned off both WiFi and BT on the phone, and it could still talk to the watch (through the cell data connection). That added flexibility probably only has a few practical uses, but I absolutely love being able to have the watch and walk more than 20 ft. away while still being connected.
L_E_O said:
As far as I can tell, the best way to think of the WiFi functionality is "extended bluetooth". It doesn't seem to have any independent WiFI or network functionality. It still has to be talking to the phone, which does have to have some type of connectivity, but the phone doesn't have to be on the same network or on WiFI at all. I turned off both WiFi and BT on the phone, and it could still talk to the watch (through the cell data connection). That added flexibility probably only has a few practical uses, but I absolutely love being able to have the watch and walk more than 20 ft. away while still being connected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much
Ok I have had it for day and my initial impression of the Urbane is positive completely opposite of the OP, granted the initial set-up can take up-to 20-30 minute, I've also had the system updated to 5.1.1 .
It is fairly responsive far better than moto 360, not much lags and also the battery life is much better you could easily go through 12 hours of heavy usage or 15 hours for moderate usage. It may have the same innards as the G Watch R but I think LG have done a good job making it look more watch like and something that at first glance looks like a normal watch.
My negatives would be that as I have small wrist it is slightly too big and the strap could have been of better quality. I will go far as to say this is currently the best android smartwatch until moto 360 mk II, Huawei watch etc....
Bottom for line for the money I think it is worth it, cant complain.
How is the vibration on the notifications?
I tried a Moto 360 and I could barely tell when it vibrated.
Any chance of a system and boot dump guys?
pbelcomp said:
How is the vibration on the notifications?
I tried a Moto 360 and I could barely tell when it vibrated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vibrations good. I will side with Apple as far as being able to customize vibration intensity.
After mine was completely done with its startup I rebooted it and performance has been fine.
Hated the stock strap but I knew I would going in as I greatly dislike cheap leather straps and I had a nice SS bracelet here ready to be installed when the watch arrived. Tested the stock strap for about 15 seconds and went to the jeweler and had them put on the bracelet instead, better in every way. Honestly 22mm is a very common size and there are straps for every owner of all kinds, don't stick with the stock strap for one minute if you don't like it. You can do much better.
Someone paying attention will realize this is not a normal watch but for the most part I think you will have few people notice the watch, it manages to blend pretty well.
If you don't notice the vibration on this one then it isn't a problem, your corpse will not respond to the notification anyways.
tolust said:
Does anyone know if there is a difference between the Korean version that everyone is getting off ebay Vs. The US version say from Google, Verizon, att&t?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder that either...? If they are all the same I can consider buying from a South Korean seller in Ebay.
were can i purchase it what is this watch is it phone or bluetooth or what it is LG brand.
AnnaCook310 said:
were can i purchase it what is this watch is it phone or bluetooth or what it is LG brand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't understand clearly what you are asking but;
This is a smartwatch for phones running android platform.
It is not a phone. It connects to your phone through bluetooth.
This smartwatch's brand is LG.
You can purchase it from South Korea, USA, UK and some other places as well as from internet, for example from Ebay.
krabman said:
After mine was completely done with its startup I rebooted it and performance has been fine.
Hated the stock strap but I knew I would going in as I greatly dislike cheap leather straps and I had a nice SS bracelet here ready to be installed when the watch arrived. Tested the stock strap for about 15 seconds and went to the jeweler and had them put on the bracelet instead, better in every way. Honestly 22mm is a very common size and there are straps for every owner of all kinds, don't stick with the stock strap for one minute if you don't like it. You can do much better.
Someone paying attention will realize this is not a normal watch but for the most part I think you will have few people notice the watch, it manages to blend pretty well.
If you don't notice the vibration on this one then it isn't a problem, your corpse will not respond to the notification anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have my watch yet, but are you saying the vibration is much stronger than the Moto 360? If so, just that is enough to convince me to buy it! P.S. I have always preferred metal bands too.
I have not tried the 360 so I cant comment on its comparative vibration strength. I can say the vibrate on this one is more than strong enough to get my attention when I'm busy. Alarm vibes will continue until you cancel them at least in the near term, I haven't tried leaving it go and seeing if it stops vibrating after so many minutes. The only time I can see myself actually missing an alarm is if I was quite active but theimplication there is I would probably prefer to attend to the activity I was involved in rather than a notification on my watch.
I'm sorry I cant help more, if this is a very strong point you might consider waiting for the phone to be available for fondling in a retail outlet before purchasing.
I'm coming from a Galaxy Gear S and I have 2 small issues. 1st battery life I'm already down to 27% after 7 hrs of use (gear s after 14hr day would still have 70% left) hopefully this will improve after a few days of use. 2nd I wish the display was larger like the 360. Everything looks a little squished to me.
millerd79 said:
I'm coming from a Galaxy Gear S and I have 2 small issues. 1st battery life I'm already down to 27% after 7 hrs of use (gear s after 14hr day would still have 70% left) hopefully this will improve after a few days of use. 2nd I wish the display was larger like the 360. Everything looks a little squished to me.
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Yep... I'm on day 3 or 4 after a full reset post-update, and I'm only getting about 8-10 hours myself. That's with brightness set at 2 and "Always On" screen turned off. Not sure what the culprit is, but I'm going to try one more full reset and resync.
Yesterday I received my Samsung Galaxy S6 Active. I've been on the fence about getting one, especially since I have the S5 Active. There didn't seem to be enough of a difference to switch, but I figured I could get it and return it if I didn't like it. Well so far I really like it. Here are items that are making the switch worth while:
Camera - The camera is awesome! Fast and takes great pictures (although the S5 Active does take great pictures also.).
No port covers - It was very nice not having to open the cover every time I need to plug in the USB.
Themes - This is really cool. I didn't have to add anything to install a theme and it's complete. Pretty much everything is themed. The Avengers theme is pretty sweet.
Wireless charging - Although I haven't tried it yet, I'm getting a charging pad as soon as I decide that I'm keeping it.
Some downsides (although I'm good with them):
No micro sd card slot - This one, I can go either way with. I have always added an sd card to any device that had a slot for in case I needed it. So far, I haven't had a time that I actually had to have one. With cloud services and a data connection pretty much everywhere I go, I'm ok with it. Also, I keep a thumb drive with a micro usb connector on it with me most of the time in case I need it.
No removable battery - Again, I can go either way with it. It's nice to just pull the battery on lockups, but that's about it for me. I'm not too worried about switching it out, I normally don't keep the phone long enough for the battery to go bad.
I'm not sure about the battery life yet, but so far so good. After 7.5 hours of medium to heavy use, I'm at 81%.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with it so far.
One week update.
I'm keeping the S6 Active.
The phone is solid and feels good in the hand. The "newer" TouchWiz is ok, but I prefer to use Nova Launcher and the cool thing is that the themes work with it. Again, the camera is outstanding! The battery life is really good. Today I used the phone quite a bit and after 9 hours I'm at 68%. I did notice the occasional lag, but I cleared the cache and it seems to be a lot better.
So, after two weeks with the S6 Active, it's going back to AT&T. There are problems with the touchscreen, especially on the right side. Swiping and scrolling on the right side lags and sometimes dosen't work. There are some issues with using it in water: The dock connected notification pops up when it gets water in the charging port. After the phone was wet, audio from the ear piece and the speaker was really low for about an hour. The phone would not transfer data with a usb cable, even after 8 hours of being dry. It would charge, but not transfer data (I did try 2 different cables and it worked fine with my S5 Active).
Also, earlier today, I had the phone in my pocket and heard it stating that it was going into "VR mode", the screen went black and I could not use the phone. I tried restarting the phone by holding the power and volume down buttons, but it would go back to the black screen when it would reboot. It wasn't until I plugged in a usb cable to try and backup the phone that it started working again.
At this point, I am back to my S5 Active and I'll decide over the weekend whether to exchange the phone or just return.
Sent from my SM-P605V using Tapatalk
Samsung really screwed up removing the port covers.
Disagree completely!
Port covers are just something that breaks causing the phone to fail. Just a matter of common sense to dry your phone off before plugging it in!
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
Picked mine up Saturday. Got 5 hours SOT the first day. Gonna hammer the usage today and see how much I have left after 6 hours SOT. Pretty sweet device so far. If it had 64GB of storage, it would be about the best phone I have used in a while!
Sent from my S6 Active!
I completely agree! I used my S6 Active in fresh and salt water this weekend and had no unexpected issues at all.
Once submerged, while recording, the audio was distorted until I blew into the mic sharply to clear off the water. Completely expected and unpreventable and a non-issue.
I may have gotten a bad phone. I blew out the ports and waited at least an hour before plugging it in and still had problems with it. I will probably exchange it later today or tomorrow. I contemplated returning it, but I really did like it before the problems.
I went from an N5 to an Active and I like it, but the new update seems to shoot out the "Connected to Dock" a lot and that is very annoying considering it stops you from doing anything at that moment. It'll just pop up like 20 times in a row.
TommyStarwind said:
I went from an N5 to an Active and I like it, but the new update seems to shoot out the "Connected to Dock" a lot and that is very annoying considering it stops you from doing anything at that moment. It'll just pop up like 20 times in a row.
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What are you doing when that pop up comes up? I have the latest update and haven't seen anything like that on my S6 Active.
MarineSSGT0629 said:
What are you doing when that pop up comes up? I have the latest update and haven't seen anything like that on my S6 Active.
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It'll just pop up randomly, but when it does it isn't just once. Even restarting the phone doesn't get it to go away. It hasn't done it for a few hours. I'll have issues with it charging and it'll say that with the fast charger. I have a regular usb plugged into it right now and have zero issues. I was however in the pool with it on Saturday to play with the camera underwater. Pocketnow's review on the phone mentions the same thing, but theirs went away after 30 mins.
http://pocketnow.com/2015/06/23/galaxy-s6-active-review
"Take the phone out of the water and you’re bound to see a flickering notification at the top of the screen informing you that the “dock is connected” – an error that doesn’t seem confined to waterproof Samsungs. Considering how long this bug has been around, it’s disappointing that Samsung didn’t correct it before releasing such a supposedly rugged smartphone. Fortunately, the fix is relatively easy: just take a deep breath and blow some air into the USB port like it’s an old Nintendo cartridge, then leave it in front of a fan to dry."
I just picked my active up yesterday. I really really love the phone and the camera and the waterproofing. I had an s6 edge but I was sold a financed (unlocked tmobile) phone without my knowledgd. I really miss the capacitive buttons and the fingerprint reader, as well as the bottom facing speaker. But still an amazing phone. I almost wonder if I should exchange for the leather back g4 though... I'm very Conflicted... what do you guys think? Stick with the active? Or try the g4? (I only get one exchanhe)
I went a head and exchanged mine instead of returning it. This ones to run smoother, the screen seems to be working properly. I did the latest update, but I don't see any difference yet.
Craleb said:
I just picked my active up yesterday. I really really love the phone and the camera and the waterproofing. I had an s6 edge but I was sold a financed (unlocked tmobile) phone without my knowledgd. I really miss the capacitive buttons and the fingerprint reader, as well as the bottom facing speaker. But still an amazing phone. I almost wonder if I should exchange for the leather back g4 though... I'm very Conflicted... what do you guys think? Stick with the active? Or try the g4? (I only get one exchanhe)
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If you want the waterproofing, you will have to stick with the Active.
The s6 active is the best Samsung phone out right now...it's battery is a beast and it's tough as nails...love it!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using XDA Free mobile app
Kindly Vote for root...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/xda-assist/root-samsung-galaxy-s6-active-sm-g890a-t3257656
I have a nickname for this phone: "Perfect" ? that's how great this phone is in my opinion, still waiting for root though to unleash the beast.
Still missing battery and SD card access not because I really need them (yet) but not having access to all your phone's hardware and software features it feels like the phone is not your property entirely.
Things that impressed me so far are build quality, great grip, screen is amazing making reading and video rendering a pleasant experience, sound quality for calls is great too, not so impressive for music play on speaker or aux on car speakers but good with headphones, pretty fast CPU and RAM, battery life is an improvement I was waiting for for years but missing solar charge (still waiting for this technology to be implemented in smartphones), wireless charging is not my thing because it takes too long.
And of course being a "not bent friendly" device is like having wild berries instead of... you know what ?