Android Wear / Smartwatches

[Kchrpm]

Rather than sully up the real watch thread, we can keep track of the coming deluge in here.

The Moto 360 is likely to go on sale next week or shortly thereafter, at $250. The launch event is September 4th.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/14/6002149/motorola-sends-invites-to-a-launch-event-for-phones-headsets-and-the

http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/entry_photo_images/10250363/DSC_0419-2040_verge_super_wide.jpg

To jump in front of that, LG has revealed the G Watch R, which replaces the 360's black strip at the bottom with a thicker bezel that has tick marks.
http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/27/lg-g-watch-r-official/

http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/c7c42933e7357349ae3897644054cfca/200652655/LG+G+Watch+R+1.jpg

Samsung has announced a new, curvier smartwatch based on Tizen, their in-house OS, with its own 3G connectivity.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/27/6076909/samsung-announces-gear-s

http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/entry_photo_images/10524168/Samsung_Gear_S_Blue_Black_2_verge_super_wide.jpg

[Mr Wonder]

Wait. The Moto 360's screen doesn't fill the whole circle? Bastards! I knew it was too good to be true. Most of the mock up shots don't show this and have instead been teasing me with luscious full screen glory. This was a day one buy for me.

That LG looks awful and I don't really like non-circular faces. So I guess I'm out for this round of smart watches...

[Kchrpm]

All of the photos they've shown of the 360 accurately represent the black bar at the bottom, at least the ones I've seen.

This is one of the earliest that I remember, it uses the black face to mask it somewhat but it's still obvious that the tick marks don't go all the way to the bottom.

http://www.droid-life.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/moto-360-official-1.jpg

This is the video from the first press release: http://motorola-blog.blogspot.com/2014/03/moto-360-its-time.html

It's not clear, but at the end you get a couple quick spins of the same models that press image is from, with the tick marks not visible at the bottom.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnerqDWwVgg

[21Kid]

Is there a reason for not filling the whole screen? I still want one. :cool:

[Kchrpm]

That's where the ambient light sensor and connection from the display to the main board are, according to Motorola.

[Freude am Fahren]

I think that LG watch looks fantastic. I was also thinking about looking into LG for my next phone...

[Yw-slayer]

Yeah, the design of that LG is the best out of the lot IMO. Having said that, it's highly unlikely that I'd get any of these.

[Kchrpm]

LG has announced pricing for the G Watch R, EUR 299. It will probably be $350-$400 in the US, compared to $250 for the 360.

[21Kid]

The one application I think the curved OLED screen is welcome.

[Kchrpm]

Sony jumps on the Android Wear bandwagon: http://gizmodo.com/smartwatch-3-sony-finally-opts-for-android-wear-1630041717

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Bzt18eNI--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/utqbmyeklzq7ibsv3iyq.jpg

So has Asus: http://gizmodo.com/asus-zenwatch-home-grown-functionality-with-a-big-pric-1629979734

http://www.androidheadlines.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ASUS-ZenWatch-02.jpg

Sony also released a simple e-ink watch/fitness tracker/BT speakerphone?: http://recombu.com/mobile/news/sony-smartwatch-3-smartband-talk-uk-specs-price_M20749.html

http://cdn.recombu.com/mobile/images/news/M20749/1409568836_w670_h443.png

[Yw-slayer]

I still think all of these are pointless, but then, I would.

[Mr Wonder]

Moto 360 out now in the USA, $250 (£150ish) with a leather strap. Metal bands will come later at $300 or separately for $80.
Out in the UK in October for £199.

I might bite.

I'll definitely check it out in a store.

[Kchrpm]

I want to buy it, but it's not available at any of the stores in my area, and none of the websites that are supposed to have it right now are listing it for sale.

[Kchrpm]

And they're all gone :D

[Yw-slayer]

Does discussion of the Apple Watch (aka Galaxy Gear v3) fit in here? LOL.

Anyway, I'll start. Ugly, overpriced, total WTF. As much as I dislike him, I doubt Jobs would ever have approved this POS.

[Mr Wonder]

Wow. Yeah even for Apple that thing is pretty bad. It's hideous.

[Kchrpm]

Summary of Apple Watch features: http://mashable.com/2014/09/09/apple-watch-tools/

[Yw-slayer]

So what? It's ugly as sin.

[Random]

I wonder if the heartbeat send/taptic feature could be connected up to a small vibrator? :D

[Kchrpm]

*shrug* lots of people like jewelry that I think is ugly.

[21Kid]

I wonder if the heartbeat send/taptic feature could be connected up to a small vibrator? :D

via bluetooth, sure. ;)

[Kchrpm]

Mmmm, customizable watch faces


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBBwQy36Z48&list=UU2ElE17nCTlXGc5VwxBzPkA

[Kchrpm]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10384829_703585657079_1282662539827325897_n.jpg?oh =bdd2e81b7892bb2014634d9bcd6b25e9&oe=548B3BE8&__gda__=1419569387_259dbe20895d05615d0f9e260ec08a7 f

[Yw-slayer]

That's dosh out of the Corvette fund.

[Kchrpm]

Thanks for the attempted guilt trip :up:

[Yw-slayer]

Always glad to assist, bro.

[Kchrpm]

Probably the most convenient feature so far is being able read and reply to Hangouts chats. In addition to the basic functionality, Hangouts pulls up the last several messages, and doesn't dismiss itself when I view and reply to the chat. This means I can keep up and reply to Hangouts continuously just from the watch.

Driving directions on the watch are great too, I don't need to keep the phone's screen on or in eye-line, I can easily check how far to my next destination and even with the car audio on the radio instead of the phone, the buzzing of the watch lets me know when a turn is coming up and I can follow it there.

Some little frustrations are limiting, like you can't add a calendar event with the same terminology that works on Google Now on the phone, and not all notifications work all the time. I was hoping I could just keep BeyondPod's notification always active, like I do on the phone, and be able to start a podcast from the watch whenever I wanted, but it doesn't remain on the watch until dismissed like it does on the phone.

[Kchrpm]

Battery life improved today, judging from forum posts that is normal. It's been about 11 and a half hours on the battery and I'm at 6%. Comparatively, it died on me at around 2 pm Friday after less than 7 hours.

[Kchrpm]

I was past 12 hours when the watch hit 20% yesterday.

And I've found an app that will let me make some nice watch faces.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lIIwrtjPOLM/VBj088K_L8I/AAAAAAAEMy0/acg1aXBx5Cw/w407-h723-no/DSC_0067.JPG

NSFW-ish
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hZVaVsI6G8A/VBjx1X2umdI/AAAAAAAEMxo/YzEX0ty8WOI/w407-h723-no/DSC_0061.JPG

[21Kid]

Nice!

Classy. :lol:

[overpowered]

That is pretty cool. I'm a little annoyed by the battery life. My phone does better than that.

A watch is definitely the type of thing I want to wear all day and not have to remember to charge it. My Casio gets a new battery every 3-4 years or so.

[Kchrpm]

If you don't want to have to remember to charge your watch, none of the smartwatches are for you, and they probably won't be for a while. The best I've heard for any of them is a couple days of really light use.

[overpowered]

I can deal with charging it overnight but if I have a long day, I'm going to be annoyed if it dies on me before the day is out. My phone lasts through the entire day with room to spare.

[thesameguy]

Driving directions on the watch are great too, I don't need to keep the phone's screen on or in eye-line, I can easily check how far to my next destination and even with the car audio on the radio instead of the phone, the buzzing of the watch lets me know when a turn is coming up and I can follow it there.

Man, I am 100% not into smartwear, but someone needs to just pop the face into a 2 1/16" gauge so it can be mounted in a car. Talk about an amazeballs navigation add-in for old cars.

[Kchrpm]

I can deal with charging it overnight but if I have a long day, I'm going to be annoyed if it dies on me before the day is out. My phone lasts through the entire day with room to spare.
Oh, in that case I think the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear S are supposed to go a long day w/o issue. The 360 has a smaller battery and brighter screen (the OLEDs on those other two models aren't readable in sunlight FWIU).

There's definitely not a "perfect" solution yet, I'm actually going to give my watch a little boost today because I have a long evening planned, but I'm ok with that. Early adopter problems.

Related: I may or may not be attempting to use the watch as my boarding pass this weekend. We'll see.

[Mr Wonder]

Keep these reports coming in Keith, I'm almost ready to say fuck it and buy one. It looks fantastic, people have swapped the straps without issue, and it's not that expensive if I buy one stateside.

[Kchrpm]

Notes from using this on a trip:

- I chickened out using the watch as my boarding pass, lines were too long for me to cause any delays without feeling selfish. It should have been easy getting on the plane in Cincinnati, though, as their scanners were top down. Not so much in Killeen, I couldn't even use my phone as the reception was so bad.

- Getting flight updates on my watch was useful, but Delta sends them so many ways it's hard to miss them anyway. It's just more convenient to see it pop up on your watch and not have to take the phone out while pulling rolling luggage with the same hand that I would get the phone with.

- Similarly, being able to just check my wrist and see that the latest notification is just Nate and Vince gabbing about BMWs, not another delay or gate change, was great.

- I wasn't sure if Bluetooth had been cleared for in-flight use, until I saw on a safety card that wireless mice and keyboards were allowed at all times. Being able to pause/play/skip music without reaching into my pocket on the plane (which is a big hassle for me, as a fat guy), was very nice. My podcast app of choice, BeyondPod, and it's inconsistent notification persistence is even more frustrating when it's absence means I lose that ability.

- Getting the most use out of the watch, with driving directions and flight updates, is not easy on the battery. The watch died on me while I was driving back to the hotel, after about 12 hours off the charger. The charging dock is small and simple enough that I was able to charge it at the track a few times on the second day, like I do with my phone and camera. Race days are hard on electronics.

- Voice recognition at a racetrack is, understandably, a little tough at times. I didn't get to use it much.

- IFTTT is able to send notifications to just the watch, or just the phone (you need separate recipes to send to both).

- I should have put the race weekend's schedule on my calendar instead of opening up the track's calendar on their site every time.

- Having someone ask if it was a Corvette watch (I was using the watch face above) reminded me why I have wanted something like this for so long. I like being able to have the same watch be my every day, Bengals, Corvette, Reds, whatever themed watch.

- Folding your arms needs to be done with the watch arm on top, else you'll activate the screen by touching it. Just a little thing I didn't think of until it happened.

[Mr Wonder]

Interesting issue with arm folding, I never considered that. Might be a pain with short sleeved tops.

What is the charger like, cable wise? Is it modular? Usb connections? 110-240 volt input or just 110?
I've looked around but everyone is concentrating on the cradle aspect rather than if I can use it the UK without an adaptor.

In case you can't tell, I'm in! I'll order it asap buy I won't be in the states to collect it until a week Friday.

[Kchrpm]

Micro USB into the cradle, so it works with any way you can get 550 mA into it through Micro USB. In other words you already have the cables you need.

[Mr Wonder]

Cheers Keith!
I'll order one for when I go out next week.

[Mr Wonder]

No I won't, they're sold out everywhere. Bollocks!

[Kchrpm]

Oh, yeah, I thought you had a special hookup or something :) I lucked out on Craigslist, there was a guy selling the one he was given with his Google IO registration for less than MSRP. I wasn't the first to contact him, but I was the first to not try to haggle the price and/or wait days to pick it up.

[Mr Wonder]

I'm hoping they'll be back in stores by next weekend, or the one after. If not I'll just order one online and the missus can mule it back, she loves that.
It seems that you can only pre order the black version in the UK at the moment. Should that continue I may get two and flog one when I'm back here.

[Kchrpm]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cOtKWLS6wUY/VCdna9XOutI/AAAAAAAEP50/5MAJKVGwQSI/s400-no/IMG_20140927_213932.jpg

Based on

http://ls1tech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/DisplayTach.jpg

I couldn't think of a simple way to make the tick marks.

[Jason]

Man, that'd be killer if it weren't for the deadzone at the bottom. Hopefully that's something they can solve in the future.

[Kchrpm]

The G Watch R trades in the bottom part for a thick bezel and no ambient light monitor.

Considering the tach it's based on has a flat bottom as well, I should have figured out a way to make it look the same.

[Freude am Fahren]

You could just leave the 6 out. Also, how's the time read? (RED) : (NEEDLE) : (# where speed would be) = HH:MM:SS?

[Kchrpm]

Yeah, I could, but I feel like there needs to be something else there. With notifications on it sucks reading down there, anyway.

Red number = hour (it has a yellow trail, if/when I add the rest of tick marks it will look like a moving redline), red needle = minute, number in small circle = date.

[Kchrpm]

The latest update (came out Thursday or Friday IIRC) is really working well for people w/battery life

http://phandroid.com/2014/09/29/moto-360-battery-life/


I keep responding to these posts, but here’s my best battery life yet. I took it off the charger at 10am today. Used it all day, 2 hours running navigation plus music controls in the car, checking emails and texts a few times an hour, responding to 15 or more texts from the watch, used QR codes on the watch to get into a party. It’s now almost 3am the next day and I’m at 41% battery! Couldn’t ask for more. Don’t need more.

I've been off the charger since probably 8:30 am (5 hours ago) and I'm at 77%.

[21Kid]

Nice!

[Mr Wonder]

Ordered!
Should be waiting for me in Hoboken on Thursday night. Wohoooo!

[overpowered]

How is time sync'd? Does it use the time from your phone?

[Kchrpm]

Yes, it updates the time from your phone, but it can still keep time when it's disconnected.

[Freude am Fahren]

Have you noticed any battery life or performance hit on your phone considering it's basically working all day on a wireless (I presume BT?) connection?

[Kchrpm]

Nope. That's what Bluetooth 4.0 does.

[Blerpa]

I'll hijack the thread a moment: so using a 4.0 BT earpiece (if there are any on the market, I haven't seen in store) would be way better for your phone battery than the usual EDR 2.1 BT earpieces you find in stores?

[Kchrpm]

From what I can tell, BT 4.0 only brings benefits when you are transferring small amounts of data or in standby mode. If you're streaming audio, it consumes battery life just like 2.1 (because it's basically using 2.1 to do it).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_low_energy

[Mr Wonder]

It turned up as planned and I've been wearing it today. Very impressed so far. The screen is fantastic, and clearly legible even in direct sunlight. Thankfully it's about the perfect size for my wrist, which I was a little worried about given most of the photos from the various tech sites showed giant dinner plates strapped to a twig.

Battery life has been pretty good so far I'm on 65% after taking it off the stand at 8am, but I have already applied the latest update which fixes the done in a day lifespan most early adopters were having. This is the initial charge and I've been playing around with it all day so this should only get better in the future.

I haven't played with the different faces supplied with it yet, much less designed own, but some of the designs I've seen floating around look amazing. I especially like the replicas of existing watches, get the look without the horrific inaccuracy. :assclown:

The strap is much better than I assumed it would be so I've held off on ordering a replacement for now. The grey is actually a decent colour and smart enough to fit in with my usual clobber. I really like the style of the strap as well. Allegedly they are releasing a brown one at a later date so if it's a shade I like I'll get that.

More as it occurs, but so far I love it.

[matt s]

Haven't seen it mentioned in this thread but this watch face (http://phandroid.com/2014/09/08/goldeneye-watchface-moto-360/) seems quite awesome. Probably what I would end up going with if I got one.

[Kchrpm]

I tried it, I find it too hard to read.

[Freude am Fahren]

That is very cool. Especially if the blue/red bars can be used for something like signal and battery :up:

But like you say, not completely practical for an everyday watch. Neat to show off though.

[Kchrpm]

One of them is the battery level of the watch, the other is the battery level of the attached phone.

[overpowered]

I almost put this in the epic fails thread but:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZx-LJH5J_I

[Freude am Fahren]

Is that burn-in on the screen?

[Kchrpm]

I've been wearing the watch for about 13 hours right now, and I'm still above 40%. It's not 2 days of battery life, but there's no more worry about it running out on a long day anymore.

[overpowered]

Is that due to software update(s) , careful configuration, limited use or some combination of those?

[Kchrpm]

Software updates.

[overpowered]

Cool.

[Mr Wonder]

Well the beautiful dream is over, for now.
My 360 developed the cracked plastic back that seems to be cropping up for some owners. No idea how it happened. I was babying the thing for less than a week; no strap change, no hitting it on stuff, nothing. I'm really disappointed in it to be honest. Luckily Best Buy took it back with no problems, even refunding the expedited shipping charge which I thought was above and beyond. However the store in Jersey City didn't have any in stock and neither did any in Manhattan so I'm currently without one.
What's worse is that from my limited reading up on the cause it seems to be a design flaw with the watch rather than a freak occurrence which is causing hesitation in ordering another one.

However the device itself is just so useful, at one point in my hectic schedule last week I couldn't remember what time my flight was. Not twenty minutes later it pops up on the watch as part of the google cards system. The battery life has been totally resolved imho, I was going to bed with ~65% most days. I think it looks fantastic and fulfils it's role with aplomb. Even my technophobic other half was impressed with it. It's an amazing little piece of kit, I really really want one. But not if it's going to break every week just from wearing it.

What to do?

[Kchrpm]

I hadn't heard about a cracked plastic back issue at all.

[overpowered]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dmpoh6y71q81d19/IMAG0159.jpg

[Kchrpm]

That sucks.

[Yw-slayer]

Wait for v2, bro.

[Mr Wonder]

It's not super common but it has been happening, rough estimates put it at one in ten or so. More so with after market metal bands it seems, but there is definitely some kind of problem. Or perhaps I got one that was already weak in that area from new. I'm not sure but these are doubts that shouldn't exist in a top price product.
XDA thread (http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-360/general/crack-watch-t2878127)

I might just get another with the best buy two year protection thing. I'm in the US enough that it would be little hassle to return it and get a replacement.

[Kchrpm]

Android Wear update rolling out to multiple watches, adds some new stuff but not all hardware can use it (GPS support is in the software, but the current watches don't have GPS in them, etc).

The Moto 360 is getting other device specific updates to its software:

Smart Battery Saving – When your battery hits 15%, your Moto 360 will turn off ambient mode, so you don’t have to remember to.

Timely Time Checks – Moto 360 will synchronize the time with your phone more often to make sure it is up to the minute.

User Interface Tweaks – We observed with consumers that there are many times where you want to use your Moto 360 as truly a classic watch—a beautiful way to see the time.
A new gesture now lets you see the full watch face without permanently dismissing a notification. Just touch the top of a notification and swipe down. You’ll see the notification again when you have another high priority notification. This fixes a pet peeve of mine

Mood Lighting – Moto 360 will adjust to the lighting of the room while charging, so that it isn’t too bright or too dark.

Readying the wires for Bluetooth – There are a couple of under-the-hood enhancements that will pave the way for connecting Bluetooth headsets to the watch.

Bug Squashing – As usual, bugs are squashed to enhance the overall user experience.

[Random]

Gizmodo blurb: http://gizmodo.com/the-best-smartwatch-for-every-wrist-1671271995

For those that are link-clicking averse: the reviewer like the Pebble Steel best overall. He recommends getting the regular Pebble ($99) if you want to dip your toes in.

[Mr Wonder]

I really despise reviewers who don't thoroughly test a product.

The Moto 360 is beautiful, simple, and elegant, but it's not good enough. You still have to shake the watch to turn on the screen, and battery life doesn't always last the day anyhow.

You can set the display to show all the time, not that you need to, and the battery will last a whole day. This isn't the first time a reviewer has said these things and they're demonstrably false. Though the guy also thinks the Pebble Steel is dressy enough for a formal dinner...

[Yw-slayer]

It's galling, but Gizmodo reviews are generally badly-written (OMG! Exclamation! Mark! So! Cute! And! Clever! LOL!) click/flamebait anyway. I'm ditching that poor excuse for a gadget website.

[Kchrpm]

I don't think you can set the Moto 360 to be always on. There's a setting to have it be on longer, but it won't stay on permanently. Unless it was added during one of the updates.

Edit: ok, it looks like ambient mode has different functionality now. It stays on as long as your watch is facing up. As soon as you have it oriented differently, it cuts off.

[Kchrpm]

Ok, I just brought it up to look at it, holding it so the face itself is vertical, and the screen was blank. I had to flick my wrist to get it to turn on. So ambient mode is better, but still not just ready for you whenever you look.

And if it can't always show the time, then by definition it can't always show the time for an entire day without recharging.

Edit: My battery life has been horrid the last few weeks, and turning on ambient mode this afternoon didn't help: I'm at 15% already, and it's only been about 5 hours.

[Kchrpm]

The Lollipop Android Wear update came through, and my battery life issues are gone. Put the watch on around 9 am this morning, dropping it back on the charger at about 1 am with 7% left.

[Mr Wonder]

Reunited and it feels so good!
Got a new stone leather moto 360 from the missus for xmas.
It's magnificent. With the android wear 5 update and facer running I've had the battery last over 30 hours.


This is my current watchface.

http://assets.facerepo.com/app/image/preview/bremont-e-type-chronometer-odometer-1496145fc0e.png

I'd love the real one but they only made six at forty grand a piece. First dibs to those who bought a new e-type lightweight. Plus this keeps better time!

I'm going to buy the new cognac leather strap asap. Then start making faces of my own.

[Kchrpm]

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2015/04/android-wear-wear-what-you-want-get.html


- Your apps and contacts are now just a tap away from the watch face. Just touch the screen, and you’ll be able to start apps and send messages immediately.

- These updates are coming to all seven Android Wear watches over the next few weeks, starting with the new LG Watch Urbane.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l9wXeyKxHv8/VTSFYePsgyI/AAAAAAAAAY0/2219XKH5w3A/s1600/alwayson_500.gif

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vqk1VrgdrQE/VTSGz1XorHI/AAAAAAAAAZE/VgoLyRWqSMg/s1600/apps_people_actions_250x250%2B(4).gif

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fz8FBQPo14g/VTSHl2wwojI/AAAAAAAAAZM/q6pehL3SbBs/s1600/quick2_emoji_reply_blog.gif

http://www.androidcentral.com/android-wear-smartwatches-will-get-new-phones-free-features-next-update


- Hands free: Flick your wrist outward to advance to the "next card" in the stream. Flick your wrist inward to go to the "previous card" in the stream. Glances when you turn your wrist to look at the phone make getting info really fast and easy, no hands required.

- Phone free: Features like Offline music, GPS and Wifi support (new with this release) make it possible to leave your phone behind. As long as your phone is online (cellular data or wifi) and your watch is connected to an available wifi network, they will be able to work together (doesn't have to be the same network).

- Always-on screen, always-on apps: Android Wear watches are always at the ready - with most Wear watches you can check the time without having to move it around. Now, the same applies to apps on your watch without it going to sleep. So, if you are on a run and want to keep Maps up to find your way, or you're grocery shopping and want to have your Google Keep list up for easy access, you can.

- Draw Emoji to reply to messages: If you want to quickly reply to a friend or colleague (using SMS, Hangouts, any messaging app) but aren't in a place where you can use Voice to respond, just draw an emoji on your watch face and we'll recognize the closest emoji and sent it over.

[21Kid]

World’s first Braille smartwatch gives blind people a lifeline to information (http://inhabitat.com/worlds-first-braille-smartwatch-gives-blind-people-a-lifeline-to-information/)
http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/07/The-Dot-Braille-smartwatch-white-side-view-537x282.jpg

[Kchrpm]

Hmmm, maybe my next smartwatch, Asus ZenWatch 3: http://www.androidcentral.com/asus-unveils-zenwatch-3-ifa-2016

http://www.androidcentral.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files/styles/xlarge/public/article_images/2016/08/asus-zenwatch-3-render-02.png

[dodint]

What practical utility have you gained through these wearables? Legitimately curious.

[Yw-slayer]

Girls be mirin his arms.

[Kchrpm]

I get a number of notifications during the day which I like to be aware of but don't need to act on immediately or at all, and then a small percentage which I'd like to act on immediately. Also, I silence my phone at work, because I don't want it pinging incessantly with coworkers nearby. Being able to feel, see and decide on notifications without moving my hands from the keyboard/steering wheel/controller had been great for me. My current smartwatch has technical issues (I think the battery or casing or both is fouled, and I got it second-hand so no warranty), and I'm frustrated every day with notifications I didn't hear because my silenced phone is just on the desk, or leaving it my pocket so I can feel it but then having to dig it out, see it's not important, put it back, and repeat, over and over.

The voice dictation and getting results from it could be spotty, but was pretty convenient when it worked. I rarely did much with the fitness tracking, I already have and continue to use a pedometer that also tracks altitude.

It's definitely not something I would recommend to most people. I've always liked watches, especially those with some kind of added functionality (I had a calculator watch in elementary school, and one with a thermometer in high school). Being able to not only choose my background but make my own custom watch faces, in addition to notifications and simple actions on them, was enough to sell me. If that alone isn't enough for you, then they're not worth it, full stop.

[21Kid]

I'd like to use one for running. Checking times, changing songs, etc...

[dodint]

If i could get my Garmin Forerunner to change my android music player that would be amazing.

[Kchrpm]

I suggest Bluetooth headphones with music controls built in, but I also don't actually run, perhaps mine would fall off if I did.

Edit: but neckbuds like these might be ok http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/5/10709316/jabra-everest-elite-100-noise-cancellation-earbuds-ces-2016

[dodint]

You're solving the wrong problem.

I like my old school headphones. But I have my phone in the bottom bottom of a camelbak (water carrier) so I can't realistically get to it while running. I would find utility in being able to skip a song using a watch I'm already wearing.

But the Garmin Forerunner is the standard for running watches so it's a situation that can't be remedied.

[Yw-slayer]

The new Garmin Forerunner 235 has music control.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/10/garmin-fr230-fr235-fr630.html

I think my Fenix3 might now have it too but I left it at home today in favour of an old-sk00l watch, so I can't check.

[dodint]

I'm touching myself right now.

[Yw-slayer]

I'm surprised you hadn't finished before you POST QUICK REPLY. Or had you?

[dodint]

Edging.

[Yw-slayer]

Waterproof keyboard?

[21Kid]

Plastic cover so you can just toss it to the side and keep working.

What makes the Garmin so good?

[Yw-slayer]

Damnit, now you've set him off again.

[KillerB]

The Garmin D2 is more my speed (backup aviation GPS) but the D2 Bravo is getting terrible reviews (saying the old model was more functional).

I'm curious to see if someone like ForeFlight gets their apps taking advantage of the GPS in the Apple Watch 2. Whether you like Apple or not, their devices have become the standard for pilots.

[TheBenior]

I just picked up a Moto 360 Sport on eBay for $100.

The display on my OG Pebble had been acting up, so my wife suggested that I try her Moto 360 that she got as a package deal with her Moto X Pure. It seemed good enough, so I ordered a 360 Sport of my own, which showed up today.

[21Kid]

I'm interested in this one (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/smartwatch-powered-by-you-matrix-powerwatch-watch-fitness#/).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-fVyZSZxIw

[Kchrpm]

That seems really neat. Not what I want, but maybe what most people want.