Weather you like it or not, weather you want it or not, wearable tech is going mainstream. Of the all wearable tech, the one that is getting most attention is the watch. I am not really a fan of wearing watches. I stopped wearing a watch even before I got my first smartphone. With a smartphone however, I had absolutely no need of even thinking of using a watch. Occasionally, I needed a watch when going on long trips, but then the powerbanks and easy access to power source at commute places essentially solved the problem of depleting battery life of smartphones while traveling.
About six months ago, when Spice released a cheap 'watch phone', I gave it a try. It was great for first few days, then one thing really killed it for me: it was not programmable, apart from doing some rudimentary stuff on the web browser. And more importantly there was no health tracking functionality on the device. Eventually, I stopped using the watch altogether. I thought I would never again wear a watch again. I was not particularly interested in waiting for Apple Watch for two reasons: it is going to be quite expensive, and more importantly, it had to be paired with my phone to be truly useful. Although, I feel, only Apple Watch at present (though not yet released) has the best design and functionality for a smartwatch.
During the GOSF 2014, eBay announced launching of AUXUS RIST - a fully Android based smartwatch and phone - for under 10K. This got me interested and I ordered one of them. Again, falling in the wearable trap! Two things caught my attention: A full Android system with onboard SIM support and a Water proof device. Here is a short review of the device.
Starting up
Starting the device up is surprisingly complex if you are not a geek. It actually requires you to carefully open the device to insert the SIM and SD card using the provided screwdriver. I think this is the first major hurdle in mass acceptance of the device.
The build
The build quality is solid, but quite bulky. But it depends on how you look at it. In terms of sheer material yes, it is a solidly build device. But if you look at it in terms of a device that is to be worn on your wrist, I think it a miss. It is better than the Spice mobile that I had earlier, but that is an understatement. I could easily give this device a miss and still my appearance would be no different. In fact, with the bulk of the device, I would rather give it a miss on day basis.
Battery Life
At best battery life is moderate, lasts for about 12 hours with 3G, WiFi and GPS on. But this is good, if you consider that it is actually a fully functional phone.
Performance
Since the device has a dual core, and 512MB RAM, performance is not much of a problem if you are using only the Google apps. However, if you start to install a lot of third party apps, it is sure to impact performance as is the case with all other Android systems. I have a "slow watch", would rather be a funny and ironic statement to make!
Launcher
The default launcher is no fuss, usable, but has shortcomings - the biggest one is no integration with Google Now. Even though I don't use Google Now on day basis - I like the way it surfaces information for me. I tried installing the Google Now launcher to replace the built in launcher, it works, albeit with a caveat - icons are suddenly too small.
Apps
All of the Google Play store apps are available. None of the apps I tried (particularly health related) had any issue. Have not tried any games - but then this is not the device to play games.
Conclusions
When I got this device I was quite sure I want such a device, and is quite indispensable for my everyday usage. However, after using it for about 3 weeks now, my views have changed. I really don't need a phone on my wrist. About the only reason I would need a SIM on the device would be to have a data connection independent of my smartphone. Also, although the design of the device is quite decent, it is hardly inspiring to carry around every day the weight on my wrist - let alone the need to charge it every day. I would not recommend it for the average you, only buy this is if you are a geek.
(eBay link: http://www.ebay.in/itm/Auxus-RIST-SMARTWATCH-MOBILE-3G-SIM-GPS-CAMERA-ANDROID-WATERPROOF-iberry-/231385146489?pt=IN_Mobile_Phones&hash=item35dfa12479)
About six months ago, when Spice released a cheap 'watch phone', I gave it a try. It was great for first few days, then one thing really killed it for me: it was not programmable, apart from doing some rudimentary stuff on the web browser. And more importantly there was no health tracking functionality on the device. Eventually, I stopped using the watch altogether. I thought I would never again wear a watch again. I was not particularly interested in waiting for Apple Watch for two reasons: it is going to be quite expensive, and more importantly, it had to be paired with my phone to be truly useful. Although, I feel, only Apple Watch at present (though not yet released) has the best design and functionality for a smartwatch.
During the GOSF 2014, eBay announced launching of AUXUS RIST - a fully Android based smartwatch and phone - for under 10K. This got me interested and I ordered one of them. Again, falling in the wearable trap! Two things caught my attention: A full Android system with onboard SIM support and a Water proof device. Here is a short review of the device.
Starting up
Starting the device up is surprisingly complex if you are not a geek. It actually requires you to carefully open the device to insert the SIM and SD card using the provided screwdriver. I think this is the first major hurdle in mass acceptance of the device.
The build
The build quality is solid, but quite bulky. But it depends on how you look at it. In terms of sheer material yes, it is a solidly build device. But if you look at it in terms of a device that is to be worn on your wrist, I think it a miss. It is better than the Spice mobile that I had earlier, but that is an understatement. I could easily give this device a miss and still my appearance would be no different. In fact, with the bulk of the device, I would rather give it a miss on day basis.
Battery Life
At best battery life is moderate, lasts for about 12 hours with 3G, WiFi and GPS on. But this is good, if you consider that it is actually a fully functional phone.
Performance
Since the device has a dual core, and 512MB RAM, performance is not much of a problem if you are using only the Google apps. However, if you start to install a lot of third party apps, it is sure to impact performance as is the case with all other Android systems. I have a "slow watch", would rather be a funny and ironic statement to make!
Launcher
The default launcher is no fuss, usable, but has shortcomings - the biggest one is no integration with Google Now. Even though I don't use Google Now on day basis - I like the way it surfaces information for me. I tried installing the Google Now launcher to replace the built in launcher, it works, albeit with a caveat - icons are suddenly too small.
Apps
All of the Google Play store apps are available. None of the apps I tried (particularly health related) had any issue. Have not tried any games - but then this is not the device to play games.
Conclusions
When I got this device I was quite sure I want such a device, and is quite indispensable for my everyday usage. However, after using it for about 3 weeks now, my views have changed. I really don't need a phone on my wrist. About the only reason I would need a SIM on the device would be to have a data connection independent of my smartphone. Also, although the design of the device is quite decent, it is hardly inspiring to carry around every day the weight on my wrist - let alone the need to charge it every day. I would not recommend it for the average you, only buy this is if you are a geek.
(eBay link: http://www.ebay.in/itm/Auxus-RIST-SMARTWATCH-MOBILE-3G-SIM-GPS-CAMERA-ANDROID-WATERPROOF-iberry-/231385146489?pt=IN_Mobile_Phones&hash=item35dfa12479)
