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Smart watches?

us Offline MadPlumbarian

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Smart watches?
on: November 25, 2018, 12:39:16 AM
Maybe someone can help me understand these things? I love watches but I have no clue about smart watches, my wife’s friend bought her one of these slim ones, she says it does all sorts of things, but she has it so it monitors her heart rate, distance she walks, calories she’s burnt, along with how she sleeps at night. Not everything in my interest, but then I thought maybe the heart rate might help put on monitoring seizures, worth a shot, but then as I looked these watches up they also hook up to your phone, I don’t have one so that doesn’t matter, yet I have my iPad, then they also do music? Take pics? Connect to Facebook/email. And other stuff? So they kinda have me thinking, especially since there like $30? Can anyone inform me on these things? Thanks..
JR
"The-Mad-Plumbarian" The Punisher Of Pipes!!! JR
As I sit on my Crapper Throne in the Reading Room and explode on the Commode, thinking, how my flush beat John’s and Jerry’s pair? Jack’s had to run for the Water Closet yet ended up tripping on a Can bowing and hitting his Head on the Porcelain God! 🚽


ca Offline Chako

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Re: Smart watches?
Reply #1 on: November 25, 2018, 04:40:51 AM
I have a Kingwear KW88 Pro, which is an Android Wear OS smart watch.

Pros:
- monitors heart rate/steps walked/calories burned
- can hook up to cell phone using Bluetooth which allows you to get notifications, use watch as remote camera shutter trigger, etc
- can hook up with WiFi, allowing you to use watch for browsing, gaming, etc.
- can talk to watch..."ok Google, can you tell me about the weather". The watch will then answer you with the data you want so long as you are in wifi range
- can upload apps from Google Play store
- some models allow you to install a sim card allowing watch to become a stand alone cell phone
- some models come with a built in camera
- many watch faces to keep one entertained

Cons:
- eats batteries quickly.
- web browsing on such a small screen is laughable, more so the tiny anemic keyboard.
- cell phone application is often garbage, problematic, or just not all that feature rich
- sometimes syncing cell phone with app is problematic
- time is only displayed by pressing a button, or if using a gesture to flash the time when it notices the wrist turn
- Android Wear OS is complicated in terms of settings
- pedometer/calorie count may be inaccurate
- if using gestures, you may have to use a digital watch face to read it in a short time frame before the watch goes dark again
- looking silly as you ask your watch to tell you something off the internet

There are different types of smart watches out there. There are cheaper ones that are more for fitness use. Many of those may have a built in battery that may last a year or more. Better then having to re-charge it every night or so. If you are looking for something with a lot of punch, an Android Wear OS watch is a good way to go. I know every time I ask Google to tell me something, and the watch responds in that female voice, it sure gets a lot of attention. I try not to do that all that often as I do feel utterly ridiculous doing it.

Hope that helps you a little.
« Last Edit: November 25, 2018, 04:42:07 AM by Chako »
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us Offline MadPlumbarian

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Re: Smart watches?
Reply #2 on: November 25, 2018, 09:18:22 AM
I guess not many wear these things,
I must say some of these thing look crappy yet some of these things look wow, but then the price is like holy crap!
As far as features go I mean,
Heart rate,
Pedometer,
Sleep rating,
Are a must,

However
A camera
Music(however it works)(do you need earphones?)
Along with mail and online
Would be a bonus, again, however it works, since I don’t have a phone, but like you said it drains it very quickly, so kinda a con.. I just don’t know the first thing about these things, I’d rather a automatic dive watch or solar but fig something like this might be interesting along with might pick something up with health..
JR
"The-Mad-Plumbarian" The Punisher Of Pipes!!! JR
As I sit on my Crapper Throne in the Reading Room and explode on the Commode, thinking, how my flush beat John’s and Jerry’s pair? Jack’s had to run for the Water Closet yet ended up tripping on a Can bowing and hitting his Head on the Porcelain God! 🚽


nl Offline Serena

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Re: Smart watches?
Reply #3 on: November 25, 2018, 11:55:57 AM
Smart watches are 99% of the time connected to a phone. And since you don't have one…
You need the phone for the settings, to sync data, to use cellular etc.
How can a person don't have a phone?????? Wow!!!!


ca Offline Chako

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Re: Smart watches?
Reply #4 on: November 25, 2018, 12:24:20 PM
Not always Serena. I found the related app more than useless, and I always carry my phone in my pocket...so having push notification on the watch was redundant. If you have an Android Wear OS watch, you can use it for a whole lot of things other than syncing to a phone. The health related stuff is useful and you do not need a cell phone for that to work. Likewise, being able to brows the internet from a phone is hilariously geeky if not all that practical. I gather this is why you can ask Google for info and the watch will tell you via a voice. I do like that I can change my watch faces. It is like having a different watch a day if you really wanted that. Some of the watch faces also give you more info such as weather, moon phase, steps taken, etc. Likewise, so long as you are covered by Wifi, Google maps was useful a few times. See, where I work, I can't have my students play with their cell phones....so I can get away with a few things online with the watch whenever I am away from the laptop. I have to lead by example...and that means my cell phone remains in my pocket on vibrate.

I gather that the more expensive name brands might have better applications for the phone. I know the WiiWear 2 application for the Kingwear was not very feature rich. I paid 126 dollars to see what an Android Wear OS watch was all about. So far, not bad, and I cannot complain about all the bells and whistles the watch came with. If you think of an Android Wear OS smart watch as a tiny freaking tablet...you aren't far wrong.

By the way, welcome back Serena.  :salute:
« Last Edit: November 25, 2018, 12:28:00 PM by Chako »
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nl Offline Serena

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Re: Smart watches?
Reply #5 on: November 25, 2018, 01:59:28 PM
But all of this is still covered by your phone. The weather etc. It won't work if your phone isn't around.
And how about setting your watch up. You won't be able to do that without connecting it to a phone.
Maybe it will work on wifi, but your phone was connected to wifi otherwise your watch won't know the network.
It's just not possible.


us Offline MadPlumbarian

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Re: Smart watches?
Reply #6 on: November 25, 2018, 07:12:33 PM
Yeah I don’t have a phone, the wife does, the older kid does, even the younger kid does, but since I’m never alone what’s the point? Heck the house doesn’t even have a phone, just a router. My only connection to the outside world is my iPad, besides I hate talking on the phone!
   I’m around my iPad most of the time, unless I leave the house, then I’m mostly near the wife’s phone, normally never further then 15ft, even in the house the farthest one can be would be from one side of the house to the other and upstairs to downstairs, so 50ft, yet her phone stays in the bedroom when home which is on the main floor so max 30ft? Same with my iPad. So I guess if these things can run between those id be set.
JR
"The-Mad-Plumbarian" The Punisher Of Pipes!!! JR
As I sit on my Crapper Throne in the Reading Room and explode on the Commode, thinking, how my flush beat John’s and Jerry’s pair? Jack’s had to run for the Water Closet yet ended up tripping on a Can bowing and hitting his Head on the Porcelain God! 🚽


ca Offline Chako

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Re: Smart watches?
Reply #7 on: November 26, 2018, 12:30:47 AM
Actually you do not need a phone. The watch has its own built in WiFi chip. I can search for WiFi and log on just like any other cell phone or computer.

Here is a review of the watch I have.

https://veditto.com/kingwear-kw88-pro-review-upgraded-version-kw88
« Last Edit: November 26, 2018, 12:38:45 AM by Chako »
A little Leatherman information.

Leatherman series articles


si Offline lister

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Re: Smart watches?
Reply #8 on: November 26, 2018, 05:26:21 PM
Call me when there is a watch that is a smartphone. And don't ask me how to make a smartphone in that form factor that is actually functional...  :D
There is no magic therefore gadgets!


us Offline MadPlumbarian

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Re: Smart watches?
Reply #9 on: November 26, 2018, 06:17:53 PM
I wore the Mrs last night to see and I must say I wasn’t to happy, normally I wear my watches loose but this you gotta wear kinda tight so it can keep the sensors pressed against your skin, I thought my hand was going to fall off, yet it read that I slept in a deep sleep for just under 3hrs and I slept for 5hrs, but I was awake for 11min.. I’m guessing that was when I opened my eyes cause something caught my attn, but I passed out within seconds,
JR
"The-Mad-Plumbarian" The Punisher Of Pipes!!! JR
As I sit on my Crapper Throne in the Reading Room and explode on the Commode, thinking, how my flush beat John’s and Jerry’s pair? Jack’s had to run for the Water Closet yet ended up tripping on a Can bowing and hitting his Head on the Porcelain God! 🚽


 

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