Looking for a Smart Watch


Recommended Posts

I have a Pebble time watch that I grabbed for ~$100 off of Amazon, and it is a decent watch, heck of a battery (3 days between charges) but I have noticed that it does not do the precision step counting that I would like it to and some of the other features are kind of lacking, I like the ability to see email/text messages, and Caller-ID but the sleep tracker seems to be hit or miss, indicates that I sleep for an hour... I guess what I would like is a watch that can monitor all my activity not just walking as I am an avid bicycle rider and commute to work using a bike, the watch does not count any movement while on the bike and I would like to have a total estimate of my daily activities. Perhaps better abilities to  reply to messages would be a nice feature as well. Just so you know, I have zero knowledge of brands, etc my sister had a pebble and she likes it, so I figured I would get one as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Gary7 said:

I use a swiss army watch since 1990 and it takes a liking and keeps on ticking made by Wermer

It is nice of you to share, but that is no where near what the OP asked.

 

 

The band 2 is pretty nice and cheap now. the bike feature is awesome. works great with android.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Circaflex said:

It is nice of you to share, but that is no where near what the OP asked.

 

 

The band 2 is pretty nice and cheap now. the bike feature is awesome. works great with android.

I do not like gizmo type watches :) No one has a sense of humor any more..:p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Circaflex said:

It is nice of you to share, but that is no where near what the OP asked.

 

 

The band 2 is pretty nice and cheap now. the bike feature is awesome. works great with android.

I'm not really sure if I like the style of the Band 2, I really like the 'watch style' more so than a 'band' but I might be able to get over it...

 

1 minute ago, Gary7 said:

I do not like gizmo type watches :) No one has a sense of humor any more..:p

Sure we do, I understood what you were saying, if there was a smart watch developed by Swiss army, you would where it! :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/22/2016 at 8:55 AM, jnelsoninjax said:

I have a Pebble time watch that I grabbed for ~$100 off of Amazon, and it is a decent watch, heck of a battery (3 days between charges) but I have noticed that it does not do the precision step counting that I would like it to and some of the other features are kind of lacking, I like the ability to see email/text messages, and Caller-ID but the sleep tracker seems to be hit or miss, indicates that I sleep for an hour... I guess what I would like is a watch that can monitor all my activity not just walking as I am an avid bicycle rider and commute to work using a bike, the watch does not count any movement while on the bike and I would like to have a total estimate of my daily activities. Perhaps better abilities to  reply to messages would be a nice feature as well. Just so you know, I have zero knowledge of brands, etc my sister had a pebble and she likes it, so I figured I would get one as well.

You have identified a list of usage scenarios that your Pebble was not suited for. Most of the functionality requires a paired cell phone so the watch, the phone and the app ecosystem of watch apps form a unique 3 way list of specs to see which combination meets your needs.

 

https://www.neowin.net/news/idc-smartwatch-shipments-fell-32-in-q2-with-apple-watch-crashing-by-55

 

The number 1 in that market is Apple which would be a reasonable choice if you had an iPhone.

 

The number 2 vendor is Samsung:

 

https://www.neowin.net/news/samsungs-gear-s2-smartwatches-are-getting-a-major-update-right-now

 

And if you really want to track the most items with the most accuracy, the Microsoft Band 2 is jammed with sensors and works with all the mobile O/S.

 

https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-band-2-now-on-sale-for-14499---but-only-in-one-size

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, DevTech said:

You have identified a list of usage scenarios that your Pebble was not suited for. Most of the functionality requires a paired cell phone so the watch, the phone and the app ecosystem of watch apps form a unique 3 way list of specs to see which combination meets your needs.

 

https://www.neowin.net/news/idc-smartwatch-shipments-fell-32-in-q2-with-apple-watch-crashing-by-55

 

The number 1 in that market is Apple which would be a reasonable choice if you had an iPhone.

 

The number 2 vendor is Samsung:

 

https://www.neowin.net/news/samsungs-gear-s2-smartwatches-are-getting-a-major-update-right-now

 

And if you really want to track the most items with the most accuracy, the Microsoft Band 2 is jammed with sensors and works with all the mobile O/S.

 

https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-band-2-now-on-sale-for-14499---but-only-in-one-size

 

But I do have a paired cell phone with my Pebble... and seeing as night my phone is ~1 foot away, there is no reason that I should not be getting better sleep data, but it still only shows 1 hour 18 min of sleep last night. As for the other mentioned items, I understand that the sensors are going to be better with a Band or a Garmin simply because they are marketed as such. I was asking what a better alternative would be to what I currently have, and I have gotten 2 answers: MS Band 2 is simply badass with all the sensors, therefore massive amounts of data collected, and Samsung is the best overall vendor for the Smart watch field (android), I do not have or wish to own an iPhone so I will exclude Apple watch from my list. Do I understand what has been said so far?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, jnelsoninjax said:

But I do have a paired cell phone with my Pebble... and seeing as night my phone is ~1 foot away, there is no reason that I should not be getting better sleep data, but it still only shows 1 hour 18 min of sleep last night. As for the other mentioned items, I understand that the sensors are going to be better with a Band or a Garmin simply because they are marketed as such. I was asking what a better alternative would be to what I currently have, and I have gotten 2 answers: MS Band 2 is simply badass with all the sensors, therefore massive amounts of data collected, and Samsung is the best overall vendor for the Smart watch field (android), I do not have or wish to own an iPhone so I will exclude Apple watch from my list. Do I understand what has been said so far?

Yeah there is a range in sensor quality and the old computer saying "Garbage In, Garbage Out" applies

 

Even the Microsoft Band 2 does not have sensors that can compare to specialized medical devices that athletes use. So you really can't expect much with anything less than a Microsoft Band 2 if you want good data.

 

Some devices have a reputation that is more about good branding than reality. For example I've tried the Fitbit and the pulse rate sensor is all over the place, extremely inaccurate. Yet it is good enuff to make it the #1 device in our crazy brand conscious consumer society that prefers social memes over actually testing stuff.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.