Category: Smartwatch

  • LG G Watch R vs Samsung Gear S3 Comparison

    There aren't too many reviews or comparisons between the Samsung Gear S3 vs the LG G Watch R or LG Watch Urbane so this may start something... The LG G Watch R was arguably the best looking and working Android Wear based smart watch when released in 2014. In use the watch was just as good as any other smartwatch running the platform BUT had one feature that stood out - it had a fully round screen! No other brand and a fully round screen. Without  the flat tire aka screen like other smart watches missing pixels like the heavily promoted Moto360 the G Watch R was the most complete model. It's case was based on a regular watch and even the button in the correct location mimicked a standard watch perfectly. The other feature was a heart rate sensor which few devices had at the time. We like the LG Watch R and have and one in daily use with complete reliability and it's still going strong! In hindsight it is clear now why the LG G Watch R  wasn't a high profile model it should have been when released and was due to not paying off the high profile vloggers on Youtube and the Apple bias '0nline' tech magazines simply didn't bother.  You can understand why Youtube in particular needs to change. The LG G Watch R's hardware it still current and so is the Android OS software that was not designed for the round face which is annoying and there are still some stability issues on certain 3rd party apps. You can get a more polished version of the G Watch R in a reclothed version called the LG Watch Urbane. Two years is a long time in tech and the new Samsung Gear S3 is a seriously good piece of kit. In terms of looks and feel the design is very good regardless of which model you get it looks like a upmarket watch in the Classic version and a outdoors watch in the Frontier version. It does look better than the LG G Watch R in standard spec and even better with another watch band. In terms of size the G Watch R and the Samsung Gear S3 are basically identical without resorting to a ruler to measure them. and likewise the weight. Seriously the Gear S3 is a very balanced watch in terms for handling and feel and is better than the LG. Both quite large smart watches but smaller than Casio G-Shocks so perfectly acceptable. In terms of hardware features the Gears S3 has the lot for 2016 and uses all its functions with ease. Differences in the hardware between the two watches are a speaker, barometer, altimeter, GPS, nicer looking screen, wireless charging, NFC and Magnetic strip transceiver and the operating system. The Gear S3 also has the option of a LTE or 4G model you can use as a stand alone phone. Makes the older LG seems a little under equipped. In terms of battery life the LG G watch R can still last 4 days if you just leave it on the desk but make it do some work and you are looking at 1-2 days if really active. The Gear S3 battery life easily lasts 1-2 days if using it often and can also go the 4 days if just left on its own. In terms of software and interface the Gear S3 and G Watch R are quite different The Gear S3 runs Tizen OS and is clearly the easier to use interface. The scrolling dial is perfectly logical to use and so are the buttons. The G Watch R runs Android Wear which works well but not as good as the Tizen as everything relies on screen gestures which logical is not as intuitive as pressing a button or spinning the dial then using the screen if necessary. The Samsung Gear S3 is the better smart watch no question and so it should be given the 2 year development gap!
    LG G Watch R Samsung Gear S3
    Operating system Andriod Wear Tizen OS
    Display/Screen 1.3 inch 320 x 320 pixels OLED 1.3 inch 360 x 360 pixels OLED
    CPU 1.2 Ghz Snapdragon 400 1 Ghz Exynos 7270
    Battery 410mAh 380mAh
    Memory  4GB/512 RAM 4GB/768 RAM
    Connectivity  Bluetooth 4.0 Bluetooth 4.0/WiFi/4G LTE
    Size  46.4 x 53.6 x 9.7 mm 49 x 46 x 12.9 mm
    Weight  62 grams 62 grams
    Sensors Gyro/Accelerometer/Compass/ Heart rate/Microphone/ Barometer Gyro/Accelerometer/Compass/Heart rate/Microphone/Speaker/Barometer/GPS/NFC/Magnetic transceiver/Wireless charging
    Features IP67 - Dust and water resist  IP68 - Dust and water resist
     Requirements  Any Android device running 4.3 Any Android device running latest OS
     

  • LG G Watch R vs Motorola 360 Comparison

    LG G watch vs Motorola 360
    Plenty of reviews out there so here's our own addition to the LG G Watch R vs Motorola 360 comparison and review. We're comparing the two purely because they are the only decent circular or round smartwatches you can buy.  Needless to say that we prefer the LG watch because we bought one over the Motorola 360 (see prior review). Both are great 1st generation round smart watches! We feel that aesthetics first and functionality second are the key features that will make you decide which one is better suited on your wrist. Hardware specifications are considered separately most probably don't care as long as it works well. Needless to day that the LG G Watch R is the hardware winner - surprisingly. We also prefer the completely round screen rather than the flat tire effect on the Moto 360. In terms of design the LG G watch R looks good hiding its size very well.There plenty of regular quartz, G-Shocks and mechanical watches bigger that the LG.  Where as the Motorola 360 due to the completely round body doesn't hide it's size so well but still its not as big as some other regular watches mentioned above. The different body colours and metal band options of the Moto 360 are a nice touch and well worth getting! In terms of use the LG has a better screen and one that works in dimmed mode most of the time without draining the battery it is also smoother to use (thanks to the new CPU) than the Moto 360. Since they run the same OS the functionality is the same. Both have a multitude of watch faces you can change at any time which makes them so cool! Both feature Heart rate monitors and sensors to measure steps which make them good replacements for regular health monitors like lower spec Fitbit etc..
    LG G Watch R Motorola 360
    Operating system Andriod Wear Android Wear
    Display/Screen 1.3 inch 320 x 320 pixels OLED 1.5 inch 320 x 290 pixels LCD
    CPU 1.2 Ghz Snapdragon 400 1.2 GhzTI OMAP3630
    Battery 410mAh  320mAh
    Memory  4GB/512 RAM  4GB/512 RAM
    Connectivity  Bluetooth 4.0 Bluetooth 4.0
    Size  46.4 x 53.6 x 9.7 mm  46 x 11.5 mm
    Weight  62 grams  49 grams
    Sensors Gyro/Accelerometer/Compass/ Heart rate/Microphone/ Barometer Gyro/Accelerometer/Compass/ Heart rate/Microphone
    Features IP67 - Dust and water resist  IP67 - Dust and water resist
     Requirements  Any Android device running 4.3 Any Android device running 4.3

  • Sony Smartwatch2 Review

    BLANK
    You've been waiting for this one. This is our long term Sony Smartwatch2 review. This Smartwatch2 is Sony's latest attempt at the emerging wearables technology category that will inevitably become mainstream. While Apple is still floundering or rather copying ideas from other manufacturers Sony has been trying the market with this line of watches. The only competitors to the Smartwatch2 are the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Pebble watch and are very different from each other. In terms on construction the Smartwatch2 looks good! It's quite stylish really dependent on the band you choose. We chose the metal band since it looks like a movie prop from Aliens or Star Wars. The face is made of hardened glass so it is difficult to scratch and the sine physical button is a solid metal.  The other buttons are touch sensitive but only once you've activated the screen by pressing the main button on the side. As you can see from our comparison picture against a Casio Pro-trek Triple sensor vs Smartwatch2 its not unusually big. The Smartwatch2 is also water resistant which implies its ready for the outside world. Furthermore as you can see, the Sony screen can be easily read in bright light! The only thing amiss in terms of construction was that the back of the watch - it was plastic. Note: The Casio Pro-trek series is a pretty smart digital watch that has a thermometer, digital compass and pressure sensor. The pressure sensor can measure height above sea level and under water along with general atmospheric pressure or barometric pressure. The large bezel houses the solar panels which means that it won't need battery changes for the life of the watch - whatever that may be. This version is circ. 2008.  It's a cool watch. In terms of hardware the Smartwatch2 has the latest tech featuring NFC, Bluetooth and micro-USB. The clever screen which can be read in daylight and looks great but the  color screen resolution is a mere 220 x 176 pixels but is capable of displaying at least 16 bit graphics? It's not bad but could be better. The CPU is reportedly rated at 180Mhz In terms of use the Smartwatch2 is a smooth experience. The single button activate the main touch screen and whatever apps you choose quickly and the only delays if it needs to get live data like weather or pictures from your photo album.  The bluetooth connection is quite strong we estimate about a 10 meters range before it loses connection with the phone. There are a number of Apps which you have to install via your phone first in order for it work and it can take a few minutes on first pairing. After pairing it is mostly automatic apart form the variables to do with bluetooth. Notifications are via vibration which is strong enough not to be missed. Battery life is an excellent 3-4 days unless you have a busy day or playing with it often which then reduces life to at least a day. The main function of the Smartwatch2 is telling the time and notifications which is does very well!  We love the messages showing on the screen rather then having to check the phone. For example new emails will be shown and you can actually read the entire message. Other than that there are a number of Apps than can be installed to keep you busy. Make sure you use the Smartwatch2 versions not the ones for the original Smartwatch. Apps need to be installed through the phone which is seamless once you've installed the main Smartwatch2 App (Smart connect). The same App cleverly integrates the controls of any Sony product with the feature. In terms of stability - nothing went wrong since we installed the latest updates! Make sure the Apps are for the Smartwatch2 and not for its predecessor. When we tried the older Apps it caused some instability. For our usage we only needed to charge it every 2 days! The SW2 works on any Android OS phone running version 4 and above whch means virtually any new Smartphone. The only competitors are the Samsung Gear and the Pebble watch. So why you'd choose the Sony Smartwatch2 over the others? The original Pebble is cheap to look at and wear. The screen is mono scale and not nice to look at. We're sure it will improve quickly though. The Samsung Galaxy gear is big and flashy with lots of state of the are hardware including a camera! but it is over $100 more expensive and can only be used at this point by the Galaxy Note which is thoroughly disappointing. It's appearance cannot be customised but it actually looks quite good. Despite lots of potential the main problem is the Galaxy Gear's instability and lags, there is just too many at the moment.  But otherwise all the hardware features like microphone etc.. but once again given time and software updates it will improve. To conclude, we like the Sony Smartwatch2. It is the best one at the moment for notifications and viewing SMS and email content actively retrieved from your connected phone. It is very stable hence works without any problems. If that is all you want than this is the device to get. If only Sony included GPS software and the latest health tracker functionality and the usual speed and design improvements in the next model the future looks bright. Specifications : Sony Smartwatch2
    • Design Aluminum digital watch with silicone strap/leather/metal
    • L41 x W42 x D9 mm Weight 122 gms
    • Display/s Transreflective TFT 220 x 176 1.6 inch screen
    • Camera N/A
    • Connectivity Bluetooth V2 NFC Micro USB
    • Memory Enough
    • Ring tones Vibration only
    • Features IP57 Water resistant
    • Power Up to 4 days Standby
    • Package contents USB cable
    • Price history 2014 Approx $269 outright.

  • Nokia 920 Review

    BLANK
    Welcome to the 2013 Nokia 920 review. The Nokia 920 is Nokia's latest flagship smart phone using the latest Windows 8 operating system. You can buy it by a variety of methods but the plan scheme seems to be the most affordable due to promotion pricing rather than out right at the time this review was written. The 920 is definitely the top end of the Windows Phone's currently featuring one of the best mobile phone cameras, screens and CPU technology. Outright pricing is a approximately $799 but there are cheaper places of course! The construction is typical Nokia which means it looks and feels good in the hand despite being made of plastic. The various colours are a nice touch but we think that only yellow, grey black and the white ones will gain any sort of sales. There is nothing outstanding about the way it made which is slightly disappointing but nothing that an after cover can fix easily. In terms of hardware the Nokia 920 has all the latest connectivity options including 4G and NFC. The screen while not the highest resolution available is actually quite good to look at. It is a pit that that there is nothing truly unique about the hardware that sets it apart from the other top end phones. In terms of software the latest version of Windows 8 is very boring to look at but easy and very slick to use. We don't know how Microsoft have done it but it does make the iPhone interface feel less than premium.  The off line GPS is also another selling point as are the live tiles, if you can find an App that uses it properly. The only real problem is the inability sync your details with the PC version of Outlook instead of trusting your personal detail on Hotmail, Live of Outlook.com which you should not feel comfortable about - we don't that's for sure. Once again the everything is very good about the Nokia 920 but the lack of Apps, the limited customization, missing local Sync and the lack of any sort of special features make it a very boring phone. Hence we can't write any more about it. It's easy to see why Android and its range of phones is the superior OS at the moment and makes us rethink our decision to convert to Windows OS exclusively. So if you want something that works easily that isn't an iPhone than this is the one to get. Specifications
    • Nokia 920
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Penta or Tri-band 3G 850/900/1900/2100 Quad band 4G 700/800/900/1700/1800/1900/2100/2600 dependent on network/country Data speed: very fast on 4G
    • Design Touch screen
    • L130.3x W70.8 x D10.7 mm
    • Weight 185 grams
    • Display/s 4.5 inch External 768 x 1280
    • Camera 8MP LED Flash
    • Video Camera 1080 HD pixel main video camera 720p face camera
    • Connectivity Wi-Fi Bluetooth V3.1 micro-USB
    • CPU 1.5 Ghz Dual core
    • Memory Up to 32 Gig on board
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features Micro-SIM MS-Word, Excel and Powerpoint A-GPS Compass Accelerometer Windows Mobile Store for Apps Proximity Ambient Light Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email FM radio with RDS Speaker Phone/Hands free Li-Po 13000mAh battery Up to 400 hours Standby Up to 7.4 hours Talk Time
    • Price history Approx $799 AUS 2013 (Outright)

  • Samsung Galaxy S3 Review

    BLANK
    Welcome to the 2013 Samsung Galaxy S3 review. At the time of writing the Galaxy SIII I9300 series has been on sale for nearly 6 months and arguably the best Android based phone you can buy. Lots have been said and there are plenty of in-depth reviews that you can read. We've read them checked out the benchmarks and agree so have nothing to add to the world. So Like the iPhone we can only point out the reasons why you shouldn'y buy the Galaxy S3! - Requires Gmail address with all your personal data so you need a separate email for your phone if you want to maintain any privacy. - The Apps are not vetted as thoroughly as Apple's so you can be a victim. - Build quality while good could be much better. As plastic does its quite good to look at. - Standard Samsung enhancements are not attractive to look at. - A bit more difficult to setup and use due to the number of customisation options. - Google Play needs more work. - The screen colours are too saturated. - Still not as smooth as other OS. Overall the Galaxy S3 does have less issues if not using the advanced functions than the iPhone and that's probably why its the better choice for most people. Like the iPhone there is more great features than the problems! One of the most important features in being about to see Flash content! Just remember that the Galaxy S3 is one of the best mobile phones are the moment for a variety of reasons and would be our choice if it hadn't been for the new Windows 8 phones just released! Specifications
    • Samsung Galaxy S3
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Tri-band 3G 850/900/2100 Tri-band 4G 899/1800/2600
    • Design Touch screen
    • L136.6 x W70.6 x D8.6 mm
    • Weight 131 grams
    • Display 4.8 inch 1,280 x 720 AMOLED
    • Camera 8MP auto-focus LED Flash 2nd forward facing video call camera 2MP
    • Video Camera 1080p high definition 30FPS main video camera
    • Connectivity Wi-Fi Bluetooth V3
    • CPU Quad core 1.4 Ghz
    • Separate Graphic CPU
    • Memory 1Gig RAM 16 Gig for user Up to 64Gig micro-SD expansion
    • Features A-GPS Compass Accelerometer Proximity Ambient Light Dolby Digital Music and Media player Ring tones: MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others Google Play store Free Google Navigator (requires data plan) MS-Word, Excel and Powerpoint, PDF, ZIP compatible Organiser/Calendar SMS, MMS, IM, Email Speaker Phone/Hands free Li-Po 2100 mAh battery Up to 600 hours Standby Up to 11 hours Talk Time
    • Price history Approx $650 AUD late 2013 (Outright) Approx $750 AUD late 2012 (Outright)