Related
Sony Smart Watch 3 Review
TLDR? Quick version here.
First Impressions: A small plain little box, clear plastic and the rather plain looking watch. It’s all quite an non-fancy affair, simple and nondescript. The watch is just like the box, plain and simple looking. Actually I like it in the flesh more than in photos, the matte black strap with the silver clasp and the black face. Mind you in photos the metal silver one looks considerably more fancy. I’ve seen it said that you should be able to buy the silver strap and transfer the watch face into it. That is something I certainly fancy the idea of.
Specifications: OS Android Wear, Display Resolution 320 x 320, Colors 16 bit, Diagonal Size 1.6", Transflective TFT LCD, Dimensions 36mm x 10mm x 51mm, Weight Watch Module 38g, Sport armband 36g, Battery 420mAh, Processor 1.2 GHz, Quad-core ARM® Cortex™ A7, Water and Dust Resistance IP68, Memory 4GB eMMC with 512 MB RAM, Ports & Connectors Micro USB, Connectivity Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi ready, Sensors Ambient Light, Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyro, GPS, Vibration Motor, Microphone
Okay that’s a lot of spec’s. so what bits of it matter? Well it’s pretty similar to most Android Wear watches. The RAM, the CPU, the storage space, the screen size and resolution are pretty much all the some as every other one. So why did I buy this one? Well that’s easy but unless you know about screen technologies you won’t have picked up what makes the Sony Smartwatch 3 different.
Accessories: Well the 3 comes in an assortment of coloured strap options. It also can come in metal and personally I think the metal one one looks freekin’ awesome. Sony did once say they were going to make the metal band available……… yeah they still haven’t and at this point I don’t see it coming. You can buy the rubber straps, they do black, white, luminous yellow or bright pink. Yet those straps seem to go for over £30. Errr no. Ebay also seems largely bereft of things, other than screen protectors. They also curiously do a universal holder thing. You put the watch facing into a rather unattractive black plastic holder and that then attaches to standard fitting watch straps. If it was metal and not black plastic I’d be all over that but as it stands, na, it’s pretty ugly.
Fit/Comfort: Excellent on both accounts. Now for charging the snap shut strap band thingy may be a pain in that it doesn’t separate but for use on the arm? Great stuff. Set to the size I wanted, hand goes in, snap the thing closed and voilà. I’m normally not wild about plastic/rubber straps as I find it traps sweat and you can get a bit of skin irritation. Though its easily cleaned and because the strap comes away from the electronic bit you can stick it under a running tap.
Screen: Some Android wear watches use AMOLED which only consumes power as it lights up individual pixels. So a mostly black screen will use relatively little power, a mostly white and it’ll eat much more. Then there is a normal LCD display. They work by shining a light behind the screen then the screen blocks out colours to make a picture. The whole screen is powered up no matter if you show a mostly black face or mostly white. The key similarity with both technologies is that they need to consume power to light up in order to be visible.
The Sony watch uses a transflective screen. If you don’t know what that means I’ll explain. An AMOLED screen is emissive, each pixel emits its own light. A normal LCD is a transmisive screen, allowing light to pass through the screen and it has to be bright enough to be visible, which is why LCD screens are pretty rubbish in the sunshine. A transflective is different. Transflective screens have a backlight just like a normal LCD but it also is reflective. That means with the back light (the power hungry backlight) is off you can still see what’s on the screen by utilising the ambient light of where you are. This makes is possible to permanently have the time showing on the display! Something that is kinda handy for a watch. It also means that in the brightest sunshine you can still read the screen too, in fact the brighter the environment the more light there is for it to reflect, just like an e-ink screen would. A feature I for one think rather useful in a watch.
Simply put this screen is what makes it a viable device to use in real, normal life.
UI: The user interface is the standard Android Wear one. Everything is a sequence of up/down to get to new cards. Then scrolling left to progressively go into that cards details. So the weather one, first card tells you the weather right now. The next card to the right tells the weather for the next series of hours then the next one gives you the option to open the app on your phone. The cards you have available changes based on what Google Now cards Google thinks are appropriate. Oh and of course any notifications you have outstanding. Personally I’d like the weather card to be always available. So I have to not sweep it away and sometimes you just do it without thinking.
It is actually a bit complex when you start adding in all the different notifications and different apps that add cards, you can over load yourself. You can fill it up and make it practically as complex to use as your phone is. Add in your own app drawer and everything, Wear Mini Launcher is so freekin’ awesome!!! Sure it’s not for everyone but if you want complexity and having every imaginable option in the world available to you then it’s just fantastic. I personally love it and the interface to all my apps it provides. However in many ways it’s not what you want for a watch and I understand that. It’s not for everyone and as is shown by the Iphone popularity, mind numbingly locked down and limited is a boon to many.
In short the UI can be as complicated as you like, though it can still be fairly simple if you want it that way but it require you to remember what commands you have available to you so it may not be for everyone.
Features: Erm anything and everything just about. In terms of what’s common in a smart watch the things it doesn’t have is Qi charging and more oddly, no heart Rate monitor function. Now given I have things that can do that, I’m aware just how not super useful that functionality is, they don’t monitor you continuously because it would destroy the battery so it’s only read when you tell it to. Sony for some reason, in might I add its very sporty looking watch, did not include it. The trade-off it seems is that it has built in GPS rather than simply relying on the phone (which may be in a pocket or at home) so the watch can chart your outdoors run itself. Yeah I live in Edinburgh and don’t run so it’s not such a boon to me.
The other lacking item, no Qi means that you have an awkwardly placed micro USB slot to charge it underneath a rubber flap. This is so awkward to use, I immediately hit up old ebay and got a right angle adapter for the damn thing. Seriously Sony what the F were you thinking? I know it does have a better water proof rating, IP68, which has been said is thanks to the rubber flap but I don’t see how Qi would have made that worse?
The thing also has not just Bluetooth but Wi-Fi too so….. what that means is you can use the watch without a phone. Stream Google Music directly to your Bluetooth headphones while on your run outside that the built in GPS can track for you. You can leave your gigantic phone at home. Though where you’re getting Wi-fi that you wouldn’t be wanting your phone with you anyway, yeah I don’t know. A gym that bans phones maybe?
Frankly, far and away the best “feature” on the 3 is that transflective screen. Words can’t express how useful it is over the highly pretty but battery destroying AMOLED on the 360. Personally having used both, I don’t think I’d buy a non transflective screened watch. Well e-ink maybe.
Build Quality: Very good. I have mixed thoughts on the rubbery strap, that may be because Sony swore the Silvery metal one would be coming separately and it yet has to. Still it’s nice so ignore my bitter grumble. Its everything you would just expect from something Sony stamped on it.
Usability: Well its really up to you. If you want it nice and simple you can keep it pretty simple. If you don’t then you can add it full of everything and have it tell you whatever you like. It really was a joy to use, I vastly preferred it over my Moto 360 and its retarded circularish screen. While the almost round screen looks great and watch like but the fact is square is more functionally useful. It just is better to use. Seriously, everything is made squareish, try imaging what a round monitor, round TV or round book would be to use. Square make it so easy to just swipe in or out across the screen. Round is awkward and frustrating. I really cannot emphasis enough how nice to use the Smart Watch 3 is. It’s so pleasant and easy, straight forward and really what I would hope all Android Wear things to be.
Battery: When it’s behaving, 2 days and maybe into a third depending on how much you use the thing. That’s what it’s like on a good days however, since the last update it got, I think that turned on the Wi-Fi direct thing the battery sometimes seem to just tear through the battery. I mean in half a day its gone. I don’t know what causes this battery abuse and thus I don’t have any way to avoid the circumstances that cause the battery destruction. Its entirely unpredictable and thus when it happens the first you may know of it is when you go to use the thing and it’s just dead. Very frustrating, VERY VERY VERY, get it fixed Sony, Google whoever is to blame.
N.B. So of course just after writing there was an update, seemingly it has cured the random battery drain issue so it’s back to being great. Still I’m not giving it weeks to time to test and confirm it’s cured so that’s why I’m leaving this as is.
Connectivity: It has Bluetooth® 4.0, NFC, Micro USB and Wi-Fi. It doesn’t specify the WiFi so I have taken it to be 802.11G. NFC doesn’t seem to do much but assist in pairing super easily. Though I suppose that if Google Pay is less utterly useless than Google Wallet was then maybe one day you might be able to pay for things with it. I however, would certainly not hold my breath on that one. (Frowny face at Google.) Otherwise Bluetooth worked just perfectly and without the faintest whiff of an issue. Paired easy, stayed connected, always reconnected easily and range was great.
Value: The metal one is currently going for about £185ish which is roughly what the Rubberbanded ones started at. They however have since plummeted to about £110. I look at the Smart Watch 3, at the £60 odd fit bit and my god, the 3 is vastly, vastly, vastly better and more feature filled. If you want it to be just a pedometer it’ll do that and act as a watch should and tell you the time. That’s already double what the Flex can. The other reason why this is super good value is that transflective screen. There is no way you can quite grasp how important that screen is. It stays visible not just in the blazing sunshine but it can be always on with negligible power consumption. You can glance at your arm and see the time!!!! Trust me these sound so stupid and trivial and they are too. They are right up until you use an Android Wear watch that has a normal type of emissive display. Just trust me on this.
Conclusion: The Smart Watch 3 isn’t a faultless device. That wonky battery issue is the most glaring thing but it’s only a software issue as it didn’t do it before. At present it seems cured however. The lack of Qi, well with the right angled adapter I bought it’s not so bad anymore and the rubber cover flap thing, well I’ve just gotten used to it. The positives waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than make up for it. That screen. That tranflective screen is the star feature of the 3. Sure when you first see it, it won’t wow you. It does look a little washed out in comparison to the stunning OLED one of the 360. It looks so lacking in colour and mildly greyed out. Ahhh but then you walk outside. You can see the 3 perfectly, it is perfectly clear somewhat like those of e-ink screens. The 360 in comparison may as well be a mirror attached to your arm.
So what about indoors then? It not like Edinburgh is blessed with endless days of brilliant sunshine. So the watch, on your arm, you flick it ever so slightly and glance down. With the 3 you can read the display and see the time, all the time. In theory the 360 can light up with a wrist flick but it’s not a subtle wrist flick or you can have it always, dimly lit. That destroys the battery like you would not believe. The transflective one on the 3 is the screen type that ALL Android Wear watched ought to use. Google needs to mandate its use. Yes it really is that good over normal display types.
The rest, well that’s really a question of if you want an Android Wear watch. I’d say you do if you have bothered to read this. It’s not something you will ever need but it’s so convenient glancing at your wrist rather than pulling out your ginganto phone just to see the time or to see who it was that just texted you. The little vibration on the wrist I found super helpful in actually noticing notifications too. That and telling the time was worth it for me. You? Well only you can answer that but if you have read this far, you clearly want one and the Smart Watch 3 is no question, THE Android Wear watch to get.
N.B. i did have photos but it seems to be a total arse to add them to XDA, that is why there is none showing.
Nice review. I believe that the usb charge option is great as i can charge it in most places. Nowadays microusb is everywhere. QI charging cannot even use the phone equivalent version so I need to carry the mobile one which is kind of irritating.
Nice review. I am new to the SW3 and currently have an iphone 5s so I'm using with the new iOS Android Wear (I'm hoping to change my phone to a OP2 soon) The functionality on iOS is currently very limited so I'm definitely not getting the most out the device but that aside I'm enjoying the experience.
Do you really thing NFC will not be able to be use for Android pay? I really hope it will.
Motorola Moto 360 (2014) Smart Watch Review
First off, yes you read the title correctly. This is a review of the original 360 and not the brand new one. Why you may ask, well in part because I’ve been meaning to write this for ages and partly because there are simply somethings that you do not pick up on if you have used a device for 2 weeks. Something’s you discover only when you have lived with something for a long time and its only then you discover that there are things, had you been aware of, you may not have bothered getting one. Think of it like a marriage. The first while is all fun and laughter but time can breed contempt. So how well has the 360 held up? Should you snap one up cheap and what lessons have we learnt going forward? Let’s see shall we.
First Impressions: Ahhh casting the mind far back into the depths and it arriving in its round box. Ooh so pretty. Inside the watch itself, round too sitting there, it looks bloody good. They have gone out of their way to make you think that the 360 is a watch, not a smart phone or tiny computer, it’s a watch, round and above all a joy for the eyes to behold and well…………… they pretty much nailed it. The 360 was pretty much the unquestioned pretty one among the first wave of Android Wear devices. It is deserved.
Picking it up and it feels so plush and quality. The strap is real dead cow and feels nice to the touch, the facia with its bare metal glass. So much pretty and quality to the touch. I’m not wild about leather straps, I’d rather metal but it seems that Motorola decided that they couldn’t use standard watch strap fittings. I don’t know if it’s just to be awkward but it’s a bloody annoyance. Something that the new one has corrected so clearly Moto picked up on the feedback. Additionally while the leather strap looks nice it has a traditional buckle mechanism, which is not the most straightforward for taking on and off with regularity. This is going to be an issue going forward.
Specifications: Display 1.56” 320 x 290, 205 ppi, Backlit LCD IPS, Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3, Watch Case Dimensions, 46 mm diameter x 11.5 mm high, Weight 60 g (without strap), Battery 320 mAh Wireless charging with charging dock included, Processor TI OMAP™ 3, Memory 4 GB internal storage with 512 MB RAM, Connectivity Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, Wi-Fi, Sensors Pedometer (9-axis sensor), Ambient light sensor, Optical heart rate monitor (PPG), Water Resistance IP67
It also comes in 2 colours, black or silver and a few strap combos too. Though they are proprietary watch straps which is just odd. I mean why do it, urgh.
Accessories: It came with a charger with a built in USB cable, grr. It also came with its little charging dock and a normal micro USB cable for it. If you want more things, like more straps or screen covers, as ever hit up eBay. Sad that they didn’t use normal watch strap attachments but for a bit more money you can still get a fair assortment of straps.
Fit/Comfort: Perfectly fine. It’s a watch, granted it’s a little big for a watch but not wildly so. On it went, and that was basically it. I’d have preferred a metal strap but not enough to go to the bother of actually changing the strap myself.
Screen: AMOLED lovely gorgeous prettiness. The screen is also mostly round, with what’s been dubbed the “flat tire” at the bottom. When the 360 first came out feelings were mixed, some didn’t mind and that thought that it was a good trade-off for having super thin bezels. It’s a shame both perfectly round and thin bezels can’t be had but……. in use you just pick a facia that doesn’t light up the whole screen. Something that isn’t noticeably missing the bottom and then honestly, I didn’t really miss it. Sure when playing with watch faces, perfectly round ones with something obviously missing was the only time it bothered me. Most of the time in use, I didn’t only not mind but I never really even noticed it was there. You just forget that there is anything missing.
However……………… while the “flat tire” thing didn’t bother me what did was the round screen. Does a round screen look pretty, oh god yes it does. Then it’s an AMOLED which just looks sooooooooooooooo pretty it’s just gorgeous, there is just no way around the fact that the 360 is a lovely, super pretty thing. Thing is, there is a reason why we use rectangular monitors and TV’s. A round screen is just stupid. The UI clearly wants things to be square and text especially gets partially cut off at the top and bottom of the screen where it rounds off. It just hammers the functionality and having a Moto 360 and a Sony Smart Watch 3, the Sony is the one I pick up and want to use every day.
UI: Android Wear is Android Wear. It’s in a reasonably rapid state of development still being only a year old. On the whole it’s good, however there is still the screen, rounded and thus missing bits from the top and bottom, issue. The UI is just simply not made with round screens in mind and thus it’s a pain. However the problem is the round face and not the UI in my opinion. Trying not to turn this into an Android Wear review which is a different article entirely. However expect things like swiping in from the upper left to be regularly, mildly frustrating. It’s not terrible but I did get on my nerves.
Features: So the stand out things on the 360, for me, are the round screen, its stunningly good looks, its heart rate sensor and lastly its Qi charging. Now if you are in the know you’ll notice that those are basically the differentiation points between the 360 and the Sony 3.
So that round screen. See above frankly. Pretty but at the price of usability. It really is very pretty but the cost for me is just too high. However if you kept this maybe just for going out of an evening, when pretty really matters then great. It is such a pretty thing.
Heart rate, well it kinda works but it doesn’t seem to continuously monitor so while it is interesting, if you’re a fitness freak why would you be using this device? It would be like wearing dress evening shoes for running. It’ll do the job but it’s clearly the wrong tool for activity.
Qi. Ahhh you know I love Qi charging and I can tell you that every watch should have it. That you slap it down in its little dock, you can instantly see that it’s charging, that any Qi charger works are all boons. It makes charging the thing every night (and you will be charging it every night) not just into a requirement but it turns into a little clock. It lights up with a clock face in the right orientation. Just perfect for living on a bedside table. All Wear watches should have Qi charging.
Build Quality: On the surface, its perfect. The construction quality is exemplary and it’s simply beauteous to behold to both the eye and the fingers. Note that while perfectly built it doesn’t mean you can’t break it. The watch straps and put under pressure can shatter the back screen. While that’s fairly rare it’s a stupid design flaw not a manufacturing issue.
Usability: Take a wild guess what causes a usability issue? Yep that round screen. While it wasn’t as awkward as the Sun S2 with its bevelled edge making it hard to touch things near the edges. The 360 is clean glass right to the edge so you can access it all perfectly. The issue is that the UI is clearly intended for a rectangular screen. So that isn’t really the 360’s fault per say but you get the idea. It doesn’t make anything impossible to do or really much different but a square screen would just be better.
Battery: Well it has a 360mAh battery. The battery is not the issue though, the issue is the screen. That super pretty AMOLED screen you see, needs to be actively transmitting light to be seen. It is an emissive screen and its battery hungry. Then you have the option to have it auto light up with a flick of the wrist or you can have it run in a dim passive mode most of the time so it’s something you can glance at and see. This however is battery destroying. Leaving the screen on and the battery life just plummets like a lead weight. If you make use of the thing or have the dim always lit up feature in use then expect to start charging the thing halfway through your day. I get that the battery itself isn’t the problem, nor can it really grew much physically but that’s not my problem, it’s for Moto engineers to solve. Even if you use it without passively being on still expect the thing to want charged every single night.
Connectivity: So its main method of world communication is via Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy. That’s great, it pairs to your phone, the phone does the thinking and data transmission all over that power sipping Bluetooth connection. You also have the option to use Wi-Fi. You can use it to keep your phone and watch in communication, via Wi-Fi and the internet. You know, for when your phone is out of Bluetooth range yet you still need to be connected to it, if not physically near it. Why you may wonder, I certainly did. The only scenario I can see it popping up is if at work you go to the bathroom, leaving your phone behind but are waiting for some urgent email. You need that notification that it’s come in. It’s a stretch I know, mostly it’s a stupid feature that just further hammers the battery. Of course you can just leave Wi-Fi off which is what I do.
Value: When it launched it was what, £200. So pretty but yeah that battery life. Now with its successor just announced, this will have practically identical functionality and features. Seriously they changed almost nothing, as I see it they have added a smaller one for girls, moved the button up a bit and altered the strap attachment to that of a normal standard watch. Like every other watch on earth. Price though, well this one’s fallen so I saw somewhere selling it for £113. The New one is retailing for US$300, that’s £200 and that’s before VAT and the obligatory you’re not an American price hike. So that makes the old one probably less than half the price of the new one. To me that seems like pretty reasonable value in comparison to the new one.
Conclusion: So what have I learned from the Moto 360 (2014.) I’ve learned that pretty only gets you so far. The 360 is pretty, it’s the prettiest Android Wear device I have seen and the old one, to me is still better looking than the new one. I get that while I *****ed about the straps being some weird proprietary thing and that it can break the glass back of you put them under pressure but…… damn it’s a good looking device. If you want a Wear watch for going out, to look great in a business meeting to impress someone for whatever reason or situation the old 360 is a damn fine looking machine. Oh and that AMOLED, ooooooh just soooooooooooooooooo much pretty.
However, those good looks have left it compromised. Round screen, they are just awkward and there is a reason we don’t use round screens or round sheets of paper, it’s a pain. That strap, the weird fit attachment. Yeah, so for me that means I’m pretty much not changing the strap. I’d really like one with a clasp rather than a buckle because the battery life is such that you need to take the damn thing off every 20 min to charge it. Granted its little dock is cool but you really need one for the office and one for your bedside. Though in fairness any old Qi charger will do fine. AMOLED, it’s just the wrong tech for a watch. I need always on to glance ta the thing and that while better than lighting up a whole LCD screen it is still too battery heavy.
So should you buy one? Well I’d easily buy this over its successor, its price slash makes it waaaaaaaaay better value and offers practically identical functionality and features. Still you have to want to sacrifice usability to get that super pretty round screen. for me, na I’ll take the Sony but if you want something to visually impress on a budget, the old Moto 360 is pretty (oh so pretty) option that won’t destroy your wallet.
The screen on Moto 360 is LCD and not AMOLED. AMOLED will be better for a watch because it consume less battery for always on screen with mainly dark background.
Moto 360 1nd and 2nd are LCD IPS
LG Watch R / Urbane are P-OLED
Huawei Watch are OMOLED
Haier Iron v1 Smartwatch
Introduction
I bet that you know what a smartwatch is, if you're reading this. They come in all sorts of colors, shapes and sizes, and their function is to make the phone-life even easier and better. The most known smartwatches out there are made by big brands such as Samsung, LG and Sony for instance. They are well know because they have succeeded in the phone market by producing good phones and accessories - but have you heard about Haier?
Haier Group is a Chinese multinational consumer electronics and home appliances company that sells everything from refrigerators to phone accessories. And they've made a smartwatch which they named "Haier Iron v1 Smartwatch". With promising specifications and a nicely sized screen, this seemed to look promising to test out and use on my own. Please note that I have never been using a smartwatch before, so this would in many ways be my first experiences using one.
Before we start, you can also read more about the watch, and buy it here: http://bit.ly/1pJQoKL
Also check out my video review (Sorry, new on this – I take constructive feedbacks):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxp5_HGWl8Q
Specifications
According to Haier themselves, these are the specifications on the Haier Iron v1
MTK 2502C chipset
380 mAh battery
Precise heart rate monitor
Bluetooth 4.0
Vibration
64 MB Ram
128 MB local storage
No SD support
No SIM-card support
Built in speaker and microphone
0.2 Megapixel camera
IPS screen protected with Gorilla glass
Stainless steel frame
Silicone wristband
Black
Product weight: 0.11 kg
The dial diameter: 4.0 x 4.7 x 1.0 cm / 1.57 x 1.85 x 0.39 inches
Build material
Mainly you’ll find silicone and plastic that has been made to look like steel – which the brand claim it is. However, the finish (the paint) makes it feel a bit premium, and last but not least – lighter. I once had this watch that were made out of a lot of metal, and I remember being quite dissatisfied with it because it was a bit too heavy – which I’m afraid this watch would be with stainless steel (as claimed) – perhaps only the mechanism to lock it to the holes are. The silicone wristband sits very well on my arm, it’s comfortable and doesn’t wackle much.
The LCD screen has a decent amount of pixels, bringing sharp and clear screens of information. The glass is rather impressively scratch resistant, as I already had the watch for 2 months I barely see any scratch at all after daily use.
The charging port lid is fastened to the frame of the clock by rubber, making it flexible and easy to take on and off. Just have to mention that the clock is claimed to be water resistant, but according to the material it’s made of, the missing sealing around the charging port and the gap between the function key and the frame, it seems to be questionable. So, be careful dipping it in water
Features and applications
Clock interface (home screen) with different clock variations (can download more through the official app), and following apps in the app drawer:
Phonebook, Dialer, Call Logs, Messaging, Remote notifier (it forwards the notifcations from the phone to your clock), Find my device, Alarm, Calendar, Bt Music remote control, Remote capture, BT connection settings, File manager, Pedometer, sleep monitor, UI theme settings, sedentary reminder, Heart rate checker, Real time heart rate sensor, sound recorder, Stopwatch, Calculator, settings (clock, sound, vibration, brightness, functions), Camera, Image Viewer.
(I can expand information about the various applications if wanted.)
Features such as waking up the screen when you angle the arm correctly, vibrating and/or sound notifications, strong brightness, pedometer and heart rate sensor makes this a somewhat useful watch. And you won’t believe how useful the calculator is when you suddenly need it.
Also, you can make it sync data collected to your phone, and here android requires an application (Fundo Wear) – I’m not sure about Iphone at the moment. The sedentary reminder is awesome if you’re sitting still for longer periods of time. It reminds you simply to move when it detects you are stationary for a while.
Camera quality is ‘ok-‘ because the resolution is at 0.3 megapixels. But, if we look at the positive things with it, it takes good pictures compared to many similar priced watches. It’s simple, but works.
Heart rate sensor is a bit weak, so sometimes I have to press it against my skin a bit to make it detect anything, but that’s a minor thing only and doesn’t affect my overall experience with it
Pros and cons:
Pros:
Lightweight
Responsive
Battery that lasts through two or more days consecutively
Ability to push notifications from the phone and read a bit of contents
The shape and feel
Charges fast
The GUI
Cons
Speaker quality on loud levels
Camera Quality
It hangs up at some whatsapp notifications (weird)
Personal opinions and do I recommend it?
Well, I wrote the review in a bit personal manner. I stated my opinion along the way, but let me just sum it all in here. I’ve never had a smart watch before now; this is the first one I had. So whatever my opinion is, take that in consideration.
Personally I had much lower expectations to this watch. I didn’t even expect it to function when it came to the camera, notifications and the vibration really got me. How chill isn’t it to just walk with friends, the phone is muted and the only thing you feel is this awesome vibration on your wrist? I don’t even have to pick up my phone from my pocket or anything, just lift my arm.
Yeh I liked it, it impressed me positively in many ways. If you don’t want to waste much money on a Samsung-branded one or similar, or if you just want to experience having a smartwatch, I highly recommend something like the Haier Iron V1.
Price to performance/features: good.
My dice will show: 5 of 6 (considered the price).
Pictures
Attached
Thanks for reading!
Simen
Hi All,
First review so please be kind. I have also posted this at Mod Edit: Link removed.
HomTom HT10 - The eyes have it?
HomTom is a brand who are trying to make a name for themselves by releasing devices at a low price point with interesting features. In reality, HomTom is a subdivision of DooGee so there is shared experience in making decent devices at a reasonable price. I've owned a few lower spec DooGee phones in the past and have found them reasonable given the price tag so will be interested to see how the HomTom HT10 can make a name for itself with a top end set of specifications.
Key Spec:
SoC MediaTek Helio X20 10 Core
CPU 2 x 2.3GHz, 4 x 2.0GHz, 4 x 1.4GHz
GPU Mali T880, 700MHz
RAM 4GB, 933MHz
Storage 32GB + SD Slot
Screen 5.5 inch, 1920x1080, 401ppi
Camera Rear: 21MP, Front: 8MP
Battery 3200mAh
The HT10 is touted as coming with the same Iris Recognition technology that the ill-fated Samsung Note 7 utilised.
Unboxing
The HT10 comes in a plain dark blue box with HomTom branding and with slight wood effect. Opening the box reveals the phone, charger and cable. You don't get any headphones in the package which I'm fine with but the overall impression of the packaging seems a little dated.
A tab reveals a 'secret drawer' containing a wood-effect flip case, and very rudimentary and superfluous instruction booklet.
The flip case actually replaces the removable back cover so doesn't add a great deal of extra weight or size to the HT10 which was a nice touch, though the front is just a simple flap, there is no magnetic magic to keep it shut. final point to note is that this had a screen protector installed which is a bonus.
On the whole a rather boring retail box, I'm not swayed by such things but may be pretty underwhelming for some.
Hardware
Looks-wise the HT10 reminds me of my old Samsung Galaxy S2. A fairly inoffensive shape, with an array of sensors and notification LED at the top and off screen buttons at the bottom.
The first major whinge here is that the buttons are not back-lit, in this day and age this is only excusable in the cheapest of budget phones and certainly at this price point, for a manufacturers top device this is a total no no.
On the top of the phone is a trusty 3.5mm audio jack, and at the bottom we find a standard micro-usb port, 2 speaker grilles and the microphone. On the right side is the power button and volume control.
The screen features the now obligatory '2.5d' glass curving at the edges, and is a decent size though there is a slight element of cheating as there is probably 1mm of black space around the viewable screen meaning that the visible bezels are artificially small.
The rear of the phone has the camera, another microphone and a single LED flash. Again that is a little disappointing as the standard for a top spec phone these days is to have dual-LED flash at least. The back panel is removable and rather cheap feeling plastic, but there are no creaks or areas which depress under pressure.
The sides of the phone are made from metal and look nice - mainly matte silver with a beveled shiny edge. The power/volume buttons seem to have a little lateral play though and could perhaps be slightly better sized to give a more premium feel.
In terms of look and feel I think HomTom have done a reasonable job here. Nothing groundbreaking or uber premium, but it looks and feels nice enough.
Software
The HT10 runs a skinned version of Android 6.0 which seems to be called HomTom Fire. This has inexplicably altered some of the generic Google App icons, such as Play Store and Maps, and as per the majority of import phones does away with the App Drawer in favour of having all apps accessible from the main screens. Though this is what any iPhone user has to deal with, many Android users find this a difficult concept to deal with, but a solution would be to use a third party launcher such as Google Now or Nova. The other option of course is just dealing with it!
There is not a great amount of bloatware on the device which is refreshing, and the majority of what's there can be uninstalled anyway.
Display
I was impressed with the display HomTom have provided for the HT10. Everything looks crisp and clear. The screen is capable of going very bright and I had it set on auto-brightness defaulting to around 40%, and had no issues both at night or in bright sunlight. I could find no evidence of light bleed on my unit which you might expect from a 'budget' device.
Performance
This is where the HT10 really excels. The HT10 comes out very well against more established flagship phones using the main benchmark apps.
Geekbench results below.
Device - Single Core - Multi Core
Oneplus 3 - 1698 - 4015
HT10 - 1655 - 3298
Huawei Nexus 6P - 1212 - 2848
Antutu results below.
Device - Score
Huawei Honor 8 - 94164
HT10 - 87631
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge - 81087
What this shows us is that the HT10 benchmarks very well against phones that are more than twice the price. The Helio X20 SoC that powers the device definitely seems to hit the sweet spot, and we can presume that it's just the Mali GPU that is hindering the scores, but this shouldn't make too much difference if you're not a hardcore gamer
Obviously statistics don't really tell the full story but I've had no issues whatsoever in daily operation of the HT10. I can run all the apps I want with no discernible slowdown.
Iris Recognition Unlocking
Of course the elephant in the room that I've not discussed as yet is the HT10's USP, the 'Second Generation Iris Recognition Unlocking'. What this means in reality is that to unlock the phone you press the power button, then look at the screen. A small window opens up to show you what the iris recognition camera can see, and will tell you to move closer or further away if required. The iris recognition function was present in the top end Lumias released last year, but they were hardly big sellers, and the less said about the Galaxy Note 7 which also has this feature the better.
Apparently iris recognition is much more secure than fingerprint scanners, though I thought fingerprints were unique so I'm not really sure why the wheel needed to be reinvented. The iris recognition works perfectly well in standard light and even darkness, but is very flaky in even moderate sunlight outside. If the iris recognition is unable to match, you are reverted to the standard pin unlock, however irritatingly you still need to confirm the pin meaning an extra screen press when most devices now will unlock automatically after a the right pin is input.
Another annoyance is that the iris unlock takes precedence on the 'unlock screen', so if you are used to your music app telling you what song is playing on this screen you will need to unlock the phone in order to see this.
Overall, this feature is not a disaster, in fact it is certainly pretty cool and definitely (mostly) unique thing to have. I just wish it worked a bit better, and remain to be convinced that it in any way improves on fingerprint unlocking.
Camera
Unfortunately even though the camera in the HT10 (IMX230 Exmor RS) is the same as the one in the best camera phone I've ever owned, the Honor 7, the results from the HT10 were patchy to say the least.
In a well lit situation I could get some of the best photos I've ever got from an 'import phone' (though still miles away from the Honor 7's quality), but as soon as the lighting conditions were less than perfect the photos suffered massively.
In low light both inside and out photos had very poor detailing, with a flattening of features and a watercolour effect.
Hopefully HomTom will be able to resolve this with a software update, as well as the annoying bug which caused the LED flash to activate all the time in auto-flash mode, even in bright sunlight.
If anyone can advise the best way for me to share images I will do this
Other features
Battery life on the HT10 is pretty good. While I'm no power user I managed to get through every day with plenty to spare, at worst I managed to get it down to around 40%, but through general internet/app use and listening to music you'll have no issues at all. The device does apparently feature 'Pump Express' fast charging, but in reality I found it quite slow to charge the 3200 mAH, it took about 3 hours to complete a full charge from flat, though this may be because the charger supplied was not UK spec so I had to use a different one.
Connectivity is fine, I had no issues with my wireless speeds or range, and could get 4G everywhere that I'd expect. The HT10 is touted as a 'Global 4G' phone so all in all the connectivity gets a thumbs up. Bluetooth connected quickly and worked fine in my car for both music and phone functionality.
GPS worked absolutely fine both driving and walking. MediaTek phones have caused me a lot of woe in the past due to poorly performing GPS so they have clearly upped their game.
Music sounded fine through headphones. The loudspeaker is a little flat for music and could be louder for calls but even still it is acceptable.
Conclusion
Taken as a complete package the HT10 really does take some beating for the price. The Iris Recognition seems slightly pointless, and the camera performance isn't anywhere near flagship standard, but in every other area the HT10 performed well, so much so that it has become my 'daily driver' when not reviewing other devices.
Score: 8.5/10
Price when reviewed £199
Review sample kindly supplied by those lovely chaps at LightInTheBox. Head over to Mod Edit: Selling site link removed. for the cheapest price available!
Got myself a HT10 and I agree in your conclusion, but I experienced some touch freeze and poor LTE reception from time to time.
I really hope they fix the camera software asap. The quality is a deal breaker as for now, but the videoquality is strangely very good.
Thanks for the comment.
I've had one occasion where an area of the screen seemed to be unresponsive but this was resolved with a restart. I've not had any 4g problems but am in built up areas most of the time.
The camera performance is the biggest issue and if not resolved would be the one thing that turns me off this device, fingers crossed that it can be solved by an update.
recently bought the Ht10 super great phone feels amazing but i cannot get it to connect to verizons network to call, text or browse any ideas on how to get it working
My main complaints with the HomTom HT10
HARDWARE ISSUES
compass isn't available
NFC isn't available (it was advertised but removed!)
OTG isn't available (it was advertised but removed!)
network reception is bad (3G/4G)
Wi-Fi reception is bad (3G/4G)
not detecting/connecting 5Ghz Wi-Fi networks
audio speaker quality (distortion and not enough bass)
battery losing energy way too quickly
camera quality is bad on low light situation
SOFTWARE ISSUES
- battery saving mode is too aggressive (cannot easily modified for a bunch of Apps)
languages preferences are lost if IDLE or turned off (if you set french language it will comeback later to Netherlands. it could be because Belgium country has multiple official languages (french/nederlands/dutch) or if because the smartphone was shipped from .nl post)
- defaults apps choice in settings is too limited
- If you choose to protect your device with a password (PIN/password/pattern) for intrusion your device is going to freeze and you will have to reboot !
- hardware navigation buttons cannot be modified / edited
- HomTom OS is much less complete than MIUI8 (or even UMI OS)
MAJOR MISC PROBLEM:
There is no official forum to post bugs reports !
There is no updates or fixes for those issues announced.
There is no tutorials yet to flash/root.
Yes, same problem here....
Very HORRIBLE DEAL!!!
One Solution to ROOT FIND ! ! !
KingRoot apk finally works !!!
I tried this version: V4.9.7
by this file: NewKingrootV4.9.7_C152_B341_xda_release_2016_11_14 _20161115194410_105243.apk
IMPORTANT NOTE:
1) I find some bloatware that doesnt wipe out neither with a factory reset
2) the root is factoryreset resistant.
3) Some issue with Wathsapp only when sending stored images.
Best regards!
If you are happy with this please tnx me!
If you have trouble, please share!
Kingroot did not work for me
Westboy82 said:
Yes, same problem here....
Very HORRIBLE DEAL!!!
One Solution to ROOT FIND ! ! !
KingRoot apk finally works !!!
I tried this version: V4.9.7
by this file: NewKingrootV4.9.7_C152_B341_xda_release_2016_11_14 _20161115194410_105243.apk
IMPORTANT NOTE:
1) I find some bloatware that doesnt wipe out neither with a factory reset
2) the root is factoryreset resistant.
3) Some issue with Wathsapp only when sending stored images.
Best regards!
If you are happy with this please tnx me!
If you have trouble, please share!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This method did not work for me, anyone else has any other suggestions on how to root this device?
Please double check the process, is the only way right now to root our Toilet-phone :fingers-crossed:
PS the updated version of the kingroot is here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/devdb/project/dl/?id=22115
Looks & aesthetic:
Happy news for people who love big screens and new experiences \ who are using tablets and mobile for different purposes. So here is the Foldable device which is adaptable with enhanced features.
The device is tall and narrow when using as a 6.2” cover display for calling or texting
when using the square-shaped 7.6" Infinity flex screen it gives you a tab-like experience
The outer layer is made of armor aluminum which is decent and I love the narrow look when I fold it and hold it.
Hinge movements are perfect even at partial folds its fits exactly in the same position as we fold
The fingerprint position has perfectly placed no need for any stressed movements. The fingerprint sensor responds well, no hassle there.
Display:
Dynamic AMOLED 7.6" Infinity flex screen with 6.2-inch cover display both are AMOLED panel with an HD+ resolution (2,268x832) and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus given to display for additional scratch protection/display guard
Samsung features its display is 30% harder but it’s weird that it can be damaged or scratched with nails or keys, So to keep the device from scratches, you could also buy an S pen if you wanna be super cautious or you can use screen protectors which could do the job. I personally use screen protectors from Gadgetshieldz which fits well without any chipping or bubbles popping.
The refreshing rate is 120HZ which enhances the overall responsiveness, especially while gaming.
Gaming & RAM:
Z fold 3 comes with 12GB ram + 256GB and for better speed and smooth graphic experience SD888 is provided which is the latest for Androids but at present Snapdragon888 is mostly available in all devices, Samsung could have done something better and innovative
Camera:
I personally love this new feature of the selfie camera which is behind the 6.2-inch cover display and the four-megapixel sensor is hidden by a pixelated ray or grid pattern which is unnoticeable while playing videos but can be seen under white displays. That’s new and innovative (Samsung has tried to hide the selfie camera with a pixelated ray which is not perfect and the technology has to advance but it still does a decent Job)
Image clarity and details are just Ok and not to be expected more than a decent image. The camera is good but not crisp as s20 or other note series which they refer to as premium mobiles that Samsung delivers. (The camera is good but not crisp as the other premium mobiles from Samsung)
I would rather say that mid-range M series phones from Samsungs have better image quality than Samsung Z fold3.
Samsung should have done it (camera) better when it comes to its flagship model.
Battery:
Battery drains most of the time, yes it depends on your usage but the battery capacity of 4400mAH is not sufficient for the features it offers.
If you use the 7.6” Main display with a 120Hz refresh rate. it’s hard for a device to stay alive all day.
You definitely need a power bank if you are a heavy user or if you travel a lot.
But it’s reasonable: Regarding the battery capacity, it will be challenging for Samsung to provide a higher battery capacity without increasing the thickness or weight of the mobile.
Resistance:
They are provided with IpX8 water resistance which is quite unexpected for a foldable device but I am still skeptical about taking it into the pool or in heavy rain and keep that in mind it's not dust resistant.
OS:
Overall user experience is great. Browsing & Note-taking experience with Dual apps on the same screen is Top-notch. Also, we can use two apps stacked on top of each other at the same time and it has improved the taskbar manager when comparing note series.
In Lab mode: we can resize & customize the majority of things as we wish and in Flex mode: Apps can be adjustable with respect to the display we use. But some applications are Unoptimized for auto resolution.
Instant Mirroring from infinite display to cover display is pretty exciting and smooth.
Some of these new features keep us excited as a Zfold 3 user. Overall User interface and experience give us a freshness from any other device in the market.
S pen:
It comes in two variants one is for $49.99 of basic S pen and $ 99.99 for s pen pro which has a Bluetooth and inbuilt battery with USB port for charging purposes.
You have to get an additional Samsung case to carry your s pen with your mobile but the s pen pro comes with an additional sleek which does not fit in the case so it’s annoyable and the price is too high. (ZFold3 doesn't have a holding option so you have to buy a case that fits perfectly and most cases don't fit and it's quite annoying)
I use a basic S pen which is more than enough and I use it mostly during meetings and note-taking.
Wrapping Up:
So the overall functionality and experience are truly noticeable and appreciable. Samsung did a great job and I’m happy like those who looking forward for pushing new innovative foldable devices.
Highly recommended for people
Who do multi tasking
Who choose work-life balance
Who loves to have a new experience over tech