Related
For those who haven't seen it yet, MetaWatch is releasing a commercial version in the very near future. You can buy into the project on KickStarter, similar to the Pebble:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/metawatch/metawatch-strata-the-smartwatch-for-the-iphone-4s
MetaWatch has been shipping a really nice watch for a while now. In fact they have three models (Original Digital, Analog, Updated digital (available in white and black) but they are technically developer models, not really intended for prime time, normal consumer use. The Strata WILL be a consumer model. It's designed as a sports watch, so the colors are a little "splashy" in my opinion, but still a nice looking watch.
I've been using one of the updated digital models for a couple of months now and I really love it. They have some very creative people who are developing for it and putting out some interesting updates to it. That's reason one that I bought mine.
Reason two is that the MetaWatch people came from Fossil. They aren't computer guys who decided to build a watch. Rather they are watch and computer guys building a smart watch. They history with watches makes me more confident they'll get the watch part right.
Finally, I think MetaWatch gets it right in terms of their philosophy. Many of the recent offerings I've seen seemed to be designed as a stand alone units that happen to also happen to connect with a phone. Some of them have Wifi, GPS, even MP3 playback and headphone jacks. Some even run a version of Android on them. For me, personally, I don't want another device that I have to update software on, or that duplicates many of the functions I already have on my phone. I want a smart watch that works as an auxiliary display. Giving me relevant information, at a glance, without needing to mess around with menus. The MetaWatch does this really, really well.
Anyway, long story short... check out the watch. I think you'll like it.
That looks really good. I'll stick with the Pebble I only had to kick in $99 for, though, because of price.
Well, they were late in getting things shipped out, but the Strata is now finally shipping out to backers. You can also buy it now and should have it in time for Christmas...
http://metawatch.myshopify.com/
removed.
Couple of questions:
1) Does it have a low light setting or at least a setting to invert the black/grey hues?
2) At $130 it's something of a luxury price for novelty functions. Do you think it's ready for Prime Time (so to speak)?
3) I noticed you have Torque installed on your phone. Just an awesome app!
Really good review.... but I wish the watch interface looked more modern, for $130 i wish the screen on the watch was a touch screen style & the icons on the watch, im not feeling.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
apallohadas said:
Couple of questions:
1) Does it have a low light setting or at least a setting to invert the black/grey hues?
2) At $130 it's something of a luxury price for novelty functions. Do you think it's ready for Prime Time (so to speak)?
3) I noticed you have Torque installed on your phone. Just an awesome app!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't exactly call it novelty. There are many times, throughout the day, when I simply cannot pick up/pull out my phone but still need to see who/what, etc... That's priceless, in my opinion.
Which leads me to add to your questions for the OP:
I didn't see any mention of caller ID. Is that possible, with this watch? If so, how far down the pipe is it to be unlocked?
KingP1n said:
Really good review.... but I wish the watch interface looked more modern, for $130 i wish the screen on the watch was a touch screen style & the icons on the watch, im not feeling.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is actually what I was surprised about as well. I was hoping for a much nicer screen. Once they come out with a model that can support applications like strava and mapmyrun I will probably be all about one of these.
Awesome review!
Str0ntium said:
I wouldn't exactly call it novelty. There are many times, throughout the day, when I simply cannot pick up/pull out my phone but still need to see who/what, etc... That's priceless, in my opinion.
Which leads me to add to your questions for the OP:
I didn't see any mention of caller ID. Is that possible, with this watch? If so, how far down the pipe is it to be unlocked?
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Click to collapse
We'll have to disagree there sir. With some further customization I can see this becoming more useful but not priceless by far.
And as another poster just mentioned, it really could look a bit better. The Casio-calculator-ish readout is probably scaled down to give it that impressive battery life. I'd totally drool if it looked a bit more like the Nike+ GPS watch.
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apallohadas said:
We'll have to disagree there sir. With some further customization I can see this becoming more useful but not priceless by far.
And as another poster just mentioned, it really could look a bit better. The Casio-calculator-ish readout is probably scaled down to give it that impressive battery life. I'd totally drool if it looked a bit more like the Nike+ GPS watch.
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Click to collapse
One man's priceless is another man's trash. I think that goes without saying. As for looks, yep it's butt-ugly. I think we can agree, there. The Pebble looks very nice, if not a little too feminine for my taste. Unfortunately, unless someone pre-ordered last year or is willing to buy a pre-order for $200+ off ebay that one is not going to be widely available any time soon. The Sony looks decent and I think I've read can be used with your own watch band. At ~$100, I think that beats the pants out of this one based on functionality, alone. But, again, what I consider useful you don't. Different strokes.
OK, let me jump back into discussion
Handling phone calls - like a champ! You get caller ID and also an option to hangup or answer the call. You also have a config option to answer the phone and turn speakerphone on. All the phone calling history along with email history and other notifications are stored and can be viewed.
Regarding the look. MetaWatch was started by Fossil guys, so I will give them a benefit of a doubt they know a thing or two about watch ergonomics. If Strata style is too sporty, FRAME style is your typical wrist band style with a replacement band.
I only have Strata, so can't tell you how FRAME looks next to it, but I think its slimmer/trimmer in general.
With different clock faces, I'm sure more stuff will be coming soon since I saw "Analog" option in NE Manager. Regarding graphics, the original MetaWatch manager has better icons and fonts (still digital clock), but not all the functionality is unlocked yet.
With reference to Pebble and Sony smartwatches, I can only judge Sony by a limited experience of playing with discontinued MN800 (LiveView model) - the battery life wasn't that great, and because of OLED display the screen is on for a few seconds before it times out. So it was displaying info only as it being pushed to the watch or when you push the button to view the clock, etc. Without a doubt, having a color screen is an awesome experience, but it comes at a price of battery life and aging of OLED if you keep it on all the time. Plus, OLED is hardly visible in direct sunlight. I do want to get my hands on their latest SmartWatch to see how it works in comparison to LiveView and MetaWatch. With Pebble, I'm hoping to get a review sample one of these days as well. In my opinion it will be similar to MetaWatch in functionality and display graphics. I'm also reading a lot of comments that hardware is ready by software is still work in progress.
You gotta keep in mind, Sony and Nike stuff looks good, but it never took off even at discounted prices. Now, here we have MetaWatch and Pebble, two kickstarter projects that generated a lot of buzz and followers. MetaWatch was ahead with their release and has a very strong base of hackers/users who took matter in their own hands. Pebble probably going to follow the same route since I believe their source is open. I can't judge Pebble, but from use of MetaWatch I found it to do exactly what I would expect from a smart watch - to be remote extension of my phone so I don't have to take my phone out to see who is calling, or start playing music on my bt speaker, to read info about incoming emails where I can see who it's from and the subject line of the email, to see my calendar and all the scheduled talks and to be able to scroll through days and months of content, to see text messages, to get a notification for all these events, and counts for anything I missed, to get a current weather and weather forecast for the next three days, and more.
This is just my personal opinion because I like to have everything on one screen, just like as you can see I have it on my phone with all the widgets and how I set up MetaWatch with everything on one screen. Does it look like a fashionable watch? Not really. It looks like a geek gadget My friends at work were telling me I got "**** Tracy" watch. Can you change it? Sure, if you dress it up using FRAME and more minimalistic layout. But don't expect it to look like OLED display because its a different display technology.
This was my first true smart watch experience, and I hope to have more in the near future for comparison. But based on what I have tested and wearing right now - I'm very impressed!!!
I tried a Metawatch for about a week. Returned it. Overpriced piece of junk. Have been using a Sony with a Fossil band for a few months and am pretty satisfied.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
jlczl said:
I tried a Metawatch for about a week. Returned it. Overpriced piece of junk. Have been using a Sony with a Fossil band for a few months and am pretty satisfied.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Care to share your experience with MetaWatch and why you found it to be "piece of junk"? Did you have it configured the same way as I did, was it not enough or didn't meet your expectations or did you just give up because you were using MetaWatch original manager? I can see how someone will get frustrated because it's still limited out of the box if you only download original Manager. But going with Noah or Community Edition manager and Executive Assistant+ along with K-9/TouchDown - that covers a huge ground. True, the visual is nowhere near Sony's OLED and ton of apps you can get with it. My only experience with Sony was using MN800 LiveView. I assume you are using MN2SW, right? Does it stay up or display turns off after 10-15seconds, and only comes up whenever you have notification? How is a battery life? How about text message, email (POP/IMAP/Exchange) linking?
For benefit of this thread and considering your experience with both smart watches, I would really appreciate if you can summarize it in more words than "piece of junk" and "pretty satisfied"
What software and hardware version are you running? I have the frame and music control does not work neither does answering calls. I get only 6.5hrs of battery life. Very poor. I'm running ne community and augmented watch app.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 03:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:45 PM ----------
Jlczl most likely thinks it's a piece of junk because there is another thread on metwatch in which he has given a description of his experiences. I for one felt the same way during that time of discussion. As for now I sit on the fence. It's not bad but not great either.
In comparison to the pebble, the metawatch is very slow on the development side.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
vectron said:
For benefit of this thread and considering your experience with both smart watches, I would really appreciate if you can summarize it in more words than "piece of junk" and "pretty satisfied"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. I'm using the Sony SmartWatch MN2. I don't remember much about the Metawatch but suffice it to say once I got the Sony I realized how behind the MetaWatch was. I was using the Noah Edition and it still didn't have near the functionality of the Sony.
With the Sony my Gmail and text messages appear on my watch in their entirety (not just the sender name or title), I remotely control my Spotify music, I can see my camera on the watch face and even control the shutter to take a pic, I can turn on audio recording from my watch, I get my Google Now notifications on my watch as well as the obvious answer and/or reject calls from it. All of this in color, with a touch screen, on my own watch band and for almost half the price. I can choose from a variety of watch faces depending on what looks better and on how much I want my battery to last. To get a week between charges I use a watch face that only appears when I double tap the screen or push the side button. If I use the "always on" watch face it'll only last about 2 days before it needs a charge.
The MetaWatch has a build and screen that leaves a lot to be desired. It really does remind me of a cheap Casio. Additionally, I was never able to get consistent operation for music on it. The buttons sometimes took forever to respond so I never new when a button press had really registered or not. On top of that it just quit taking a charge all of a sudden and never turned back on. The high price, limited and alpha software, and Jr High school appearance was too much so I ended up returning it. On the upside they were very gracious about the return and didn't give me a hard time about it at all.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
Thank you guys for your feedback on both MW and Sony MN2SW. Hopefully one of these days I will get a chance to review Sony and Pebble watches.
Regarding Sony smart watch, can you preview POP/IMAP accounts in addition to GMail? How about Exchange account? That would be the most important features for me personally.
Regarding my MW Strata watch, its running SW/FW 1.35 and HW Rev F which supposed to be the latest. I have read about issues with pre 1.35 SW version and problems with battery and other functionality. v1.35 is solid and running like a champ. No issues with music control. Make sure you have in Watch Apps setting to enable Media Control Method as "Emulate headset buttons", and I also have "Inverse Media Player Buttons" since I care more about next/prev track skip rather than volume up/down control. What I like is how I can press Play from a that audio control and it starts playing on my phone, and it also displays the song name/artist (but only after the first track skip when it read the audio info). With a default audio player you have to start Play from the phone, and then can control it from the watch. No issues with a phone, but I did notice when I'm in a car and paired up with my head unit in there, I can receive calls without a problem, but sometime can't dial out. Hopefully they will be able to fix it soon.
Regarding response of the control and switching between pages on the phone, I do agree. CE and NE is painfully slow and sometime there is at least 1s-2s delay. It's simply because those custom Manager are not optimized for the latest firmware/software. When you use the latest official MW Manager - any control or switching between pages is lighting fast. That is why I put a lot of hope and will give MW guys a benefit of a doubt they will get the official MW Manager on par with NE Manager. If you combine features of NE Manager with a speed and graphics of a new MW Manager and add some custom analog and digital watch faces - it will take MW smartwatch to the next level.
Btw, thanks for the pointer about Augmented Watch app. I will test it out and let you know how it works for me (contacted them already, fantastic support and fast response from Adrian). Also, I wonder if your poor battery life has to do with a fact that you are not running v1.35? With everything I'm running right now (NE Manager, EA+ widgets, etc.) I had it charged up about 8 hours ago, and my watch battery is only 1% down. I had hardly any emails during this time, so not my "vibrations" or use of backlight. It was mostly idling during that 8 hours where I just check to see if I got any new emails by checking EA+ counter and Notification history. But still, that's impressive. Not pretty-face like Sony, but impressive in terms of geek-face functionality
apallohadas said:
Couple of questions:
1) Does it have a low light setting or at least a setting to invert the black/grey hues?
2) At $130 it's something of a luxury price for novelty functions. Do you think it's ready for Prime Time (so to speak)?
3) I noticed you have Torque installed on your phone. Just an awesome app!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry bro, missed you post.
1) In a Quick Setup picture I posted, the middle setting on the left inverts the color. Also, NE Manager has an option to Invert LCD "where appropriate", and I assume it's tied up with a light sensor.
2) I think as technology will become more mainstream, the price will go down. Right now $130 is actually discounted from their usual $180 price. In my opinion Sony's MN2SW recent discount/price drop to $99 (I'm sure in lieu of slow sales and/or announcement of new smartwatch in the upcoming Asia EXPO) is more reasonable for this technology. Prime Time ready? I think software content is the main driving force and probably the reason why Apple, Samsung, and Google hasn't announced anything yet. Hardware is the easiest part in this case. The only way to be prime time ready is to have a strong app/widget and solid software/firmware content. That explains success of MetaWatch and Pebble open source release, and also recent announcement by Sony to open their code source for some devices. For sure, its Geek Time ready
3) Yep, have OBDII bt dongle and Torque premium. Unfortunately, never get a chance to use it in the car because I run Google maps Nav all the time. Both of our Nexus 7 tablet in use by wife and kids (those have bt connection), and my other cheap tablet doesn't have bt. But in general that app is SICK!!! Btw, MN800 thingy from Sony (I got it for $20 of ebay - nice teaser of Sony's smart watches) has a free Torque app/widget which connects to your phone and can give you a remote view of one of the gauges. I might just end up using it that way
As a side note, having these bt smart watches puts some toll on your battery. Considering that I had to install K-9 and TouchDown in order to access unread mail count and constant BT connection - that can cost you an extra 10%-15% of battery a day. More advantage to use ZeroLemon 9300; just wish those guys would release a rugged case soon!!!!
vectron said:
As a side note, having these bt smart watches puts some toll on your battery. Considering that I had to install K-9 and TouchDown in order to access unread mail count and constant BT connection - that can cost you an extra 10%-15% of battery a day. More advantage to use ZeroLemon 9300; just wish those guys would release a rugged case soon!!!!
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Click to collapse
Good point. I started using a Motorola Roadster 2 bluetooth speaker in my patrol car. Just 100% awesome, but it does take it's toll a bit on battery as you mentioned. Perhaps 10% on a heavy day of calls and getting in/out of the car waking up the bt connection, etc.
Time for me to take a look at that Sony watch now!
I think this watch has a lot of promise as soon as development kicks in more and more same as pebble one. As far as the sony Mn2 looks good but with the motoactv ypu can do the same as the sony and more by rooting the device where all the info is here in xda. One thing I like about the metawatch and pebble is the water resistant part were y o u can swim with it or take showers with it and still control your music player or so from the water. Time will add more and more of this smartwatches and better features.
sent from my t-mo note 2
Thanks vectron. Yes I am running s/w version 1.35.
When I purchased my watch everyone on eBay was selling hardware version G. I purchased mine from the official site and received hardware E.
Apparently people on the support page / metawatch forums are getting 3 days of battery use i.e running 14 hrs a day @ an average of 5 messages per hour with h/w G.
From my research, h/w E's are the ones with issues. I have both the black and white frame metawatch and both are suffering from poor battery life.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
What Rom are you using on your Note and how do you have it set it up?.
---------- Post added at 03:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:12 PM ----------
For that price the watch is very limited.
I got the Motorola Motoactv when it was on sale for $150, it came with the wrist strap, belt clip, and heart rate monitor. It's full color touch screen, and runs android. I get 2-3 days out of the battery.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
coquipr said:
I think this watch has a lot of promise as soon as development kicks in more and more same as pebble one. As far as the sony Mn2 looks good but with the motoactv ypu can do the same as the sony and more by rooting the device where all the info is here in xda. One thing I like about the metawatch and pebble is the water resistant part were y o u can swim with it or take showers with it and still control your music player or so from the water. Time will add more and more of this smartwatches and better features.
sent from my t-mo note 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I think full water protection is an awesome feature. But the ability to view display in direct sunlight and under any indoor/outdoor condition - that is priceless. Plus you can set it up to turn the backlight on whenever you receive a message so even in the dark you can view your notifications. Haven't heard much about motoactv as a smartwatch since it always referred to as exercise watch, but I just looked up and see references how to enhance it's functionality with a rooted phone and augmented smartwatch app to get all the notifications and to be able to use it with any other phone beside Motorola.
Btw, my Note 2 is not rooted. Because of my work's Exchange security policy, I'm not allowed to root. So everything is stock and works as is.
And yes I do agree, with time we are going to see more and more new smartwatches. As a matter of fact, MetaWatch guys mentioned they are working on a lot of new updates, including new "sexy" hardware. I will definitely give them a benefit of a doubt. They were first out of the door, kept their kickstarter promise, and have a head start for next gen learning from experience of the current gen.
removed.
Good review! Thank you
Sent from my GT-I9295 using Tapatalk
Great review and love the pics. Thanks for the bump and glad you liked the ROM.
Good review, but wehre can i download the companion app? Followed the four guys ond G+, but found no link.
dragon-tmd said:
Good review, but wehre can i download the companion app? Followed the four guys ond G+, but found no link.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's still being tested.
i wish we can replace the strap...but unfortunately cannot
Before anyone asks, yes, it can run ingress. But due to the display size, it's not usable.
(although, having ingress installed means I get notifications, which is a bonus)
I want this watch bad. Will be my next smart watch for sure
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk
mjb said:
Before anyone asks, yes, it can run ingress. But due to the display size, it's not usable.
(although, having ingress installed means I get notifications, which is a bonus)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does Ingress deal with multiple devices?
Pretty nice review, now I'm waiting for my November Developer Edition 1GB/8GB very anxiously. How was the flashing process? Did yours come rooted or non-rooted? :laugh:
dust ?
From the pictures, a lot of dust seems to be stuck on the watch?
bouaroudj said:
From the pictures, a lot of dust seems to be stuck on the watch?
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Click to collapse
Yes I too was wondering about the same thing. I did not believe it to be dust but simply the unpolished look of the watch. I am hoping it is dust and I am wrong because from the pictures the watch does not look like a polished quality finish
Srwilliams said:
Yes I too was wondering about the same thing. I did not believe it to be dust but simply the unpolished look of the watch. I am hoping it is dust and I am wrong because from the pictures the watch does not look like a polished quality finish
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The watch has glass screen - fingerprints will be noticeable, metal case - that one is solid, and cheap silicone/rubber wristband - sort of a dust magnet, no way around it since it's not replaceable. The value of TS is not in a rubber wristband, but in the watch itself
vectron said:
The watch has glass screen - fingerprints will be noticeable, metal case - that one is solid, and cheap silicone/rubber wristband - sort of a dust magnet, no way around it since it's not replaceable. The value of TS is not in a rubber wristband, but in the watch itself
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Click to collapse
Vectron:
I can understand and appreciate your response.
By the way I want to go out my way to express to you my sincere appreciation of you making sure you addressed the speakerphone matter that I had raised in earlier posts. You are the first and only one who has addressed the issue and let us know that the speakerphone is plenty loud enough for calls, something I decried about the Samsung Galaxy Gear.
By the way that was the best user review I have seen on a phone or watch phone. Everyone ghets into all of these specifications and technical matters and forget to cover the basics like "how does the watch feel, look---is it too large---is the screen really visible---If I make a call can I hear the other person and vice versa---all of these nonthechnical matters that go into an everyday user experience (and not from a developers or customizer's perspective) you attempted to cover and quite well I might add.
I can't wait for you to be able to report on the companion, bluetooth tethering capabilities of the watch if that ever comes to be. But for all of us nontechies your review and evaluation has been heaven sent
Srwilliams said:
Vectron:
I can understand and appreciate your response.
By the way I want to go out my way to express to you my sincere appreciation of you making sure you addressed the speakerphone matter that I had raised in earlier posts. You are the first and only one who has addressed the issue and let us know that the speakerphone is plenty loud enough for calls, something I decried about the Samsung Galaxy Gear.
By the way that was the best user review I have seen on a phone or watch phone. Everyone ghets into all of these specifications and technical matters and forget to cover the basics like "how does the watch feel, look---is it too large---is the screen really visible---If I make a call can I hear the other person and vice versa---all of these nonthechnical matters that go into an everyday user experience (and not from a developers or customizer's perspective) you attempted to cover and quite well I might add.
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Click to collapse
Reviews like his take a lot of load off the developers and is very much appreciated. Doesn't mean there won't a developer review but in this case his review definitely give us some breathing room and time to actually use the TS vs fixing things. For example, I still have yet to actually play with mine yet and I've had it over a week now.
Thank you all for the kind words! As you have seen from my Index Review page on XDA: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2192333 I take every review very seriously, either if its $5 screen protector or $15 case or $200 smartwatch or $500 headphones. I actually started doing these reviews with a main intent to answer questions left open by all those other "pro" dry reviews on specialized websites where they list spec, summarize their opinion in one paragraph and post a bunch of picture that still doesn't provide a clear "picture" of the product. I also hated user reviews posted in the forum with low res picture shots from a phone in poor lighting. But anyway...
TS shaping up to be a great product with unlimited capabilities. For those interested to start testing Companion app, make sure to check Kurt's G+ page with instructions (the references were provide in the latest KS update), and for those who already have the watch - YOU MUST flash it with Loki's latest ROM. It's not even a matter of question.
Heh Vec:
Does your above post indicate that there is a Companion app or tool that is now available, but being tested and refined. If so that is great news and puts me in the position of making my purchase
Excelent review, I can't wait more for mine.
Enviado desde mi GT-I9100 mediante Tapatalk
Hello vectron,
Thanks for your good and detailed review.
I am currently using a MetaWatch Frame. I tried also Sony SmartWatch 2, but the vibration motor was too loud, so I returned it. All people around me would have heard every mail or SMS I got with this loud vibration.
The vibration of the MetaWatch is discreet, like it should be.
I saw in your reviews, that you tested a MetaWatch Frame.
1. Is the vibration of the Omate TrueSmart loud or discreet?
2. Is the vibration on the Omate TS louder than the MetaWatch Frame? How is the vibration of the TS compared with the MetaWatch Frame?
3. Did you also try the Sony SmartWatch 2? If yes, how is the vibration loudness of the TS compared with the Sony Smartwatch?
Enlightenment79 said:
Hello vectron,
Thanks for your good and detailed review.
I am currently using a MetaWatch Frame. I tried also Sony SmartWatch 2, but the vibration motor was too loud, so I returned it. All people around me would have heard every mail or SMS I got with this loud vibration.
The vibration of the MetaWatch is discreet, like it should be.
I saw in your reviews, that you tested a MetaWatch Frame.
1. Is the vibration of the Omate TrueSmart loud or discreet?
2. Is the vibration on the Omate TS louder than the MetaWatch Frame? How is the vibration of the TS compared with the MetaWatch Frame?
3. Did you also try the Sony SmartWatch 2? If yes, how is the vibration loudness of the TS compared with the Sony Smartwatch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good questions. As you have seen, I been working with MetaWatch for awhile and have//reviewed their STRATA/FRAME models - the main purpose is to receive email notifications and not to miss calls. The vibration is just perfect with MW. I can't comment on SW2. I'm on the list of Sony accessory reviewers and have talked to their PR firm about review sample. Unfortunately, they are delaying sending review products, and I have a feeling it has something to do with a lot of recent posts about quality control (people have screen popping off, problem with buttons, etc).
For me personally, Notification feature is #1 requirement for TS. But it's still in alpha testing and I wasn't able to get it to work yet, possible due to some setup issues. Trust me, as soon as I have a more stable release version and can get it to work on my TS - I will post a detailed review.
Another great thing Kurt is working on is OWatchOn app which turns the display on when you raise your arm. It's work in progress as well, and Kurt is fine tuning it. So far you need a specific angle/position to turn the display on, but he will add more options where you can customize it.
I tried loki's rom and didn't really like it. Back on stock now but I have installed his mod.
Sent from my TrueSmart using Tapatalk
The overall styling is do classic
Check out the review below for more details
http://youtu.be/BdbM9ISArnI
Nice review.
I like the split screen transition especially, but overall they were all well done.
My only criticism would be that when you post here, on XDA, be more clear that you're linking to your review of the watch. Just be a little bit more clear.
Keep up the good work
Thanks for the nice review.
Periodically looking at Amazon reviews, which are raving for the most part. Best watch ever created, no problems etc. Given all the problems being bought up here, I have to wonder, are these reviews for real? I had the same experience with some IP security cameras I bought.. all these rave reviews about how great they were, easy to install and set up... No one mentioning the complications and issues of port forwarding needed to access cameras remotely. They were not even close to being easy to set up, even the tech support had trouble getting them set up via remote access. (I actually ended up figuring it out myself after they gave up and said the advanced tech support would call me.) That experience left me wondering if these review are actually legit...
Are they Verified?
swngdncr said:
Periodically looking at Amazon reviews, which are raving for the most part. Best watch ever created, no problems etc. Given all the problems being bought up here, I have to wonder, are these reviews for real? I had the same experience with some IP security cameras I bought.. all these rave reviews about how great they were, easy to install and set up... No one mentioning the complications and issues of port forwarding needed to access cameras remotely. They were not even close to being easy to set up, even the tech support had trouble getting them set up via remote access. (I actually ended up figuring it out myself after they gave up and said the advanced tech support would call me.) That experience left me wondering if these review are actually legit...
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Look for Amazon Verified Purchase. Also, not every one is as tech savvy or as picky as many of the folks here. This is a fine looking watch and functions well as such.
The reddish brown tint is a little annoyance that I would not of even noticed if it was not mentioned here and even after it was it took me a while to make out what they were talking about. I don't think the HRM on any of the devices I have owned is even 75% accurate most of the time and this is not what I would call a sport watch. The black one looks a little more sporty but who wants a metal band on a sport watch?
Most of the time, people that are happy with something will rarely come here unless they are a total tech head. For example, over a million Samsung 6 edge phones were sold and take a look at the forum total for that device and you get the idea that maybe five percent of the people that buy these things ever learns about the device.
So if all you read and believe comes from XDA then you will pass on a lot of devices that actually work well under normal use. Consider the source, I'm keeping my watch because it is a great looking watch and does what I need it to do. It comes with a year warranty so if there is a problem that becomes unbearable, I will exercise that right. Go to you tube and watch the reviews of the watch there and also the V.S. comparisons. You'll find that most of them are positive and everyone agrees that this is the nicest watch they own for style, usability, and functionality. It's whatever your personal experience is and your unique preference that is going to make you love or hate this device.
Well put.
I'm happy with my watch even though it has the red tint. I figure this thing only needs to last maybe two years before it looks like a dinosaur. I don't have all of the problems. I would give it four stars. Five if they fix the red tint and the twist to wake algorithm.
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I have kind of stopped coming here because my experience with the watch has been great. The watch looks great, the screen is great and i have gotten multiple compliments on it. It just doesn't match at all the feedback I get from some users here.
My only complaint would be the low vibration strength. I hear the vibration more than feel it. Most times that isn't a problem, but it can be when I'm wearing headphones. I'm trying to figure out if it's a big enough problem to go in a different direction.
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What @vvveith is saying is mostly true - consider the source. Amazon reaches a very large audience and there's no way to know what level of experience those reviewers are comparing against. But since @swngdncr posted the question here on XDA, you'll get a more scrutinous answer. There are basically two kinds of people who visit XDA: 1. Those with an extreme technical knowledge and expertise and 2. Those who want to chat with/collaborate with/get the opinion of #1. That is the kind of community we have here and it's AWESOME.
A very large percentage of what is posted on these boards have little to no relevance to a very large percentage of the general population. But for those of us who are like-minded, we relish the exchange here. Personally, for me, I feel a little let down by Huawei - not because AUO shipped them a batch of defective displays (issues like these are commonplace for early adopters) but because they refuse to acknowledge the issue or even really communicate with their customers. They have engineered insulation in the form of a 3rd party support staff who runs the US call center and forums and cannot speak "officially" on behalf of Huawei but there is no way to contact Huawei directly.
They are a huge player overseas and with a $400 watch, I expect top quality. Like others have mentioned, other watches use similar technology (LG) and do not have these issues. Considering this is their first major entry into the US market, my view of them is now tarnished and I am concerned around support and quality of the upcoming 6P which previously had no doubt in my mind that it would be my next phone.
Good points from everyone. Yes, Amazon is going to have a much broader audience, but in general, it seems to me that the market for Smart Watches is stronger in those who lean to the techi side of things. I've got a couple of decades on most of the people here, and certainly in my social circle, there are very few, almost none in fact that are interested in SW, and those who are, it's the Apple Watch. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, but I would expect that the market for this watch is going to be more heavily weighted to people with technical inclinations that are less likely to accept the kinds of defects that are being reported here. It would be interesting to know what the return rates at Amazon, Google and BB are, and whether the return rate reflects the reviews. Doesn't seem like Huawei is taking a book from how Fitbit is handling their QC issues with the Surge and the Charge, I've now got two replacement Surges, one because of condensation under the screen, the second because the strap is failing. Fitbit is handing out replacements like candy at Halloween... the didn't even ask for pictures on the strap, or that I return the defective product. They do not want to get a bad rap.
I am certainly in the number 2 group of XDA participants Wyld describes... I have technical inclinations, but didn't grow up with tech.. I was an adult by the time PC's started coming into peoples homes. But I come here to learn and get the most out of my devices. I rooted and installed a custom ROM on my Asus Transformer Prime, all with the help of the wonderful people here on XDA who seem very willing to help out people like myself. I also love the tolerance here... seems that most are very respectful of others opinions... that is refreshing. -cjr-
wy1d said:
What @vvveith is saying is mostly true - consider the source. Amazon reaches a very large audience and there's no way to know what level of experience those reviewers are comparing against. But since @swngdncr posted the question here on XDA, you'll get a more scrutinous answer. There are basically two kinds of people who visit XDA: 1. Those with an extreme technical knowledge and expertise and 2. Those who want to chat with/collaborate with/get the opinion of #1. That is the kind of community we have here and it's AWESOME.
A very large percentage of what is posted on these boards have little to no relevance to a very large percentage of the general population. But for those of us who are like-minded, we relish the exchange here. Personally, for me, I feel a little let down by Huawei - not because AUO shipped them a batch of defective displays (issues like these are commonplace for early adopters) but because they refuse to acknowledge the issue or even really communicate with their customers. They have engineered insulation in the form of a 3rd party support staff who runs the US call center and forums and cannot speak "officially" on behalf of Huawei but there is no way to contact Huawei directly.
They are a huge player overseas and with a $400 watch, I expect top quality. Like others have mentioned, other watches use similar technology (LG) and do not have these issues. Considering this is their first major entry into the US market, my view of them is now tarnished and I am concerned around support and quality of the upcoming 6P which previously had no doubt in my mind that it would be my next phone.
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Try the app vibration notifier
I agree with most of what you guys said. Despite the problems it's a great watch. Just one thing for now that I am actually missing: the qi charging. Today the watch had terrible battery life and I had a qi enabled battery pack on my bag, but the watch charger at home... That fact alone made me consider exchange the HW for the new 360.
I just got mine last night. It's the black case with the black metal band. I ordered one of the "used" ones from Amazon Warehouse, and as far as I can tell it's perfect. I think the only issue was that its box had been scuffed up a bit, which is why they weren't selling it as new. Seems silly to me, but it was over $100 off MSRP, so whatever. Anyway, so far so good: no issues with red tint, charger connection, flickering screen, etc. It's funny, because after reading all the stuff here, I was mentally prepared to ship it right back to Amazon, assuming it would have numerous flaws. But it's really just a great-looking watch!