Related
From what I've seen there is not a lot more that the Ifoon can offer over what the BA has.
I like the look of the ifoon, but other than edge what else does it offer?
A bigger hole in the bank account.
Agreed.
Apple, welcome to 2004.
Heh, they've just announced that it won't be able to run third-party apps unless they are certified by Apple.
no ways yoz
fraser said:
Heh, they've just announced that it won't be able to run third-party apps unless they are certified by Apple.
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Click to collapse
haha bros that's an apple patent.. we all know this!! software support always been an apple downfall. Not only that but no physical buttons?!? What happens when the 'super apple' touchscreen goes out? ouch! You got that bar of soap it so much resembles!
I dig my BA, but it's too big and bulky, get a hermes for that price! Apple and Jobs built a POS. They're just jealous that M$ is getting so much recognition with new smartphones. Last year at this time it seemed half the world didn't even know what a smartphone was.. until the release of these smartphones like the Q/blackjack, every lil 16yr old cries to their parents for one. What a crock! My opinion.
Apple needs to stick to software, the Intel macs are tearing up the G5's all around.
I have watched the introduction of the iPhone over the net.
This is the best device of this class!! It is lightning fast, it is operated with fingers only (no stylus!!!!!) it is a unique Softwae/hardware simbiot!!! After all how many IPods have crashed or needed soft reset, hard reset and so on? If Apple release this wonderfull device I'll get myself one for sure!
This is personal opinion!
OrionBG, I'm not convinced. I know at least three iPod users that have had serious problems. Dodgy batteries, music db corruption (complete loss) and other issues with iTunes have left me quite unimpressed. The mere fact that they force you to use iTunes bites the big one. My friend had to reset his whole library after his PC hard drive crashed. Well, he would have if it hadn't been for the "illegal" utilities I helped him use to recover most of it.
Apples "Just Works" thing is largely a marketing myth. Pop over to any unofficial apple forum to see the real issues that their hardware has. You can't discuss these things on their official forums; if you raise a bug that they can't be bothered fixing, they'll just delete the thread everytime you raise it. Check the discussion in that link; they have a long history of this.
They also sue websites and threaten them if they say anything bad about apple. If this forum was larger they would be complaining about my current post. Paul over at Modaco had to remove a Today screen for Windows Mobile that looked a little like the apple one announced. If you announce any Apple "secrets", they will threaten to sue you even though you have never signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement. They have bigger lawyers than you and more money to spend so people rarely fight back.
Apple suck. This is not the right way to run a company IMHO. They are a bad company guilty of anti-competitive practices and this has been consistent over the past five years. Their recent hardware has been very anti-consumer and of poor quality. The only reason they get away with it is because their main competitor has a worse track record in these regards and that they have a fantastic marketing department.
Have u heard about piratebay activity called http://buysealand.com/ they've just decided to buy small "island" - no lawyers problem anymore.
... and one of the greatest tactic is "how something is amazing" post by "ordinary people" together with deleting "the wrong one".
I read jobs' debut of the ifoon. There's some neat ideas there. I like the large screen. This is also the reason I've kept a BA. I also like the idea of the device sensing the orientation of the device and changing the screen orientation. I don't possibly see how the keyboard is going to work, especially if one's fingers are large.
I love the slide out keyboards by HTC. The keys stick out enough to feel.
Concerning the OS, I used to hate MS OSs. Win98was aweful. However I've been using XP Pro on an HP laptop for almost 2 yrs with very little problems.
I also use an HTC Wizard with Gamescans Mr. Clean AKU2.3 is completely stable. It is the most reliable phone/pda I've ever used and I've had a Treo. The Wizard needs a larger processor and UMTS/HDSPA - hence the Hermes.
I haven't bought the hermes yet because I keep hoping to see HTC give us a large screen, processor, and 3G. I'm getting older and like the big screen.
The perfect phone would have the Dash's rubbery non-slip outer surface with a 3.5" hires screen, at least a 400 processor, a slide out keyboard, AM/FM radio, SD card slot and maybe a HD, UMTS/HDSPA, quad band, headset jack, BT 2.0, add GPS and WiFi. The device has to go at least a day with heavy UMTS surfing.
I may settle for a Hermes (TyTN or xv6800) if AKU3.** is available. I want to tether my phone & Laptop at 3G once in a while
rambo6 said:
I read jobs' debut of the ifoon. There's some neat ideas there. I like the large screen. This is also the reason I've kept a BA. I also like the idea of the device sensing the orientation of the device and changing the screen orientation. I don't possibly see how the keyboard is going to work, especially if one's fingers are large.
I love the slide out keyboards by HTC. The keys stick out enough to feel.
Concerning the OS, I used to hate MS OSs. Win98was aweful. However I've been using XP Pro on an HP laptop for almost 2 yrs with very little problems.
I also use an HTC Wizard with Gamescans Mr. Clean AKU2.3 is completely stable. It is the most reliable phone/pda I've ever used and I've had a Treo. The Wizard needs a larger processor and UMTS/HDSPA - hence the Hermes.
I haven't bought the hermes yet because I keep hoping to see HTC give us a large screen, processor, and 3G. I'm getting older and like the big screen.
The perfect phone would have the Dash's rubbery non-slip outer surface with a 3.5" hires screen, at least a 400 processor, a slide out keyboard, AM/FM radio, SD card slot and maybe a HD, UMTS/HDSPA, quad band, headset jack, BT 2.0, add GPS and WiFi. The device has to go at least a day with heavy UMTS surfing.
I may settle for a Hermes (TyTN or xv6800) if AKU3.** is available. I want to tether my phone & Laptop at 3G once in a while
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nobody will build a perfect phone : )
!! M$ !!
Sure everyone hates M$ but what are the most widely used OS variants in the world.. Without a doubt...Windows products! Eat that Apple/Linux/whatever users
Plus like I stated, the need for physical buttons are a must, no? That must be one super touchscreen on the apple it will be the one way to navigate? Not even a scroll wheel like relatively cheap smartphones? OUCH! hope you have absolutely clean fingers no matter what that screen will be soo smudged up with nastiness!
Apple jealous of M$ tearing up the mobile market, can't stand it! hahaha I love it!! They're hardware is behind, only thing they've got going for them is the camera.
Apple ish*t specs
Technical Specifications
Screen size 3.5 inches
Screen resolution 320 by 480 at 160 ppi
Input method Multi-touch
Operating system OS X
Storage 4GB or 8GB
GSM Quad-band (MHz: 850, 900, 1800, 1900)
Wireless data Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) + EDGE + Bluetooth 2.0
Camera 2.0 megapixels
Battery Up to 5 hours Talk / Video / Browsing
Up to 16 hours Audio playback
Dimensions 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches / 115 x 61 x 11.6mm
Weight 4.8 ounces / 135 grams
I have never had apple stuff, but I watch apple closely. And I must admit, they build good stuff.
It's easier to shrug off the iPhone, especially if you don't have the money to buy it
cutting through the grituitous bashing, as well as the hype, I have seen good and bad things.
GOOD:
No doubt it has a hardware platform powerful enough to perform at least as good as our BAs, and probably better. Yeah, it could have 3G, but it would add too much to the cost of the machine.
INTERFACE. Don't spit this 'I can do the same with 15 taps on my screen' style of crap. The machine has MULTITOUCH. That opens a whole window of possibilities for interactivity. like the demoed zoom, where you hold two fingers together and slide them apart on the screen to zoom in a map.
It's not like our touchscreens which can only detect a single coordinate on screen.
Not to mention all that eye-candy OS X is famous for. OK, you may scoff on eye candy, but used wisely (and apple knows how to do it), you can have visual clues of what's happening and this actually improves usability. Otherwise just pick up your Nokia 1110 with its black-and-white matrix and shut up.
They have no legacy to keep compatible, so they can really innovate. And I believe they are really innovating on this area.
Another nice touch is the orientation sensor which automatically changes from portrait to landscape when you rotate the machine. no buttons.
THE MIXED:
Apple's choice of software model. It will have a final say on what's available for the machine and what's not. I bet the apps will be available only through iTunes. It's good in the sense that they can ensure that software complies to a certain standard, which means good quality.
It's also probably a bane for the warez crowd, because pirating software will be much more difficult, if not impossible.
It will probably be bad for the hobbyst crowd, which would like to code for fun for their devices, and probably won't be allowed to. Unless Apple releases some open IDE a la Carbide, but since they are already closing up the door on software availability, this possibility is remote.
I think it's more bad than good, but at least we can hope this will be a death sentence for software developemnt for this platform, and that this will actually result in more security. Not that we have many actual threats out there, but smartphones have the potential to be hacked into, become zombies for spam botnets etc. etc. When the spammers/crackers start to tap on this, we might start to see Windows Mobile get into a nightmare...
THE BAD:
It lacks 3G, it does not have direct iTunes access (you have to cradle it to sync and add stuff);
It has no SD card slot. Now THAT's a ****up, it has a screen big enough to play videos, but not enough space to carry them.
No removable battery? WHAT did they have in mind? OK, I don't usually swap batteries around, but I tend to buy extended batteries (my BA has one). I only this machine has GOOD battery life, this might not bite as much.
It would be good to have a GPS throwed in too... hey, let me dream!
Cingular only... Hmm, I believe this won't last long. Other companies have launched branded products, but eventually they open up for the market after some time. I believe there have been t-mobile onlys before, after some time they will allow everyone to buy it. Remember, it's all about PROFIT. Apple will not close their market that much. If they can sell more, they will. They are probably working first with the operator which was easier to work with, they gave more of how apple wanted to control the device and the network. And they will probably use this to scrub on other operator and say 'Ok, if you don't do it the way I like it, I won't do you the favor of selling my devices to you' (Yeah, Apple is a bit like a diva). They will try to use the Cingular-only argument to try to drive the operator into submission. It's a reversal of roles, where usually the operators dictate what they want and don't want on their devices. And maybe they can pull it off.
IT's EXPENSIVE. Apple/Cingular is really 'stretching the thong' on this one. Either Cingular is not subsidizing AT ALL (have you thought of this possibility?), or the machine is really expensive.
I don't think the BOM justifies anywhere close to this price tag. The screen is the same size of a LifeDrive, which is not anywhere near the cost of this machine. 4-8 GB flash? look at the iPod nano's price tags. ARM CPU + radios, there are plenty out there. motion/orientation sensor? Hmm, look at the Wii controls, I think I have read something about them, those things are not expensive nowadays. The only exotic stuff is the multi-touch sensor, and those things exist for quite some time, they are just not popular. and lacking stuff like 3G radio, SD slot and... a removable battery cover (sigh) helps driving down the cost.
The profit margin is fat here! yeah, there is all this 'pay for R&D blah blah', but they are going to make a few good bucks.
BOTTOM LINE:
It's the first generation. I will wait and see. 1 year from now the price tag will be sane, I will probably be able to buy an unlocked one, and even better if I can find a 2nd generation device which has GPS and a SD card slot.
pda...of course
in primis...here in hungary every apple stuff is sold for a double or triple price as in the US, this means, that the ifoon would cost minimum 1000-1200$...that is not affordable...or, of course, it is, but the ifoon doesn't worth that much...
pro secundo...the operator lock...well...it's discussed on many forums, that it wont be easy to crack it, so if it ever would be sold here, you couldn't change operator easily, and if not at all, it sucks...
pro tertia...the multitouch...say anything, that it's better than a single stylus...but i can't imagine, that i'll use my thumbs to scroll an ebook, or play minesweeper ;]...but anyway, if the software range is limited, than it matters no...sending an sms could be easyer, maybe, because, you could type...but you should use full screen keyboard...which is annoying, and anyhow, you could take it in your hand like a psp, so you could use only thumbs, that are big...and as mentioned...you will mess the whole screen with fingerprints all the time...that suck again
the thingy has no IRDA, this way you cannot use it as a remote control for tv, or what...
and, and as mentioned above...no gps, no sd, no changeable battery...anyhow 3G is said to be installed in it, till it will be merchandised...
Brazilian Joe said:
I have never had apple stuff, but I watch apple closely. And I must admit, they build good stuff.
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Click to collapse
I disagree. Sure, their PCs will get you on the net but as soon as you try to do something more complex they fall down. Their support is rubbish and they regularly delete bugs and forum posts about issues they can't be bothered fixing. Their computer hardware and QC have been slated regularly. About the best thing they have going for them is their legion of fanboi's (and astroturfers) convincing people that their computers "just work" when it's not the case.
They also threaten sites like xda-developers as a general rule. They probably have more lawyers than developers, basically a small Microsoft during it's evil phase.
About the only thing they've done right lately is the iPod, and even it has all the "all apple, all the time" idea where you can only buy music from iTunes and get it on to the device. If you try to write software so that people are free to use something else other than iTunes, they'll sue you for that.
Oh, and now they are charging you for patches and feature updates and calling it "an accounting quirk".
Apple suck, most people are just too blinkered by their dislike for Microsoft to see it.
INTERFACE. Don't spit this 'I can do the same with 15 taps on my screen' style of crap. The machine has MULTITOUCH. That opens a whole window of possibilities for interactivity. like the demoed zoom, where you hold two fingers together and slide them apart on the screen to zoom in a map.
It's not like our touchscreens which can only detect a single coordinate on screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's nice, but I'm not all that impressed. Sure, most of us will have seen the multitouch proof-of-concept videos last year on a full PC, but this is on a phone. There isn't all that much room for more than one active finger. And what about one-handed operation? You'd need to have it on a table for multi-touch. And what, on a mobile, can it actually be used for that's superior to any other UI component?
Not to mention all that eye-candy OS X is famous for. OK, you may scoff on eye candy, but used wisely (and apple knows how to do it), you can have visual clues of what's happening and this actually improves usability.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's most redeeming feature IMHO.
They have no legacy to keep compatible, so they can really innovate.
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Click to collapse
Nope, built of OSX and it uses iTunes. That's quite a legacy there alone.
And I believe they are really innovating on this area.
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Click to collapse
I could not disagree more. All they've done is take a standard device and slap a pretty UI on it. We could get that via a software update on old hardware right now. In fact, we had it and they forced hanmin to remove his post via bogus legal threats. One good thing about all of this is that MS will have to rethink their UI and play catchup a little.
Another nice touch is the orientation sensor which automatically changes from portrait to landscape when you rotate the machine. no buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My digital camera has that, it's very useful and intuative. You see it happen once and from then on it's instinctive just to rotate it. However, on a phone when it has to send redraw events to the running applications and deal with resolution changes, I'm not convinced this is something you want switching everything you move your arm.
Apple's choice of software model. It will have a final say on what's available for the machine and what's not. I bet the apps will be available only through iTunes. It's good in the sense that they can ensure that software complies to a certain standard, which means good quality.
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Click to collapse
That's fine, but IMHO if you visit the xda-developers website often, this is not the phone for you. If you visit "hello" magazine and read about Paris Hilton, maybe that's the software delivery model designed just for you.
It's also probably a bane for the warez crowd, because pirating software will be much more difficult, if not impossible.
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Click to collapse
Not sure, signing doesn't prevent piracy, it just prevents tampering and provides a trust mechanism. Unless they generate you an unique key-pair for every purchase which I seriously doubt.
It has no SD card slot. Now THAT's a ****up, it has a screen big enough to play videos, but not enough space to carry them.
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Click to collapse
Stream via WiFi, via iTunes and your credit-card? Standard Apple practice, charge 'em where possible.
No removable battery? WHAT did they have in mind?
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Click to collapse
Making money. Officially when your iPod battery dies (often 1 year old), you have to buy a new iPod.
Cingular only... Hmm, I believe this won't last long. Other companies have launched branded products, but eventually they open up for the market after some time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't hold your breath, it's a two-year (!!) contract.
I don't think the BOM justifies anywhere close to this price tag.
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Click to collapse
No, but the Apple logo does apparently. All of their stuff is at least 30% over market value.
It's the first generation. I will wait and see. 1 year from now the price tag will be sane, I will probably be able to buy an unlocked one, and even better if I can find a 2nd generation device which has GPS and a SD card slot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Might even get one myself, but I reckon that it'll give the other mobile platforms a kick up the butt and they'll be well ahead by then.
The subject is iphone versus BA
Nobody actually talk about BA at this thread.
Obviously, iphone wins.
Apple's real advance is draw all ppl's attention, media focus, even they build a ****.
Jobs yells, Look at our new ****!!
yoz my last post as a BA user
Heck I have cingular and i'd take a $200 BA over an $499 iphone anyday!! My last post as a BA user, I loved it, great, fast, versitile device. 3.5" display can't beat that.. widescreen at 240x320.. amazing hardware when it released. Lets seea crossbow leap to the BA.
! Long live HTC !
A friend of mine is very Iphone-minded; so from the moment he get's it, I'll have a look at this "device".
I can tell you this much: you will only be able to do with it what apple wants you to do with it - modifying, installing apps? forget it!
I can't imagine a iphone-developers.com
Hmm, there is an iSupply review estimating the BOM (hardware cost alone) to be around 250/280 for the 4/8 GB iPhones.
Even if I lived in the US, I wouldn't rush into the iPhone. i'd wait and see.
I like to see all technological advancements, and I am not a fanboy of ANY brand.
For example, while I have always preached AMD over intel since the K6, now I am recommending Core 2 Duo to anyone who asks. The performance speaks for itself. Since I acknowledged what the Centrino was doing, I kept a close eye on the Intel developments... When They announced that the Core 2 Duo would have an average 20% better performance over the Core Duo, I seriously doubted about it. I have read the technical articles, but I still was skeptic, believeing that they were trumpeting a 'best case' as if it were THE performance. But I was wrong. Core 2 Duio is really all that, and it will be interesting to see AMD catching up.
personally, I actully think AMD will pull it off, with the 'specialized cores' approach. They will embed a GPU (I believe it will be generalized and simply called a 'stream processor') in a multi-core package this year, and soon I believe we will see a Crypto core, and who knows what else. maybe AMD even ecides it's a good idea to have a FPGA as an extra core, and that would open an incredible number of possibilities.
Back to the iPhone subject:
I see the iPhone design as the antithesis of Nokia, nothing is more antagonic to the 'buttons only' approach of S60 than a touchscreen-only.
UIQ and Windows Mobile stay in-between, playing both games, but apparently losing on both. I would like to have a hands-on test drive on the iPhone, but I believe they got it right on the interface.
I really believe the software model they are trying to impose is on of iPhone's greatest risks, the other one is being locked on Cingular for too long, and those could cause its demise.
I really hope it suceeds though, because there is at least one thing it brought to the market, and I really, really hope Microsoft adds it to Photon (WM7): MultitouchScreen.
Competition is good.
well. I have read a great deal on the new i phone. My own opinion is simply that they will NOT corner any part of the mobile phone market let alone come anywhere close to the BA or HTC models of any description.
Apple are already running into stupid problems already if the BBC news here in UK is correct. Apparently the "i phone" name is already a no go thanks to a previous copyright name came from a different company. And as far as being original and up2date....apple are always very close to the mark when it comes to this. Remember last year towards Nov Dec time when LG showed up with their version of what they say as the interactive mobile phone. And how close
the apple phone is in comparison to the LG. I say no more.
OS X maybe pretty to look at, but I much prefer the adaptability and personalizing of the modern Windows Phone edition etc. Have what you want, when you want, HOW you want. AND then....carry ALL your media content including movies mtv clips cartoon....oh yes...AND music (mp3 ogg files etc)it all about (if you prefer) on you OWN memory card.
I digress...
Well, Apple is not that much of a stupid company.
They negotiated and researched before trumpeting the iPhone name.
More recently, after the 'what did they had in mind' reaction, it came up that complaints were filed both in the US and in the EU, in attempt to revoke Cisco's copyright over the iPhone brand for lack of use.
Seems they picked one of their existing products and just badged it as an iPhone, to try to keep hold of the name at the expiry date.
the productitself was released much later and is not what they showed previously, so Apple is trying to free up the name.
Well, it's a gamble, but they would't even try if there was no chance to win on trial.
It will depend on convincing the judge that Cisco was sitting on the name and not using it for too long, so long that they lost their rights over it.
It will be interesting to see how it unfolds.
I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Earthdog said:
I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand it's your opinion, but in my opinion it's a watch (there's thousands of watches for more money than ours) that works in futuristic ways that will only get better with time and upgrades. I'm not slamming you taking it back by any means, but this is a pretty new concept and to me, it blows my mind what we can do from a simple watch now. If I can talk into my wrist like James Bond and take pictures without anyone knowing (obviously for the creepiest of reasons) on top of the fact that it is a cool looking watch, I will deal with the few bugs that will get worked out soon enough. But just my opinion!
Sent from my SM-N900V using xda app-developers app
Earthdog said:
I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See ya!
You are welcome back in a month when the custom ROMs, apps that handle more notifications and other cool stuff are out.
I've experienced none of the issues you are having, and think the watch has a fabulous design.
That's fine... ...
I was lucky enough to get in on the 30% off deal, and at that price, totally worth the money. At the normal price of 299, I can understand why it might be hard to justify owning the Gear and expecting zero bugs out of the box. That being said, any decent traditional watch will cost at least 300 minimum - and in most cases, all it does is show time & date.
As for the charging cradle, don't understand why it's an issue... it was either a cradle or sticking an ugly USB port on the device. I think they made the right choice, although wireless charging would've been cool, lol. The only problem I can see is, when traveling, you have to remember to take the cradle, then there's the risk of losing it. Anyone who travels regularly, I'd recommend buying a spare cradle if and when they're available.
And not sure about the Sony v2 watch, but I had the v1 for about a week (terrible) and recall that it had a PITA proprietary connector and charging cable. I'd take the cradle over that any day.
Lastly, even traditional watches can be a hassle to keep powered. Some have to be wound on a daily basis, solars need to be kept exposed to light, kinetic motion ones need to be kept moving frequently, etc. Watches with button cell batteries are probably the easiest to deal with, but when the battery dies, can be a major hassle to hunt down the correct battery and sometimes require a repairman to to open the watch and replace it.
My point is, the cradle is not a big deal, lol. Don't let that deter anyone from getting this otherwise awesome watch.
Hi,had mine a few weeks now absolutely love it.You do seem to echo some of the reviews did you read them before you purchased yours
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
To each his own.
At the end of the day, I love my gear. No way I am taking this thing back.
Is this perfect, no, but either is anything else on the market.
Im excited to see the development of this watch, both now and in the future. Im glad to be apart of it.
JG
Earthdog said:
I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love this thing, and even with the current state of software it is more than useable for me. My only issue is the lack of water proofing, but I have been careful so far.
i finally managed to find a demo unit in bahrain, loved it! although a tad expensive, 120 BD, for sure this will be cheaper in saudi
It's not consumer ready, by any stretch of the imagination, but for the hackers / enthusiasts amongst us it's far and away the best out there.
I think in that respect, Samsung hit it out of the park and deserve accolades from all of us. It's very exciting to play with it and see and investigate the potential.
Apple will probably wait until they have something that is consumer ready. They don't really care about hackers/enthusiasts.
I think most people buying this watch knew it was not ready for prime time. However most of the issues can and will be improved with software updates and programmers from this forum. People expecting perfection out of the box are dissapointed... Especially if they paid the 300 when you could have got it for 209. I love my watch for 209 and can't wait for the gn2 to update so I can get full use. Even with my current limited use, it's still a cool techy watch. It will only improve going forward.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk
I would disagree,I don't understand why you think it's not consumer ready.Maybe it's because I am older and don't want facebook or other social media.I can remember the first iphone pixilated screen,a worse camera than the gear has now but I don't remember people saying it wasn't consumer ready.The gear I have does everything I expect it to do very well,it's very well made,and I can call my wife on my watch hands free driving how can you think that's not ready.Its bloody fantastic i can do a phone call on my watch.Thinking about it did the first iphone even have a camera not sure.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
iankellogg said:
I love this thing, and even with the current state of software it is more than useable for me. My only issue is the lack of water proofing, but I have been careful so far.
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Click to collapse
I agree.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using xda app-developers app
Present software is the least of my concerns as that be fixed with updates etc.
There are several rather serious practical issues with the present rendition.
That lovely ;large crystal (watch jargon for watch glass) is going to scratch like hell.
The camera has a hole at the back and many owners are reporting the camera lens misting up through condensation.
The strap has the most notorious type of clasp used in the watch trade.
Water resistance is a pre requisite for any wrist worn device. The IP55 is simply totally inadequate for a wrist watch.
Those terminals on the back are not going to take kind to water nor perspiration.
The watch band itself is made from a material that may not wear well, only time will tell with that BUT either way a replacement will make it a return to a Samsung agent and that's not going to be cheap.
I do agree its very much a BETA device. Not sure how I feel about that. I would imagine those that are paying 350.00€ may not be well pleased?
It appears an awful lot of owners are returning the gear for one reason or another. I collect watches so will keep it, not to mention I paid very little for it.
The software will improve and those who expect a brand new device to have tons of apps etc are being unrealistic. The true concerns lie in the hardware and unfortunately there is zero we can do about that.
Water and perspiration are going to be the big issues and already are.
The concept is great and the next gear will, no doubt, have addressed all or most of these points.
Regards
I think lack of water proofing is a big downside. However, I'd expect that to be addressed in v2
I'm impartial to the watchband. I'd rather the traditional hole style, but can't complain with current setup (other than the speaker part being bulky when resting arm on table etc.
Now that we have root and side loading, there is lot of potential in this 'first generation' device (first gen is something to keep in mind when using/buying)
I don't have notifications/svoice working as still on 4.2.2 (ebay notifications work fine, just no detail)
Bluetooth seems fine, but would like it to autoconnect (no user interaction required) like my pebble does
When used in conjunction with supported devices, I disagree with it being called a beta device. It does everything it says it does with no issues. The only real thing lacking is developer support; something which will come soon enough
I'm impressed with quality of camera/mic/speaker for what it is
Wish it was easier to find a charging cradle. Sucks having to remember to bring my only one
Wish it was easier to make screen turn on. I find that 'moving up' hardly works, wrist twist doesn't work and I just end up having to use my other hand to press the button - hopefully new firmware will change this (screen always on, just dull; more movement triggers; etc)
My gear is 3 weeks old ,I have played 5 rounds of golf,chopped wood,sleep in it every night (my precious).Played golf in the rain,the screen is every bit as good as new not even a tiny mark
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
Love mine to bits
No way is it going back. Bring on the software improvements.
Ryland Johnson said:
Present software is the least of my concerns as that be fixed with updates etc.
There are several rather serious practical issues with the present rendition.
That lovely ;large crystal (watch jargon for watch glass) is going to scratch like hell.
The camera has a hole at the back and many owners are reporting the camera lens misting up through condensation.
The strap has the most notorious type of clasp used in the watch trade.
Water resistance is a pre requisite for any wrist worn device. The IP55 is simply totally inadequate for a wrist watch.
Those terminals on the back are not going to take kind to water nor perspiration.
The watch band itself is made from a material that may not wear well, only time will tell with that BUT either way a replacement will make it a return to a Samsung agent and that's not going to be cheap.
I do agree its very much a BETA device. Not sure how I feel about that. I would imagine those that are paying 350.00€ may not be well pleased?
It appears an awful lot of owners are returning the gear for one reason or another. I collect watches so will keep it, not to mention I paid very little for it.
The software will improve and those who expect a brand new device to have tons of apps etc are being unrealistic. The true concerns lie in the hardware and unfortunately there is zero we can do about that.
Water and perspiration are going to be the big issues and already are.
The concept is great and the next gear will, no doubt, have addressed all or most of these points.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good gosh give it a rest about the crystal. It's a screen, big deal. All you do is post he same negative things over and over.
mhoepfin said:
Good gosh give it a rest about the crystal. It's a screen, big deal. All you do is post he same negative things over and over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strongly suggest you take an English course in comprehension. I was writing on the gear section when there where only two threads. I was the first customer to receive the gear in this country. I am not negative regarding the Gear. I write balanced posts. I have even written IN THIS THREAD that to expect software to be 100% is unrealistic.
Now, as you are so bothered about my quest to find out what the crystal is made from there is one simple way to shut me up....Simply give me the answer. Done and dusted.:good:
The screen, as you call it, IS important to those who work in areas where the 'screen' may come into contact with other objects and either scratch or break.
Have you anything constructive to write? No? Then please allow a forum to be used as it should be with questions, debate and answers.
---------- Post added at 01:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 PM ----------
mintie said:
Love mine to bits
No way is it going back. Bring on the software improvements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The software will come. New device so time is the only factor regarding software. :good:
Regards
I have to concur I am nervous as hell about the screen.
My first smartwatch ever was the original Sony Smartwatch 1. First of it's kind widely available, it was a pretty good product (if you compare the features to it's price). I bought Galaxy Gear few weeks ago shortly after startup for it's original price of 300 euros. I had it for few days and decided to return it, as this is a beta product with no support at all (at that time). So I returned the Gear and got Smartwatch 2 from Sony.. and that watch is really cool. It's waterproof to some point, it's very VERY light, super comfortable and you can even change the wrist stripe if you don't like the original one. It costs 150 EUR for silicon version, and 200 EUR for metal version here in Netherlands. So it's up to 50% cheaper than the Gear. Out of the box, you only have to install few applications to get messages, and notification to work. Installation is super easy and it works with nearly all devices running android 4.0 or higher. It's a nice device, but lack any kind of customization - and so far there haven't been any tools to change anything in the watch at all. Lately I got a chance to get a Gear for less than 200 EUR so I decided to give it another try, and here it is..
1. After using Smartwatch 2 for a while Gear feels more solid, but it's way more bulky. It doesn't rest nicely on my wrist, and I'm not a huge guy. I could survive uncomfortable top, but the metal bottom (where speaker and mic are located) is catastrophic. I can't stand having the watch on my wrist if I'm working on my desk, as it's touching the desk all the time and leaves scratches. Very annoying.
2. Installation. I had to change my custom ROM to original TouchWiz on my S3 to get Gear to work. Maybe it can work on custom - but there would be more troubles with it than stock so.. To get the full functionality, and don't run into endless troubles, you have to be stock, where SW2 works on custom roms without a single issue.
3. Out of the box experience.. it's a tragedy. The 'main menu' is really slow to operate, and even switching between apps can take few precious seconds. Notifications do not work properly. I have to use 3rd party app to get more notifications. No SMS forwarding to your watch. No replying to messages. No Gmail support. No keyboard. Simply nothing! Out of the box this is just a bluetooth headset with a clock. I don't know anyone who is really using S Voice on a daily basis. Samsung promised us making calls straight from our wrists, and Samsung did deliver that but..
4. Speaker quality - if you are using more than 50% of volume level, you can clearly hear a lot of buzzing. Sound is far from being clear. Not a huge issue though, it's a watch after all.
5. Hardware. Builtin camera that takes decent pictures and videos (as for a watch). Big plus! Loudspeaker so you don't have to hold your wrist to your ear - nice, although sometimes I would prefer to be the only one who can hear the other side (and look like an idiot, I don't care). AMOLED display with 320x320 resolution. Looks really sharp and vivid. Love it! Smartwatch is running a real Android 4.2.2, and that's great. You can root it, sideload apps and so.. but...
6. Usability - but it's pretty useless. There is no bluetooth tethering so you can't use any internet on your wrist (smartwatch 2 has a working internet browser!). You can install app like Tablet Talk to have messaging ability but it's really cumbersome, doesn't display your contact list, only the numbers are visible and generally, you can clearly see that it just wasn't designed for a wrist. I guess runninng Tablet Talk on Gear AND phone uses more battery which results in shorter battery life...
7. Typing. I can easily imagine typing short sentences/messages using Swype-like keyboard, or T9 styled. Display is big enough to send few words within seconds. Unfortunately that is not possible at the moment.
8. Future? There is definitely a future in smartwatches. This device is great, but Samsung tottaly ****ed up the software side. Nothing is working as it should, and if it does - it's cumbersome, and far from being user friendly. You can't get apps from Play Store, you have to use Samsung App Store which is really poor. There are very few apps that are actually somewhat usefull, but they do suck. I tried app like speedometer, that takes ages to start and catch a signal, and if it finally does - it's really ugly. SW2 to compare was displaying current GPS speed within seconds. When I was done with it, all I had to is just go back to home screen, or turn on the clock face, then GPS was stopped. On Gear? You have to open notifications, click on Speedometer, and FORCE STOP it in order to be closed. WHAAAAT?
I love the idea, I like the features (AMOLED, speaker, mic, touchscreen) but there way more wrong things with it than positive.. Media Controller doesn't always work properly, so you can't really shuffle songs etc. There is no SDK available to the publicity, so there won't be any dedicated apps from community anytime soon. Samsung didn't say anything that they will release it anyway so... if you buy the Gear, don't buy it cause it's gonna be "great in the future once XDA devs hack it". It didn't happen, noone knows if it's going to happen and what will come out of it...
I would really suggest waiting for next generation. But if you have spare cash, and can get the Gear cheaper than original price - go for it...
I don't think you would any of these problems if you use a samsung supported phone (N3, or S4 with latest update.)
skyline23 said:
I don't think you would any of these problems if you use a samsung supported phone (N3, or S4 with latest update.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using official Android 4.3 firmware provided by Samsung. S3 is officially supported.
hurdlejade said:
I'm using official Android 4.3 firmware provided by Samsung. S3 is officially supported.
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Click to collapse
To each his own. I'm sure the camera, mic and speaker and ability to use S Voice to respond to messages all work wonderfully on the SW2.
mhoepfin said:
To each his own. I'm sure the camera, mic and speaker and ability to use S Voice to respond to messages all work wonderfully on the SW2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
out of the box, SW2 beats Gear in every aspect, if you forget the camera/mic/speaker. S Voice? i guess it's only widely used in USA. i see a lot of people on the internet asking how to actually turn this thing off. it's one of the first things i did when i installed official 4.3 rom.
this is not a hate post. i just tried both products, they are both far from being perfect, and although gear seems to be superior, it lacks the software. and we shouldn't wait months for basic functionality that hardware is fully capable of.
It's all personal choice. I have both Sony s2 and the gear and in my opinion the gear is far better.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
ardsar said:
It's all personal choice. I have both Sony s2 and the gear and in my opinion the gear is far better.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
may i know why is it better? besides the camera/speaker/mic/svoice thingy.
It's my opinion and personal taste. .. It looks more like a watch rather than a big Square thing on your wrist. The Sony is only a second screen and is like a dumb terminal in that it can't run anything ( the Internet app you mention runs on the phone and relays the image to the watch) and you can't ignore the fact that it has a camera speaker Mike and svoice.
It's best to drop this thread like I said it's all personal opinion.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
ardsar said:
It's my opinion and personal taste. .. It looks more like a watch rather than a big Square thing on your wrist. The Sony is only a second screen and is like a dumb terminal in that it can't run anything ( the Internet app you mention runs on the phone and relays the image to the watch) and you can't ignore the fact that it has a camera speaker Mike and svoice.
It's best to drop this thread like I said it's all personal opinion.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just wanted to find out why you prefer gear over SW2, that's it.
i do realise that the internet browser on SW2 works more or less on screenshots.. but it works! and there is no possibility to do so on Gear, although it's capable of real rendering.
Owning 2 Galaxy Gear I guess you can tell I like it. With more and more things being added to the ability of the Gear such as ATN and launchers, etc it is growing leaps and bound sans Samsung. There are 2 versions of Sony out there and this has been out weeks. I say write this after February when it has been thru a few updates. I don't need my watch to do everything the phones does or i wouldn't have bought a 5.7 inch phone. The great things is competition is great and I'm sure Apple is gearing up for theirs and then someone will come and beat theirs and so on and so on. Consumerism at it's best.
Oh yeah, it's not consumer ready at all. But for the hacker/maker crowd out there, it's by far and away the best.
Phone calls.. you can make phone calls from your wrist!!! Come ON that's so cool. You can hack out the click sounds and take super secret spy photos from your wrist....
I have a freakin' game boy emulator .. I can play pokemon on my watch!
HELLO this is like the dream
YES .. the speaker scratching is a problem on my mac book pro, I have to pull up my long sleeve shirt over the bottom to keep it from scraping across the laptop which annoys me as well.
Not sure how they're going to fix that.
There are already enough of these threads here...
The watch des exactly what it says. It is a companion to phone, not a replacement (Why does a watch actually need software?)
it also has mic/speaker/cam which all work surprising well. Didn't take long to adjust to bulky speaker when resting palm on flat surface (mind I wear it a little loose)
There are several default notifications that are sent that everyone has - sms, email, etc. Granted they could do with more detail (html emails, all text in notification), however that will have to come when apps start supporting it - 4.3 helps a lot here
it is waterproof enough - that whole thing seems to be a scare campaign. All the watches available can survive water, just not to the extent of swimming/diving
Gear looks the best out of the watches available and once you use it for a few weeks, then the chance of wanting to return is much lower. I'd say my Pebble does more currently (especially tasker integration!), however, I've not touched it since getting gear a month ago
It only supports 4.3 and Touchwiz, but if you look at the percentage of s3, note2, s4, note3, and future phones, there is no need to support others. Will people complain when apple come out with a watch and it only supports two devices like pretty much everything else they do? (latest and previous model)
Samsung really need to get a move on with releasing sdk though
Plus it is first gen, so it can't have everything. Just be thankful you aren't with Apple and have to wait years for stuff everyone already has
Still going to try out Neptune Pine when it is released, but it is a replacement not companion
blazespinnaker said:
Oh yeah, it's not consumer ready at all. But for the hacker/maker crowd out there, it's by far and away the best.
Phone calls.. you can make phone calls from your wrist!!! Come ON that's so cool. You can hack out the click sounds and take super secret spy photos from your wrist....
I have a freakin' game boy emulator .. I can play pokemon on my watch!
HELLO this is like the dream
YES .. the speaker scratching is a problem on my mac book pro, I have to pull up my long sleeve shirt over the bottom to keep it from scraping across the laptop which annoys me as well.
Not sure how they're going to fix that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm enjoying my Gear paired with Note 3. Still completely stock, and I can see how some might think the price is steep for what it currently does. But again, I am ok with what I paid for it, knowing what it does so far and knowing what lays in store for it in the future.
I need to read up on rooting and side loading. How effective is a gameboy emulator on the small screen? Seems like there wouldn't be enough room
Awesome
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk
hurdlejade said:
I would really suggest waiting for next generation. But if you have spare cash, and can get the Gear cheaper than original price - go for it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snipped For Space!
At 73, I cannot play the waiting game. With smartwatches, women, and fastazz motorcycles..
I want and need it NOW!!
About you comments, they seemed to be like the case of one man's terrorist is another man's freedom-fighter..
BTW, can you answer and call from the SW2?? :fingers-crossed:
I also have a Sony Smartwatch 2. It's a great watch and the SDK support is superb. I recently bought the Gear and my first impression was
1. Wow, smaller than I thought. Because of the design less bulkier than the SW2. Way more stylish (up to a point even my gf thought that i didn't look like a total nerd)
2. Much better resolution and much clearer display
3. Touch response is so much better than the SW2
4. Awful charging method..
5. Miss the always on mode that the Sony has. The magical movement thing to wake up the Gear does work in say 75% of the time for me. The other 25% makes it a bad experience as a watch. Maybe I still have to get the hang of it and learn to make the movement work.. or maybe I have to adapt myself. Have the watch for 2 days now, I'm still learning and not ready to give an overall conclusion.
6 Apps.... yep the Sony has a lot more apps and yes there's a browser out there. But it also has a lot of weird amateuristic apps in the Play store (not made by Sony). I somehow am appreciating Samsung's approach now after a couple of days of using the Gear. They've teamed up with some good third party developers (a few not so good also) and seem to be very careful about what they release on the market right now. Seems like a good thing to me. I bet you can trash a potential goood product that still has to prove itself as a thing that could work by opening it for badly written and designed apps. Good thing to go easy on this. Nevertheless as a developer I love to jump on the bandwagon... But I understand that somehow one needs to direct the experience of a new product. Too many apps that do just half of what you can do can ruin the experience totally. (That said, they might have released the watch too early. On the other side, by releasing it early they now can work on a lot of feedback. It's a decision they've made and it is a decision that comes with a trade off (bad reviews), but in the end it might be the best decision. Nobody knows and nobody will know)
mike208 said:
I'm enjoying my Gear paired with Note 3. Still completely stock, and I can see how some might think the price is steep for what it currently does. But again, I am ok with what I paid for it, knowing what it does so far and knowing what lays in store for it in the future.
I need to read up on rooting and side loading. How effective is a gameboy emulator on the small screen? Seems like there wouldn't be enough room
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you kidding me! It's AWESOME ... well I have long thin fingers though. I use gameboid.
They could probably optimize the control setup on gameboid for the watch a bit more.
Sideloading is easy to do, don't need to root. I highly recommend it.
1. Wow, smaller than I thought. Because of the design less bulkier than the SW2. Way more stylish (up to a point even my gf thought that i didn't look like a total nerd)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. People have commented that the watch looks great. Sony with it's geeky logo and buttons... come ON.
That being said, there are pros/cons to them all. I'd *love* the battery life of the pebble on the Gear, but I can't go without having Android on my watch. That's just a non starter (for me), but I'm a developer so my opinion is entirely unreflective of the market at large .. but I love it, so who cares.
The one huge problem with the gear, in my opinion, is the lack of compatibility. That's what is really pissing 99% of the world out there that doesn't have a Note 3, frankly. This bundling nonsense is so deeply arrogant. It's monopolistic and completely unnecessary.
It's what makes you root against a company and pray they fail as an enterprise. It's the same sort of arrogance that makes me despise Apple and why I take every opportunity I can to root against them even though my career is tied up with their technology.
I agree with you on the speaker buckle being annoying, but otherwise, it's not THAT bad.
I've actually owned both of these watches so I think I can draw a good comparison:
First of all, the approach of these two watches is completely different. The LG G Watch R assumes you will always have your smartphone with you. It is basically for notifications and quick responses. It assumes you will use your smartphone for anything more involved. It is an accessory in the purest sense of the word. It helps you keep your phone in your pocket but it doesn't try to replace your phone. With Google Now it has excellent voice recognition and navigation. Fast, light and easy.
The Gear S is very powerful and yet on many levels redundant. It does much of what your phone does. But there is a problem, it does it in such a small format wouldn't you be better off just using your phone? Yes it handles texts better than the LG G R, but why? Your phone does it even better and you aren't typing on a tiny keyboard. But can't you just use the Gear S as a phone replacement and leave your phone at home? Good concept except no camera and the battery life with a 300 ma battery is horrible under heavy use (I blew through a full charge in 2 hours). It's also huge and face it, pretty nerdy. And sadly, S-Voice just sucks.
So while room for lots of improvement exists with Android Wear, I think it gets it on what a smartwatch should be - not a smart phone on your wrist but a smart accessory that extends your smart phone to your wrist.
Exactly. The Gear S is not worth imho. Why would you want to have a phone on your wrist? And imho it's fugly (as are all other galaxy gear watches).
DarknessWarrior said:
Exactly. The Gear S is not worth imho. Why would you want to have a phone on your wrist? And imho it's fugly (as are all other galaxy gear watches).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only reason the Gear S makes sense is if you plan on leaving your smart phone at home, but WHY would anyone do that? You have no camera, you are trying to type on a 2 inch screen, the battery is tiny and doesn't last - and oh yeah, its ugly as you said. It's funny. In this day and age of bigger and bigger screens, Gear S is trying to get us to go back to 2 inches.
That's not to say the Gear S doesn't have good ideas. I would enjoy being able to see lists of my notifications on Android Wear even after I have dismissed them for one. Also the multiple homescreens with widgets is a good idea Android Wear could use.
Last thought, would be nice to be able to talk into the watch when responding to a quick call if you aren't wearing a headset. Gear S does that well.
We really need Gear S and LG G R to have a baby with the best parts of each.
mitchellvii said:
The only reason the Gear S makes sense is if you plan on leaving your smart phone at home, but WHY would anyone do that? You have no camera, you are trying to type on a 2 inch screen, the battery is tiny and doesn't last - and oh yeah, its ugly as you said.
That's not to say the Gear S doesn't have good ideas. I would enjoy being able to see lists of my notifications on Android Wear even after I have dismissed them for one. Also the multiple homescreens with widgets is a good idea Android Wear could use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, Tizen-based Gear watches have good ideas, but first the platform itself is new and is probably heading the same route as Bada did, I don't really see it taking off. And then the Gear S itself is trying to be something most people don't want, noone wants a phone in the wrist, its an hassle to use it, calling, sending texts and so on, then you'll have to have multiple SIM cards... and finally it looks super nerdy calling people from your wrist lol
I mean, there's phones which do a phone's job well done, why would you buy something that makes your life harder? lol IMHO smartwatches are just supposed to be so you don't waste so much time grabbing your phone from your pocket just to see that the notification you just got was some spam email or a facebook farmville invite.
DarknessWarrior said:
yeah, Tizen-based Gear watches have good ideas, but first the platform itself is new and is probably heading the same route as Bada did, I don't really see it taking off. And then the Gear S itself is trying to be something most people don't want, noone wants a phone in the wrist, its an hassle to use it, calling, sending texts and so on, then you'll have to have multiple SIM cards... and finally it looks super nerdy calling people from your wrist lol
I mean, there's phones which do a phone's job well done, why would you buy something that makes your life harder? lol IMHO smartwatches are just supposed to be so you don't waste so much time grabbing your phone from your pocket just to see that the notification you just got was some spam email or a facebook farmville invite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right. Smartwatches are meant to be the 7-11 convenience store of the gadget world. Fast, light, easy.
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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.