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Apple iWatch Review – Necessity vs Fashion Statement

November 6, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

Apple iWatch Front & Side

Anyone knows or has heard before of the upcoming big thing in terms of technology. Or one of them at least. What we’re referring to here is the growing industry of smartwatches. On paper, they sound like an incredible thing to have: a portable, wireless extension of your mobile phone. In reality however, at least judging according to what we have seen so far, there’s a lot of room for improvement – and that’s still being polite about it. In the months we’ve had since Apple iWatch release date and now, we’ve come to learn a few things about it.

Don’t get us wrong, the Apple iWatch is far from an underwhelming construction – in fact it’s probably an epitome of mobile technology altogether. But the actual utility that lies within an Apple iWatch is highly debatable. As you can probably tell from the title, we’ve been trying to figure out whether this little contraption holds more ground than just being a pretty, quite expensive fashion statement, or whether it has some realistic application in our day to day lives. At least enough to excuse the $349 to $17,000 Apple iWatch price range.

Apple iWatch Overview

Looking at the Apple iWatch, also recognized under the name of iWatch, we are reminded of a few other Apple products: the iPod Nano is the first that comes to mind in terms of format, size and build. It’s worth mentioning that the iWatch comes in various models – there’s a total of 3 models and 2 different sizes that you can pick from and coupled with 6 types of finishes along with a vast series of wristbands. Regardless, the Apple iWatch aspires to be much more than the iPod Nano was.

Apple iWatch Types

Apple iWatch Overview

While it can be used as an iPod, coming with a decent amount of storage space that you could use to save up your music and take it with you wherever you go, the iWatch’s functionality does not resume to just that. In essence, the Apple iWatch is an extension of your iPhone mobile phone. And this is the first concern that we have to direct our attention towards: the Apple iWatch is not an independent gadget – it not only requires another Apple product to sync it with, but it only works with iPhone 5 and above on top of that and cannot sync with your iPad tablet.

To make a generic summary of what the Apple iWatch can do, the most important features that are worth mentioning are using it as an outlet of your mobile phone notifications and a minimal news and updates feature, health, activity and workout monitoring, listening to music, sending and receiving texts, mail, tweets or updates on various social media, making use of Siri like never before and a lot of functionalities that rely on voice commands. The last item in the list is probably the most exciting part of it all – allowing you to dictate your desired message to your watch thanks to the speech to text feature.

In comparison to the original presentation of the device, the iWatch seems to be capable of doing a little less than we expected, but not less than one would expect from smartwatch technology. The market is not yet full to the brim with smartwatches of all kinds; nevertheless, it’s not the first of its kind and in some respects, the Apple iWatch may even feel like it doesn’t bring anything special to the table. And most unfortunate, we won’t be playing with any kind of hologram projection using the iWatch either; we still have to wait for another couple dozen years for that it would seem.

Apple iWatch Design

If there’s anything that the Apple iWatch specializes in, similarly to any other apple product as a matter of fact, it’s looks. There’s really no denying that the iWatch brings a very elegant design featuring stainless steel casing, a sapphire crystal layer that protects the display and ceramic glass on its back – where the heart monitor is situated. Overall, the watch looks great from every single point of view – the curved edges dim the sharp and rugged impression the watch gives off. However, as far as wristwatches go, you shouldn’t expect the Apple iWatch to replace your Rolex.

Apple iWatch Classic

Both of the iWatch variants are rectangular, so the pleasant round aspect of classic wristwatches won’t be gracing your arms with this smartwatch. The watch itself is relatively thick – no less than 11.5 mm – which accounts for an exponentially thicker device than your usual smartphone and tablet, which have gone as low as 5.6 mm. However, thanks to the slightly curved body of the watch, the effect is not ghastly – and instead manages to not stand out too much and look very much like a regular sized watch – as much as its shape allows it to.

Despite the materials used in its construction, it would seem that the edges of the Apple iWatch are not particularly scratch resistant. Because of the slightly large-piece build, especially on the 1.7 inch model, you may risk accidental scratches to its edges. On top of that, the IPX7 water resistance certification that the Apple iWatch comes with only accounts for exposure to rain and other types of light accidental subjection to water. That means that running with it in light rain will probably not damage the watch; forgetting to take it off when you go into the shower however may end up in a catastrophe.

Apple iWatch Wheel & Button

On the side of the Apple iWatch rest 2 buttons – one is a button similar to the home button you can normally find on your regular iPhone; the second one is something that resembles a winding wheel that used to be featured on older and vintage watches. The former is used similarly to how you would use the home button – it allows you to return to the main screen and can be used as a back button, a quick access of your contacts or to Apple Pay – via a double tap.

The wheel is the basic mean of navigation – you will be using it for zooming in and out in various applications as well as navigating through some parts of the interface. It replaces the pinch to zoom functionality of touch screens given the small area you get to operate on, but also provides different effects when tapped. It also serves as an alternative to swiping when you want to scroll down menus, messages or notifications.

Apple iWatch Wheel

The top and the bottom of the Apple iWatch feature clasps for your wristband of choice. The way that both the clasps and the bands are fabricated turn the process of switching between wristbands particularly simple.

The back of the Apple iWatch features a round area that contains a number of photodiode sensors, as well as green and infrared LEDs and an outlet for your Apple Magnetic Charging Cable. The infrared sensors are responsible for measuring your heart rate – by constantly measuring the amount of blood travelling underneath your skin. In order for this feature to function properly however, you need to ensure that the iWatch is fit snugly to your arm, and not loosely placed or results will be inconclusive, inconsistent or downright false.

The entire body of the watch is made from aluminum alloy, resulting in a particularly light device – only 70 grams and easily forgettable on your wrist.

As a last note, the screen and the body of the watch per se are not one piece: there is a distinct, yet thin gap between them where the screen is applied. While this doesn’t necessarily spell into a risk of damage with time to the body of the watch, it may lead to grime and dirt buildup if not cared for properly.

Apple iWatch Display

Once we get over the fact that the present model of the Apple iWatch is unfortunately rectangular, the display itself is a pretty impressive piece of technology. For a 1.5” or 1.7” wide screen respectively, the level of sensitivity and responsiveness is as good as any other Apple product. The screen is a flexible OLED build, a change from the classic LCD that Apple has been employing for its products for a while. However, the pride and glory that is the trademark Retina Display feature is incorporated in the iWatch’s screen as well, making for an extremely ample viewing angle, assuring that you will be able to read whatever your watch is showing regardless of lighting conditions and direction that you are looking at it from.

In terms of image quality, the Apple iWatch comes with no less than 322 ppi pixel density. That accounts for a particularly impressive number for such a small screen; as a comparison, the iPhone 6 has a 326 ppi pixel density and the iPhone 6 Plus goes up to 401 ppi. This makes up for an incredibly detailed image; additionally, the color accuracy and vividness are top notch. Brightness has never been lackluster on any of the Apple products in the past and the iWatch is no different.

Apple iWatch Screen

The designers have also added a discreet ambient light sensor within the Apple iWatch: it detects the amount of light there is in your environment and dims or brightens the display accordingly, giving you a particularly clear view of your screen regardless of where you are or what time of the day it is as well as stabilizing battery usage.

Force Touch is present on the Apple iWatch too. In case you are not familiar with the way it works, Force Watch is a rather new technology that allows the screen to detect the difference between light and hard presses, providing a multitude of new functions to play around with. For example a hard tap on the notification screen will allow you to mark them all as read and remove them from the tray, opposed to lightly tapping them to tab to them. It does take a considerable amount of time to get used to all the functionalities of Force Touch, which kind of tap does what, where and when – but once you get used to it, it’s a pretty neat thing to have. Not to mention the hidden “perks” you can get from this feature when texting sensory messages to other Apple iWatch users (we’ll touch more on that later, under the features chapter).

Apple iWatch Specifications & Performance

Given that it’s only an accessory and not a full-fledged, independent device, you can’t expect an entire powerhouse worth of hardware stuck in the 1.7 inch body. Even so, the Apple iWatch features the new S1 processor designed by the company; the processor incorporated in the 1.5” and 1.7” versions slightly differs as well, but only marginally, going to up 520 MHz.

In addition to the performant processor, the iWatch is actually gifted with a dedicated GPU – something that is sometimes lacking on gadgets as large as tablets, so it’s a pretty impressive feat to see it on here. The PowerVR SGX543 GPU is also accompanied by 512 MB of RAM memory and 8 GB of internal storage – considerably more than the iPod nano, but unrealistically listed as 8 – considering you only get to use approximately 6 GB of it, the rest being the space allocated to the operating system and necessary applications.

Connectivity on the Apple iWatch is done through 3 methods: via the Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n card, Bluetooth v4.0 or near-field communication. In the absence of a headset jack on the body of the watch, the only way you will be able to pair your headphones with it is via Bluetooth – if your headset is Bluetooth compatible that is.

The overall performance of the Apple iWatch did not seem to be as flawless as you would expect from a high-end Apple product. There were some slight signs of lag when scrolling down notifications at times, some apps would run or open slowly and there is still a hefty amount of bugs left to fix with the future versions of the WatchOS.

Apple iWatch Features & Software

The Apple iWatch comes with the default Watch OS 1.0 preinstalled, but it can be upgraded to the latest version – currently WatchOS 2.0.1. as soon as you take it out of the box and turn it on for the first time, you are greeted by the long and unfortunately harrowing setup process. Considering that as a standalone device, the smartwatch won’t be anything more than a fashion statement – and not the most handsome out there – that’s a lot of setting up that must be done. Setting up your Apple iWatch consists of not only selecting your preferred settings and setting up your Wi-Fi connection as you would do with your mobile phone. Instead, there’s a whole process of linking your watch to your smartphone, coupled with the level of synchronization you want to go for and many other tiny steps.

Apple iWatch App Tray

Once it’s all set and done, the Apple Watch main screen consists of a multitude of icons, similar in design to the ones we’ve seen on our iPhones, but they are round-shaped this time around. The animations of the main screen are one aspect that it pretty neat: the apps are clumped up together as bubbles, with less used ones displaying as minimized circles towards the edge of the main batch. These are perfectly customizable via your phone – allowing you to rearrange them any way you like it on the larger screen if your iPhone. Some individuals may find it difficult to aim and access particular apps directly from the app tray – considering that you need high precision to tap on the specific icon, especially when in a rush.

However, Siri finally plays a huge role in this case: more often than not, you will use it more out of necessity rather than comfort. Accessible by saying “Hey Siri” into the watch, she seems to have received some upgrades, making voice recognition even better than it was in preceding Apple products. Just like your iPhone, Siri can do nearly anything for you – a downright blessing when scrolling with the tiny wheel or having to tap on your screen is difficult and tricky to achieve.

Apple iWatch Communication

Communication via the Apple iWatch comes with a series of unexpected features. Speech to text recognition is one thing – the feature that allows you to tell the smartwatch what to write down in your text. But the perk of you and your close ones owning it is… interesting to say the least. Taking upon a very romantic approach, the Apple iWatch allows you to send doodles, your heartbeat and actual taps to your receiver. Forget expressing yourself through texts that notify your friends through audio – just give them a nudge instead through the device strapped to their wrist. Go for a non-verbal way of expressing yourself if need be. Fun? Definitely. Useful? Very much not.

The system allows you to pick from a wide variety of watch faces that mix style with utility. There are several clever watch faces that you can use that have hidden applicability within them. For example the one depicting our Solar System is a realistic depiction of the Earth’s and Moon’s position in relation to the Sun. The chronometer face can be turned into a stopwatch immediately through a simple tap. The list goes on and allows further customization by allowing you various ways to display information such as the time (yes, it actually shows the time too) the way you wish. The only current downside of the WatchOS is that it’s extremely limited or downright restrictive of third-party software.

Apple iWatch Faces

There is a large amount of in-built apps that handle health and fitness in a fashionably designed way. There are trackers that are in charge of your movements – distance ran or walked, number of times you stood up, steps taken and much more. Considering that the Apple Watch is more likely to act as a more reliable source of such information given that you’ll be spending more time with it on your wrist than you would with your iPhone in your hand, you can easily make use of it when leaving for your daily jog or to monitor your heart rate when working out.

Apple iWatch Battery & Verdict

The Apple iWatch has a very innovative method of charging. In lack of a classic charging port of any kind present on the sides of the watch, the way you do it instead is via the back port. Inside the iWatch box you will find a magnetic charging cable that you can plug into a power outlet or an USB port alternatively. It attaches to the back of the watch the same way MacBook charging cables do. There’s no hit and miss or misuse of the adaptor; it goes in smoothly and connects almost automatically to the watch.

The battery life of the iWatch is not the best you can expect. Unfortunately, the iWatch seems to run through its battery charge much faster than you would hope for; while it is advertised that one full charge would last you up to 22 hours of mixed usage, that still means that you will end up leaving it to charge on a daily basis, overnight. On average, it takes about two hours and a half to charge the smartwatch from 0 to full.

As a final note to add to everything we’ve discussed regarding the Apple iWatch, I don’t feel like it brings anything worthwhile in addition to what other technology developers have done so far. Even more so, the smartwatch industry in general feels particularly lackluster nowadays. If you are fine with only using the Apple iWatch as a quick way to check your notifications or reply to texts, or alternatively to use it as an aid for your workout sessions, then that’s fine. Otherwise it remains a flashy gadget and a statement, and not much else, especially considering the Apple iWatch cost.

You can buy the new Apple iWatch for $349 for the default, Apple Sport Watch edition, $549 to $1049 for the 1.5” version with different variations and types of wristbands and $599 to $1099 for the 1.7” variant.

Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: apple iwatch, apple iwatch review, apple smartwatch, iwatch, smartwatch

Pebble Time Steel – Elegance Wrapped Around Your Wrist

August 9, 2015 By Nancy Young Leave a Comment

New Smartwatch - Pebble Time Steel Edition

The Pebble Time was already a major hit in US, and European markets, but it seems this isn’t enough for the record-breaking company – their Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign is the most funded project to date. So where to now?

The Pebble Time Steel Edition is like elegance wrapped around your wrist. No matter what you’re wearing, the Time will make sure you’re emitting that simple, and respectable vibe.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room first – the Apple Watch. Can Pebble Time compete with Apple’s wearable? Or is it doomed from the get-go? The huge amount of popularity it has garnered over the past couple of years makes the Pebble smart watch more than a worthy challenger.

It’s way cheaper than Apple’s device, about $249, and most important of all, it doesn’t scream Look At Me. It doesn’t have anything that will make others think you are wearing a smartwatch – and this is the exact thing that Pebble Time fans are looking for, as in not looking like a big show-off.

Pebble Time Steel Edition - Elegance and Simplicity Wrapped Around Your Wrist

Pebble Time VS. Pebble Time Steel

The Pebble Time Steel, like Pebble’s other smartwatch models, doesn’t have a touchscreen, and nor does it feature a heart sensor. It simply pushes notifications on your wrist, amongst other things. The thing is, any Pebble wearable can do this, but the Steel Time edition is the better looking of the bunch.

Stainless steel envelopes the watch’s mechanism, and leather straps latch onto you wrist making you look all grown-up, instead of a man-child wearing a toy-watch.

It has a 1.25-inch display, which is amplified tricking you into thinking that the watch’s display is way larger than previous models – which clearly isn’t.

But it’s not just a more design-polished smart watch. It actually does feel better on your hand, and using it is simple, intuitive, and downright fun. I don’t know if this is the Fata Morgana of the modern tech age, but making something look better, ends with it tricking the user into thinking it actually is better.

Pebble Time Steel Edition costs $249

But the over-sized bezel is a little bit off-putting, and it may seem like you’re wearing a 90s calculator, but that depends on what model you own. Also, the display gets easily scratched, and more worrying, it can get seriously dented if you don’t pay attention to your surroundings – those awful morning hangovers have received yet another reason for humanity to get off of its ass, and find a cure for, uhm, drinking I suppose.

Expect the Pebble Time Steel Edition to be delivered some time between six to eight weeks.

Image Source: 1, 2, 3

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Pebble, Pebble Steel, Pebble Time, Pebble Time Steel Edition, Smart Watch, smartwatch, Time Steel, Wearable, Wearables

Pebble Time Gets a Well Deserved Update

July 24, 2015 By Karen Jackson Leave a Comment

Pebble Time Gets a New Update

For those of you who have jumped on the Pebble Time trend, your smartwatch is going to get a bigger than a Pebble firmware update.

The company has started to roll out their new firmware today, and it has brought the update number to 3.2 – which adds a ton of new awesome features. Its Android companion hasn’t been forgotten, and it too has received changes here, and there.

The Pebble Time firmware update 3.2 changelog can be read just down below. Notice the improvements added for the blacklight, font size, and vibration settings. One of the biggest features is supporting additional music players.

  • Blacklight: You can now adjust its time-out duration, and intensity.
  • Font Size: Basically, you can now play with font sizes – be it in notifications, layouts, or other parts of Pebble.
  • Vibration: Users have complained that vibration was way too strong, and the company listened to the community out-roar. By default, it’s weaker than the previous default setting. Also, now you can adjust the vibration setting for notifications, alerts, calls, and so on.
  • Music/Android: Additional music players have been added to Pebble Time’s library, like Pandora, Spotify, Songza, and the company has improved how songs are displayed. The Android app now displays different play, and stop buttons.
  • Notifications: The best improvement is the addition of Dismiss All. Also, devs have worked on displaying notifications properly.
  • Bug fixes are present.
  • Improvements to the stability of Pebble Time.

Various Pebble Time smartwatches

Pebble Time’s Android app is witnessing improvements, and new features. You now have a search bar which you can use to track down saved apps, or watchfaces that reside in your My Pebble menu. Don’t need to worry anymore that your notification preferences will be set to default when a new firmware comes out – whatever you did in the previous update will be carried on to the next.

If you want to get the new update, you just need to go to Menu > Support > and select Update your Pebble.

If you don’t own a P-time smartwatch, but you’re seriously considering in doing so, you should know that the company has stated that their going to ship their devices by the end of August. We’re expecting to see them in stores a couple of weeks after.

Pebble Time

Although, you can go to Best Buy, and acquire it from them today – they have some sort of partnership going on. Also, the company notes that although it’s available at Best Buy right now, Target will have the Pebble Time starting with the 17th of August.

Are you the proud owner of the P-time, or are you considering in buying one? If you do own one, are you thinking of updating it to 3.2? Tell us in the comments section below.

Image Source: 1, 2, 3

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Pebble Time, Pebble Time firmware update, Pebble Time smartwatch, smartwatch

Apple Watch 2 to be Released in 2016 Tech Sites Report

June 15, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Apple Watch 2 rumoured to be released in 2016

The Apple Watch 2 is rumoured to be released in 2016 – prestigious tech sites are reporting.

We’re still toying with Apple’s first smartwatch iteration, announcing that the Apple Watch 2 is currently being developed might stop some potential clients of acquiring said product. Apple has simply crushed the smartwatch market with their product, and most likely they’ll continue to do so with their next gen device.

At the current moment, Apple doesn’t have a serious challenger. Sure, we got Pebble Time, and the okay’ish AndroidWear product line, but reports have shown that consumers are just going mad over Apple’s device. No wonder, it’s super simple to use, it has a minimal and elegant design, and Apple is working round the clock to add features to the Apple Watch.

GForGamers, which is a Korean-based news outlet has stated that Apple will once again use LG as its main supplier of the Apple Watch 2’s display.

“LG Display (LGD) will be the exclusive supplier for the panels used by second-generation Apple Watch due out for next year, in addition to first-generation Apple Watch launched in April,” said sources.

Apple Watch 2 rumoured to be released in 2016

Apparently, Apple is in a tight relationship with LG, and they are praising their hardware as top-notch, and best-choice on the market. Also LG’s display will feature P-OLED, which involves a plastic organic light that emits diodes – ” it offers higher resolution than liquid crystal display (LCD) and is a display plastic substrate which uses plastic, instead of glasses, to make it flexible.”

The article also added that – ” “(T)he Cupertino-based giant considered multiple suppliers for the next gen Watch’s display, but eventually settled with LG as an exclusive partner. This strategy goes against Apple’s usual M.O. of using multiple suppliers for a specific component, but sources add that Apple settled on this decision because LG’ performance on the P-OLED smartwatch display market is unmatched, offering high quality products and good yield.”

With Apple Watch launching only seven weeks ago, considering the fact that Apple Watch 2 is currently being developed might make one think that Apple will stop supporting their first gen smartwatch, but this isn’t the case.

Apple’s smartwatch product line will most like follow a 12 month cycle due to the fact that a) it sold tremendously well since its release, and b) it wants to continue its domination of the market. Also, Apple Watch 2 might be released at the same time with Apple’s new iPhone device – possibly even bundling them up together.

Apple Watch 2 rumoured to be released in 2016

I have yet to buy Apple’s smartwatch, but if it’s going to be released in just about a year from now, I think I’ll patiently wait for the next gen device. What about you? Are you the proud owner of an Apple Watch? Or are you waiting for the next one?

Image Source: 1, 2, 3

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Apple, apple watch, Apple Watch 2, smartwatch

The Best 7 Apple Watch Apps!

May 12, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Apple Watch apps

Are you a proud owner of an Apple Watch? Well then you must stay in the loop with what kind of apps developers release, but it’s tiresome to try all of them out, and figure that most of them are just garbage. That’s why the team at AFP has decided to test them, and pick only the very best. The store isn’t full with apps, so we didn’t had that much of work to do, but we expect a huge burst of releases in the near future – Apple Watch is selling like crazy!

So for now, here’s our top 7 Apple Watch apps!

  • The Best App for Your Car –  BMW i Remote

The Best Apple Watch App for Your Car

Sure, it depends on what car you’ve got, but the BMW i Remote is an awesome app. If you have a BMW and an Apple Watch and you didn’t install the i Remote you’re missing on a ton of cool features.

You can turn the heating on by using the smartwatch. Just think of those pesky winter months – start the heating 15 minutes before you go to your car, from the comfort of your kitchen, while you drink your last sip of coffee.

The app guides you to your car if you somehow forgot where you parked it. Also, you can honk your horn using the app in case you can’t figure out which BMW in the parking lot is yours. Of course, people will use it to terrorize clueless pedestrians – and of course, it’s going to be fun as hell.

Unlock your car before you even leave the house using the app – don’t know why anyone would want to do this, but hey, you’ve got the option, it’s up to you if you want use it or not.

The BWM i Remote was specifically designed with BMW i3 plug-in runabouts and the i8 hybrid with the Assist option in mind, so the app works perfectly with those two.

Also, you can monitor your driving efficiency, and the app offers the best departure times for best battery efficiency.

It’s free!

  • The Best Travel App – Uber

The Best Apple Watch Travel App

Uber is the best mobile-app-based transportation network. It doesn’t come as a shock that the app has been released for Apple Watch users.

It looks exactly like the iPhone app, and it has all of its features. The travel app allows its user to get a ride from absolutely anywhere were the Uber service is provided – it has been banned in several countries since its release. If you plan on using Uber in Belgium, France, Germany, Romania, India, and The Netherlands, you’re going to have a bad time, because the service is illegal in those countries.

Anyway, the app will offer details about the driver, how much time he has until your destination, and also it features a map where you can view where your driver is.

It’s free!

  • The Best Fitness App – RunKeeper

The Best Apple Watch Fitness App

RunKeeper has a pretty long history with Apple. Released in 2008, it has garnered a huge following, and it’s the to go app when you want to track how you workout!

It feels a lot better to check your wrist for stats, rather than get your phone out of your pocket. The user can also track his heartbeat with the app.

One great feature that comes with the smartwatch app is the option to turn every single notification off. If you get easily distracted by e-mails, messages, phone calls, or Facebook notifications, you better turn it on and experience pure ignorance while you workout – You know the saying Ignorance is bliss!

It’s free!

  • The Best Productivity App – Evernote

The Best Apple Watch Productivity App

Evernote has been wildly popular since the Apple’s smartwatch release, and for good reasons too. It’s the best tool for users who want to dictate, view, and update their notes through dictation on the watch. Any data can be synced to the user’s account so it’s at a touch of a button regardless of the hour, or device – no, unfortunately you can’t synch your notes to your high-tech toaster, but in the near future, hopefully, we’ll get toasters that will run iOS or Android.

It’s free!

  • The Best App to Keep Track of Your Finances – Mint

The Best Apple Watch App to Keep Track of Your Finances

You don’t need to be cavalier with your finances, and adulthood is all about managing your money in order to live another day. It’s going to be really hard at first, but you’ll get there – I remember the first few months when I started to really be on my own, and how at the end of the month, with almost  10 days before my pay check was due, I didn’t have any money at all. I just ate whatever I had in my fridge, and I have to tell you, mustard with bread for a whole week will make you hate yourself like you’ve never done before.

Now, let’s get back to Mint. The app allows its user to set a limit of how much you want to spend a month, and track your limit of spending. It also shows you how much money you’ve spent in a specific period of time, so you can berate yourself at night, before you go to sleep – you seriously didn’t need to buy all those games from amazon, regardless if they were on sale or not.

It’s free!

  • The Best Game – Watch Tag

The Best Apple Watch Game

The Watch Tag game is one of the most social games that I have had the pleasure of playing. It’s only for Apple Watch users, so if you want to be part of the fun, get on the bandwagon and buy yourself Apple’s smartwatch. How does the game work? Well, users have points on their device, and there is a target set to your wrist. In order to win the game you must tap the targets on your enemy’s wrist – every time you do so, you deduct a point from Timmy. At the end, he who has the most points wins the crown to the kingdom – it’s usually a cup of coffee, or a Snickers bar.

It costs $0,99!

  • The Best Smart Home App – SmartThings

The Best Apple Watch Smart Home App

Surprisingly, the SmartThings app is available for Apple’s smartwatch. Why surprisingly? Well, because SmarThings is made by Samsung, and the two companies don’t really get along that well. The user can control all of the sensors straight from their wrist. You’ll receive notifications, and in the future, the developers have been reported to state that more functionalities will be available for their app.

It’s free!

Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Apple, apple watch, Evernote, smartwatch, uber, Watch Tag

Sony Smartwatch 3 Review

January 7, 2015 By Karen Jackson Leave a Comment

sony-smartwatch-3

Sony had previous attempts at making a smartwatch that weren’t very successful. As a matter of fact, its previous smartwatch, the SmartWatch 2 was actually pretty darn awful. However, Sony, which seems to learn from its mistakes, has developed its newest wearable called the SmartWatch 3.

Sony’s SmartWatch 3 has a better design, interchangeable straps and an improved waterproofing. And, probably most important, Sony has decided to get rid of its tedious custom interface.

The device now uses Android Wear, the software developed by Google which provides an integrated platform for companies like Samsung, LG, Motorola and Sony to use in their product and be able to allow people to develop apps that work across all platforms.

The SmartWatch 3 costs $250 and is currently on sale directly from Sony. Here is our Sony SmartWatch 3 review.

Design

sony-smartwatch-3-design

Sony did not put a circular face on their smartwatch, like LG did. Sony’s newest smartwatch has a square face. This makes it look more like a fitness device because of its strap and display and Sony’s SmartWatch 3 doesn’t look as luxurious as the LG G Watch R with its leather strap and metal casing.

The device is not unattractive per se, but the rubber strap and square face look a little boring. This is not the kind of watch you would wear on your wrist when being dressed for a party or a social event. The LG’s G Watch R, however, could remain on one’s wrist when being dressed for several occasions without looking like it’s out of place.

Even though Sony’s newest smartwatch is quite on the heavy side and more than a little chunky, the rubber strap makes it quite comfortable to wear. But you will certainly not want to sleep while wearing it on your wrist. One of the reasons the watch is chunky is that it has a micro-USB port built right into it. This port allows the user to charge the device by directly plugging a cable into it, whereas other Android Wear devices need a special charging stand. This is a plus, because the stand used by other Android Wear devices is quite annoying as you need to always keep in mind that you have to take it with you should you not spend the night at home.

SmartWatch 3 can be removed from the strap allowing the user to change the style and color of it. Even though only green and black straps are available at the moment it’s quite certain that Sony will offer different other straps in the near future. Because the screen pops out very easily from its strap, the user will be able to make his or hers watch look more special than the standard version that comes in black (or the available lime-green strap).

The SmartWatch 3 is not just water resistant, it is totally water proof, which means that you don’t have to take the watch off your wrist every time you wash the dishes or go into the shower for fear of damaging it. However, water droplets in contact with the watch’s screen will interact with it.

Display

sony-smartwatch-3-display

The SmartWatch 3 has a screen of 1.6 inches and a resolution of 320×320. This is about the same as other smartwatches and thus, the screen is about as good as its other competitors (or is it?). The screen is pretty bright, even though under strong lights it may prove to be difficult to read. The colors on the SmartWatch 3 are pretty weak when compared to the more vivid screen on the LG G Watch R, however, and the viewing angles are not very good either, which means that you have to look at the watch just right to have an ideal view.

But because you won’t be browsing through images and watch videos on the SmartWatch 3, colors aren’t all that important to begin with. The device could be in black and white for all we care. Viewing angles, however, are a different story. Taking into consideration that the watch will move in different positions on the user’s wrist, the viewing angles are quite important for the user won’t be able to always have the optimal angle when viewing the device. Even though the display is readable in every angle, this is definitely a point against the device when compared to the Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch R which both have greater viewing angles.

The SmartWatch 3 has several faces the user could choose from but they are very few in number and aren’t all that impressive to begin with. The faces resemble mostly digital watches and even though they match quite well the look of the watch itself, they don’t really make it look more elegant. The G Watch R, however, features a whole bunch of watch faces that really look good on the device and some of them really make the smartwatch look quite luxurious.

Even though there are tons of watch faces available from third-party developers on the Google Play Store, it’s a real shame that Sony has not put a little more effort into bringing more faces on their device right out of the box.

Software and Features

sony-smartwatch-3-software-features

Sony’s SmartWatch 3 runs Android Wear OS for smartwatches. Because the Android Wear operating system isn’t tampered with or skinned by manufacturers, like the Android OS, the interface is the same across numerous watches like the G Watch R and the Gear Live. Android Wear connects to your phone (NOTE: The phone has to be an Android phone as Android Wear devices won’t work on Windows Phones or iPhones) and will show the user information like notifications, calendar appointments and weather which will be displayed as cards on the smartwatch screen.

Swiping the card to the left will give the user more information about it or open the app on their smartphone and swiping it to the right will dismiss the card. You can also use voice commands to ask the smartwatch to set a timer, show your schedule or get information about the weather. You can also make searches on the Web and dictate emails to send to your contacts. Some voice commands such as “What is the time in Los Angeles?” will give the user an immediate answer on the display of the watch, while others, such as “How do you cook a turkey?” will give the user a list of search results from Google.

Even though the SmartWatch 3 can easily recognize voice, certain names in the contacts are often misheard by the device and the user has to start talking at the right moment for the watch to be listening. The information is processed quicker than on the LG G Watch R, which gives a faster, smoother experience with less difficulty.

The user can store music directly on the smartwatch (4GB of space are available on it) and may listen to it by pairing the device to a Bluetooth set of headphones. Because the music is on the watch, the user won’t have to also carry the phone. This is a nifty feature if you want to go out for a jog and don’t wish to bring a clunky smartphone with you. It’s pretty easy to make use of the feature but it works only with tracks that have been bought from the Google Play Music store. So if you wish to have music from some other source on your watch, the feature is pretty much useless.

Another cool feature is that the watch has GPS built right in, unlike other watches that rely on the GPS from your smartphone. Built in GPS means that you can jog with the smartwatch on your wrist and the device will give much more accurate information and can do so without carrying that clunky phablet in your pocket.

However, not all apps can make use of the built in GPS, and surprisingly, not even Sony’s LifeLog app didn’t work with it. But we expect that in the future more apps will support the GPS built into the device.

Even if the music capabilities and GPS features may prove to be enough for someone who jogs very often, the device lacks a very important function: a monitor for heart rate, offered by both the LG G Watch R and the Moto 360. And even though the readings from these two smartwatches aren’t totally reliable, they do give people other information about their progress. It just seems a little ignorant for Sony not to offer something like this in a device intended for fitness.

Battery Life

Sony claims the SmartWatch 3 can last for at least two days, which we really don’t think is quite so. Maybe you would be able to get this kind of life out of the device if you don’t use it for music, use the GPS feature on it and never let the display on the auto-on mode. What’s the use of having a smartwatch on your wrist if you won’t use any of its smart features?

If you do use the smart features, however, you’ll see the battery drain quite quickly. Connecting Bluetooth headphones on the device, using its GPS features and making use of voice control, the user could very easily be able to drain the battery in just one day, a day and a half if you use it less intensely. As most Android Wear devices, the watch will most likely require an overnight charge. However, the USB port built into the watch will make this a lot less tedious.

Conclusion

Because of its square design and built in features, it’s obvious that the SmartWatch 3 is intended for fitness rather than fashion. The watch scores points for the USB port built into it, smooth usability and the fact that you don’t have to carry the charging cradle everywhere you go.

However, the device falls short because of the inferior quality display with pretty bad viewing angles and less vibrant colors than the Gear Live and G Watch R, and the lack of a heart-rate monitor. It’s also less stylish than other devices because of its boring watch faces, rubber strap and square design for which you won’t be able to carry the watch on every occasion.

Wrapping Up…

PROS

– Built-in GPS that tracks your workout.

– Waterproof

– Built-in USB port for charging

– Android Wear runs very smoothly on the device

CONS

– Screen is awful, with bad viewing angles and poor colors

– Less classy than the LG G Watch R because of its design

– No heart-rate monitor

The Verdict

Even though the built-in GPS feature is quite handy, the lack of a heart-rate monitor on a fitness device seems to be quite unacceptable. Also, the poor screen quality and unimpressive design make the Sony SmartWatch 3 look like it’s below the Gear Live and the G Watch R.

Images source: sonymobile.com

Filed Under: Tech & Science Tagged With: android smartwatch, android smartwatch review, smartwatch, sony, sony android smartwatch review, sony smartwatch, sony smartwatch 3, Sony Smartwatch 3 Review

15 Best Android Wear Watch Apps

December 29, 2014 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The next big thing seems to be the Android Wear apps. We’ve just got our hands on the first Android Wear devices and many Android developers are updating their apps to offer support for smartwatches.

For most of the people, notifications on their watches will be the primary purpose but the smartwatch is capable of doing a whole lot more and we intend to show you just that. The smartwatch is able to count the steps you take, search via commands of the voice and tell the time (of course). Android app developers can expand their apps with extra capabilities in order of making them compatible with the new smartwatches.

Having apps on your watch is very easy. You just have to install an app on your smartphone and sync it to your watch in the Android Wear app. Once you install an app you can open it by saying “Okay, Google, start (name of the app)” or manually launching the apps by scrolling to the Start section on your device. Our experience has taught us that having to search for apps on your device or running them by use of voice can be very messy and tedious.

Just remember that these are the first apps available for the new platform and with time there will be a lot more and a lot more capable apps available for your smartwatch. Even though some of these apps don’t really work all that well this does not mean you should ignore them completely. Here is our list of the 15 best Android Wear watch apps.

1. Evernote Wear

evernote

 Image source: howtotipsonline.org

The Wear app by Evernote is a lot more advanced than many other apps. The Evernote Wear lets you have notifications on your smartwatch and make them using your voice as well as offering you the possibility to search and browse notes already made on your smartwatch. You can search for notes by time, based on your location, or view notes that that have items on them which you can check off as you complete them.

Price: Free

2. Tockle

tockle

Image source: blogspot.com

This app is especially useful for those who wish to change the settings on their smartphone. Tockle lets the user control the phone’s Bluetooth connection, Wi-Fi and sounds through their smartwatch. A very useful feature is the one that lets the user set task paths, like controlling the music player on their smartphone just by tapping on the smartwatch. Even though the app is still in its early days, Tockle could prove to be quite an easy and useful watch to phone app. The app is still in beta so there will probably be numerous updates available for it.

Price: Free

3. Duolingo

duolingo

Image source: vox-cdn.com

Duolingo launched at the same time the Android Wear launched but still remains one of the best and interesting app for smartwatches. Duolingo offers another use for your smartwatch other than fitness tracking, time management and notifications. The Duolingo app allows users to learn a new language and really integrates well with Android Wear. The developer of the Duolingo app says: “Learn Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Irish, Danish, and English…” And you could do so for free.

The watch app and the Duolingo app on the smartphone make learning a new language very fun by making a game out of it. Get the right answer on a translation question and win some points, get the answer wrong and lose some. The Duolingo app also pauses along the way and shows you your progress so far.

Price: Free

4. Wear Audio Recorder

wear-audio-recorder

Image source: ggpht.com

We’re certain you don’t wish to walk around all day talking to your watch but you can easily make short reminders or memos by using this simple app. Wear Audio Recorded makes use of the microphone in the smartwatch to record high quality sounds and instantly sync them to your smartphone where you can manage all your reminders and files. So now you have no more excuses for forgetting to buy things at the market.

Price: Free

5. Allthecooks

allthecooks

Image source: gizmag.com

If you like cooking food this app may be of great help for you. Allthecooks contains recipes and tips from more than 12 million users worldwide and will surely provide you with a good idea if you’re wondering what to cook next. There are thousands of images uploaded by users on the recipes along with many reviews. The images and recipes are viewed on the smartwatch so you don’t have to always look at your phone for the next ingredient or step in the recipe.

Price: Free

6. Lyft

lyft

Image source: popsugar-assets.com

This app is the first of its kind available for Android Wear. Lyft lets you call a car to your current location without having to use your phone. It connects to your android smartphone and by saying “call me a car”, the app will call a Lyft driver to your location in just a few minutes. It’s very probable that we will see similar smartwatch apps from Hailo, Uber and many other car service apps available on Android in the future if Lyft is not your number one choice. It’s never been this easy to call a ride home after spending an evening in a bar.

Price: Free

7. Runtastic and RunKeeper

runtastic

Image source: bestofmicro.com

The Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch can count every step you make automatically and will do so right from the first use. The Samsung Gear Live can also measure the heart rate. But even though, both of them count your steps they don’t go much further than that. Runtastic and RunKeeper go beyond that and provide the user with the ability to start tracking just by using a simple voice command and thus filling in the need for a more advanced hiking app. The user can see stats and a very detailed progress after and also during the run. Sadly, both apps require the user to carry the smartphone on his and hers walk or run because neither offers true GPS functionality for a better and more detailed tracking.

Runtastic Price: Free

RunKeeper Price: Free

8. Swipify

swipify

Image source: blogspot.com

Swipify is another app in the beta stage. The app aims on helping the user do a lot more with his smartwatch. Swipify lets the user switch between apps with a finger swipe and also adjust settings such as brightness and apps in the launcher easily and very quickly. The app also lets the user see how much RAM is being used, which is a pretty nifty feature for people who are trying to preserve the life of their batteries.

Price: Free

9. IFTTT (If This Then That)

ifttt

Image source: tnwcdn.com

The IFTTT is a very powerful back end for sites and apps you use every single day. As of now, the app is also available for Android Wear. The IFTTT app allows you to mute your smartphone from the smartwatch, upload your location on Facebook, get alerts on your smartwatch when you are mentioned in Twitter and has a whole lot more very useful and easy to use features.

Price: Free

10. PixtoCam

pixtocam

Image source: ggpht.com

Google’s Camera app can be handled with Android Wear but this app is a much greater remote view finder. You can unlock your phone, turn it on, adjust settings for photos, disable or enable the flash, zoom out and in and a whole lot more by using PixtoCam. It’s a very useful app for the framed selfies when no one is around to give you a helping hand.

Price: 1.99 $

11. Wear Calc

wear-calc

Image source: ggpht.com

This app is another Android Wear app and is a great tool that better works on your smartwatch than on your smartphone. Make a quick calculation in just seconds without unlocking your mobile phone and running an app on it. It reminds us of the ‘90s when the Casio calculator watch was a pretty big thing.

Price: Free

12. Bunting

bunting

Image source: sourcedigit.com

This is the first Android Wear app that lets the user compose and send out tweets by dictating them to the smartwatch and even supports hashtags. It is now possible to tweet just what you are speaking. Even though Bunting is still in the beta stage it is still a very useful app. There will probably be a lot of updates available in the future for the Bunting Android Wear app.

Price: Free

13. Banjo

banjo

Image source: blogspot.com

Even though this app is not designed specifically for Android Wear, this news app is optimized for use on your smartwatch. In fact, it’s so well optimized that it really looks like a native app. It’s updated automatically with rich content on topics and items that the user chooses. Banjo also updates automatically the stream with news around your location.

Price: Free

14. Golf Shot

golf-shot

Image source: wareable.com

Of course it isn’t possible (yet, anyway) to play a golf game on your smartwatch but the Golf Shot app can help you in your real life game and has details on more than 500,000 golf courses around the world, including details regarding the distance to the hole and will even suggest which club to use. Golf Shot also features very detailed images from satellites and is great for sharing your progress and skills with the world.

Price: Free

15. InstaWeather

instaweather

Image source: ggpht.com

InstaWeather is a very good weather app that gives the user very complex details and information in real time right on the user’s watch. The app shows you satellite pictures so you know when to expect showers and also has some very beautiful forecast screens. It looks best on the circular LG G Watch.

Price: Free

BONUS: Wear App Manager

wear-app-manager

Image source: ggpht.com

Once you install a whole bunch of Android Wear apps, finding all of them can be very difficult. You could create a special folder for all the apps or you can use this great app for just 99 cents. Wear App Manager organizes all the wear apps on the phone and makes them more accessible.

Numerous apps offer Android Wear capabilities also but you might not be aware of it. For example, our favorite SMS app works with Android Wear. People who use Go SMS Pro may not be aware it also has Android Wear functionality. This app will help you find which apps installed on your phone offer watch capabilities.

Wear App Manager lists all the Wear apps that are installed on your smartphone. Tap on one of the apps in the list and Wear App Manager will give you details and information about the permission and size of the app. The app also shows a link to the Play Store. Wear App Manager allows you to open an app or uninstall it.

Price: 0.99 $

So there you have it. This was our list of 15 best Android Wear watch apps available right now. We hope we helped you in choosing what apps best suit you. All of these apps can be searched and downloaded on the Google Play Store.

Filed Under: Tech & Science Tagged With: android, android wear apps, best android wear apps, Best Android Wear Watch Apps, smartwatch, smartwatch apps

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