Huawei Watch reviews

HUAWEI WATCH: SPECS

• Android Wear OS
• 1.4in screen 400x400
• 1.2GHz processor, 512MB RAM
• 4GB storage
• Heart rate monitor
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• IP67
• 11.3mm

HUAWEI WATCH REVIEW: DESIGN AND BUILD

We got a good fondle with the silver model but the Huawei Watch will also be available in a nice looking black model and a shiny gold one for those after a more bling finish. There are also two straps to choose from, either leather or stainless steel. Interestingly, Huawei has places the physical button at 2 o'clock rather than 3 and this seems to make sense meaning you don't need to twist your wrist as much to push it (the wrist not wearing the device).

Like many smartwatches, the Huawei Watch is big so you've got to be prepared for this. It seems only some vendors are following Apple's lead of producing two sizes for those with smaller wrist which is a shame.

The stainless steel case and sapphire crystal front look great, even if the device is a bit chunky at 11.3 mm. We're used to some Huawei devices being cheap and made from plastic but this couldn't be further the other way.
Huawei Watch review design and build

It's easily one of the most premium and desirable Android Wear wearables around, in fact smartwatches in general – it can pass a stylish regular wrist watch. Those tiny bezels play a big part in the wow factor and the Huawei Watch is definitely a head-turner.

As well as looking great, the Huawei Watch has an IP67 rating so is dust-proof and will survive being dunked in up to 1m of water for a maximum of 30 minutes.

With specs matching other Android Wear watches, the design is hugely important in differentiating from rivals.

HUAWEI WATCH REVIEW: HARDWARE, SPECS AND BATTERY LIFE

Talking of specs, the Huawei Watch fits in with the standard set of hardware for Android Wear devices. This means it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 4 GB of internal storage, 512 MB of RAM and Bluetooth 4.1. It also has various sensors like an accelerometer, barometer and heart rate monitor.


The screen, however, is a little larger than rivals such as the LG G Watch R at 1.4in but this is smaller than the Motorola Moto 360 so it's not the biggest around. What's notable is the resolution of 400x400 means it's has the highest pixel density of any Android Wear device at 286ppi.

Round screens are quickly becoming the norm for smartwatches with a few exceptions like the Sony SmartWatch 3. Huawei's is fully round so doesn't have the 'flat tire' effect found on Motorola's which is still a sticking point even with the new 2015 version.
It looks great with plenty of brightness on offer should you need it and it's also nice and responsive. The issue is that how you choose to use the screen has a big impact on battery life.
By default, the screen is set to always on – although it will dim and change the watch face to a stripped back version – and like this it will last you roughly one and half to two days which is what Huawei claims. However, switch the screen to switch off and you'll get double or more the battery life.

Leaving it set to always on wouldn't be so bad if the charger was easy to use, but it's not. It's not a stand and although it attaches magnetically, the metal contacts don't always sit properly so occasionally we though the watch was charging when it wasn't.

Huawei Watch review heart rate monitor

Moving onto fitness tracking and the Huawei Watch comes pre-loaded with Google Fit as you'd expect but also the firm's own offering, Daily Tracking. This does the same job but with a nicer interface.

As mentioned there is a heart rate monitor and like pretty much every watch with one of these, it's hit and miss as to whether it can take a reading successfully. We often found we had to push the watch into our wrist to achieve success. You'll want a dedicated fitness watch if this is important.

That's a shame but perhaps not as much as the fact it doesn't have GPS so those wanting proper tracking for running will need to look elsewhere. However, the Huawei Watch is compatible with Jawbone Up bands if you don't mind wearing a second device.

HUAWEI WATCH REVIEW: SOFTWARE

As we mention in all Android Wear watch reviews, the experience is essentially the same across them all. It's not like skins which get added to Android phones so you get pure Android Wear no matter which one you pick.

Huawei Watch review software

Price, hardware and design are all important when it comes to choosing then but it's worth pointing out that the Huawei Watch comes with the latest version of the software. This means you get Wi-Fi support to use the device without a companion phone and the new layout which provides a proper app launcher and contacts list.

You can also do things like draw emojis if that's your kind of thing (it actually works really well if you can think of what to draw) but more important is support for iOS compatibility. That's right, you can use the Huawei Watch with your iPhone - just bear in mind that it's by no means the same experience compared with using it with an Android phone.

Other than the usual Google Now card  style system of notifications, the Huawei Watch comes with a huge range of watch faces built-in and of course you can download more as well as the apps you want to use.

More: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/review/smart-watches/huawei-watch-review-3600487/

Motorola Moto 360 2 reviews

MOTO 360 2: SPECS

• Android Wear (Android 4.3 or later) and (iPhone 5 onwards, with iOS 8.2 or later)
• 1.37in, 360x325, 263ppi (42mm)
• 1.56in, 360x330, 233ppi (46mm)
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 with 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU
• Adreno 305, 450MHz GPU
• 512MB RAM
• 4GB internal storage
• Bluetooth 4.0 LE
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Accelerometer
• Ambient Light Sensor
• Gyroscope
• Vibration/Haptics engine
• Optical heart rate monitor (PPG)
• Dual digital mics
• Wireless charging with included dock
• IP67 dust and water resistant
• 300mAh (42mm)
• 400mAh (46mm)

We loved the original Moto 360 when it launched early last year as one of the first Android Wear smartwatches, not least because of its circular display that helps it look more like a traditional smartwatch rather than a lump of tech strapped to your wrist.

But the biggest complaint we had about it (as did many, many others) is that there's a portion of that circular display dedicated to the ambient light sensor and therefore doesn't have pixels. This results in an irritating 'flat tyre' effect. That's why we're so disappointed to see that it's still there! If you want to use a circular design as your clock face, you'll find that the bottom of it is cut off in an ugly and truly frustrating fashion. It might seem like a small thing but it makes a really big difference.

Motorola has put some time and thought into the rest of the design, though. There are now two sizes available. We're not keen on the way Motorola has labelled these sizes as men's and women's, but in the 'Men's' collection there's a black, silver or gold option, and in the 'Women's' collection there's silver, gold and rose gold.

When it comes to the size options, Motorola has included the 46mm and 42mm models in the Men's collection, but the Women's collection only features the smaller 42mm design -awkward.

The smartwatch has a stainless steel body, and has been slimmed down significantly helping it look sleek and in some cases quite elegant with the leather straps. The physical button on the side of the watch has been moved up slightly, too, to the 2 o'clock position. This makes it a lot easier to use.

As mentioned, the Moto 360 is available to customise through Moto Maker, meaning you can choose exactly the strap, colour and size combination you like. This isn't new, but the previous Moto 360 had very limited options, whereas this year's model offers lots of choice. You can even choose to have a different colour bezel around the watch face, for example, and Motorola doesn't charge extra for that.

You do have to pay extra for 'micro etch' for Women and 'micro knurl' for Men though which is an additional £20. Tiny lines are cut into the metal to add these effects.
In terms of durability, the Gorilla Glass display combined with IP67 dust and water resistance should keep it safe in most conditions, but you won't want to take it with you if you plan on going swimming or taking a bath. This is the same as the original.

MOTO 360 2 REVIEW: HARDWARE & SPECS

We've talked about how the Moto 360 looks, but what can it actually do? Each model comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chip inside, with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. This new chip brings the Moto 360 in line with premium smartwatches like LG's Watch Urbane and the Huawei Watch (which you can find out more about in our hands-on review here).

Performance is generally very good but we have found the new Moto 360 to occasionally freeze, mostly when dismissing a notification or card. This is a shame since it's not something we've really experienced on rival Android Wear devices. It can also take a second or two to load some apps.


That Snapdragon chip is paired with Adreno 350 graphics, and there's 512MB of RAM and 4GB of on-board storage should you want to download songs and listen to them while you're out and about without your smartphone.

Which brings us on to the next point, which is that the Moto 360 itself can connect to Wi-Fi, which means you can use lots of its internet-requiring features without your smartphone should you wish to, as long as you're able to connect to Wi-Fi.

We've talked a bit about the screen size, but taking a closer look at the resolution you'll find that the 42mm model is 360 x 325 pixels at a pixel density of 263ppi, while the bigger watch offers 360 x 330 pixels at 233 ppi. Both are clear,crisp and an improvement on the original in this respect. However, as mentioned, that flat tyre is a real sticking point.

There's still a heart rate monitor on the spec sheet and this is on the backside of the watch once again. This, if it is of much use to you, works better than most we've seen on smartwatches and genuinely gives a reading without needing to push the watch into your skin. We're not convinced it's always accurate though, providing a reading of 100 bpm while sitting a desk writing this review.

There's no GPS so like rivals, the Moto 360 2 isn't a great choice for those looking for great fitness features. You'll want to look out for the Moto 360 Sport when that arrives.
Moto 360 2 heart rate monitor

Depending on which model you buy, the Moto 360 2 either has a smaller or larger battery than the original. The 42mm has a 300mAh battery while the 46mm is 400mAh. Our review sample had the larger and we found that with default screen settings (always on), it lasted a couple of days with fairly light usage – heavier users will likely need to charge every night.

Charging can be a faff with smartwatches but Motorola makes things much easier with the wireless charging dock. This means that you can simply take your watch off at night, leave it on the dock while you sleep and it will be topped up when you put it back on, no matter how much you've used it. The problem comes when you find yourself away from the dock for whatever reason since you can't just plug in your smartphone charger.  

MOTO 360 2 REVIEW: SOFTWARE

The new Moto 360 runs Google's Android Wear OS for smartwatches, which means its fully compatible with most Android devices, and interestingly also with the iPhone now that Google has released an Android War app for iOS. iPhone users won't get the full range of features, though.

Moto Body is Motorola's fitness app, which uses the sensors in the Moto 360 to track steps, calories and heart-rate, and can also be used to track specific workout activities. Motorola has announced a new Sport model of the Moto 360, but that was only in prototype form at IFA and there's no word on when that'll be available to buy just yet.

More: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/review/smart-watches/moto-360-2-review-3624796/

Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch reviews

SAMSUNG GEAR S2: SPECS

• 42.3 x 49.8 x 11.4 mm
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity
• Circular watch face
• 1.2in 360x360 AMOLED display
• Heart rate monitor
• 1GHz Exynos 3250
• 512MB RAM
• 4GB storage
• 250mAh battery
• IP68 resistance rating
• Circular UI

SAMSUNG GEAR S2 REVIEW: DESIGN AND BUILD

The Samsung Gear S2 comes in two editions, the standard Gear S2, and one for those of us that love the classic wrist watch look, the Gear S2 Classic. Samsung says the smartwatch is designed for those who prefer a more timeless design, and we think they’ve hit the mark. We got our hands on the standard Gear S2, which comes in both silver and a slightly darker grey.

On the wrist, the Gear S2 feels pretty lightweight and comfortable to wear. Though it measures in at 42.3x49.8x11.4mm compared to the 11.5mm width of the first generation Moto 360 which people say is quite bulky, the Gear S2 doesn’t feel like a bulky watch. In fact, its weight and general build make it feel solid and premium, an issue that (in our opinion) Samsung has had with its past smartwatches.  

The real beauty of the design of the Gear S2 comes not with the circular display itself, but with the bezel of the watch. Instead of directly interacting with the screen of the Gear S2, users have the option of using the rotating watch bezel to scroll through the various menus and apps of the smartwatch.

When you turn the bezel, you’ll feel a gentle click which Samsung says will allow for muscle memory to eventually kick in and enable you to select apps without needing to look at the screen, although after using the watch for two weeks we still couldn’t manage it. It’s not a click generated by a vibration motor either, it’s mechanical. This means that there’s no battery life drain for those of you (and believe us, there will be a few) that just love the sensation of turning the bezel. It is pretty satisfying, we can’t lie.


Of course, users have the freedom of freely tapping and swiping directly on the watch face, but this isn’t how Samsung intends the device to be used. Although with this being said, we found using the bezel a little confusing when navigating the new circular UX, especially at first – but we’ll come to that below. Although with this being said, early adopters of the Apple Watch had the same issue and we don't hear many complaints about it months down the line, do we?

Samsung included Android-style back and home buttons on the side of the smartwatch to make using it an easier process, though we found it to be a bit of a fiddly process and we kept confusing the buttons as there is no real indication of which is which just by looking at it. 

SAMSUNG GEAR S2 REVIEW: HARDWARE AND SPECS

Let’s talk spec; the Samsung Gear S2 boasts a 1.2in AMOLED screen with a resolution of 360x360, which would sound nicer if Huawei hadn’t announced the Huawei Classic Watch, which features a 400x400 resolution, and is only £30 more expensive than Samsung’s offering. Although with this being said the Gear S2 has a fairly decent pixel density of 301ppi, so it’s far from a low-res display. It’s protected by Gorilla Glass 3 too, which is fairly standard for current smartwatches and should help protect your wearable from scratches and general damage.

The Samsung Gear S2 features a 1GHz Exynos 3250 processor coupled with 512MB of RAM along with 4GB of on-board storage, which provides a fairly responsive experience, and we didn’t encounter any lag during our time with the watch. It also has an IP68 rating, which means its dust and water resistant to a certain extent and will definitely survive being caught in the rain.

The Gear S2 also features not only Bluetooth, but NFC and Wi-Fi capabilities. Wi-Fi connectivity is especially impressive as it allows users to use the smartwatch when not connected to your phone when at home, work, or anywhere else with Wi-Fi.

Samsung has included a host of sensors to allow the Gear S2 to track your activity throughout the day and present it to you in a watch-style layout. Instead of just measuring calories (it still does, don’t worry!) it’ll measure the amount of activity you’ve done throughout the day and present it to you in blocks - green areas were areas where you were quite active (and the watch will motivate you when it detects this), yellow areas where you’ve taken it easy, and grey areas for when you’ve not moved at all.

It’s a good way to motivate yourself to get fit, but we found that it wasn’t very accurate at times. There were a handful of occasions where we’d be sat at our desks working, and the watch would count it as ‘light activity’. Although with this being said, we love the circular layout and when you haven’t been active for a while, you’ll get a little nudge to encourage you to get moving. You can also monitor your exercises with only a few taps, and we found it to be more accurate than its general tracking abilities.

In terms of battery life, the Gear S2 boasts a 250mAh battery that Samsung claims should last around 2-3 days on a single charge, with the use of Samsung’s built in battery saving mode. Without the battery saving mode on, you can expect a similar battery life to the Apple Watch, which gets you through the day and night without issue, but will usually run out of power at some point during the second day.

SAMSUNG GEAR S2 REVIEW: SOFTWARE

Samsung is using its own custom circular UX with the Gear S2, which works well with the hardware and overall design. The watch is easy to use, although it does require a bit of a learning curve to learn what all the buttons do, and which way to turn the bezel. Turning the bezel clockwise will scroll through your widgets, which can easily be customised to suit your needs – we have ours set up so we can easily initiate a run, track our daily activity and log our caffeine and water intake. Turning the bezel anticlockwise will display your notifications, and pressing one of the buttons on the side will display all installed apps on the watch. Simple, but as we say, it took a while to get used to.

The initial setup process is fairly straight forward, though you don’t just need to install the Samsung Gear app on your Android device – once installed, you’re prompted to install two more apps from Google Play in order for the phone to be able to communicate with the watch. But once you’ve gone through the setup process, the Gear app is the central command for everything to do with the Gear S2.

The Gear app is where you can customise the layout of apps on your watch, customise the watch face itself, along with a number of other settings. It’s also where you can browse for apps to install on the watch, although we noticed almost every app we installed required a full phone app to be installed to operate properly. While this isn’t any different from the likes of the Apple Watch and its companion apps, it’s frustrating having to download the app twice instead of having it all bundled together like Apple’s offering.

More: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/review/wearable-tech/samsung-gear-s2-smartwatch-review-uk-3624670/

Sony SmartWatch 3 reviews

SONY SMARTWATCH 3: SPECS

• Android Wear OS
• 1.6in Transflective LCD touchscreen display 320x320 pixels
• 4GB internal storage (approx 2.6GB available)
• 512 MB RAM
• Quad-core ARM V7 1.2GHz processor
• Bluetooth 4.0 LE
• microphone
• gyro, accelerometer, compass, ambient light sensor
• GPS receiver
• NFC
• 420mAh battery
• microUSB charging
• IP68 dust and water resistant
• Core unit 45g

SONY SMARTWATCH 3 REVIEW

Android Wear is Google's operating system for wearables, and most new smartwatches including the SmartWatch 3 have adopted it rather than use their own system. In our Sony SmartWatch 3 review we'll look at how this Android Wear device compares to its rivals, including the excellent - but expensive - LG G Watch R.

SONY SMARTWATCH 3 REVIEW: DESIGN AND BUILD

It may not be quite as stylish as some circular smartwatches, but the SmartWatch 3 has a certain charm about it. There's no big SONY logo or anything to draw your eye away from the 1.6in square colour screen. The only button is to the right, but you'll rarely need it as the display lights up when you raise your arm or tap on the screen.

They're made from sturdy rubber and have an equally sturdy buckle mechanism like you'd find on a metal-strapped gents watch. It's easy to adjust the strap for size without cutting.

We found the rubber uncomfortable to wear when hot - sweat is trapped under it, so it's best to take it off regularly, and certainly at night.

Instead of wireless charging, Sony has opted for a standard microUSB port. That's great news in some ways as you can charge it practically anywhere; there's a good chance that any given office or home will have a microUSB cable and charger.

The USB port is covered by a captive rubber bung - the watch has an IP68 rating, so it's dust and water resistant. We wouldn't advise swimming with it, but you'll be ok in the shower or going for a run in the rain.

SONY SMARTWATCH 3 REVIEW: SCREEN AND BATTERY LIFE

We found the 420mAh battery lasted exactly two days, which is slightly disappointing given then unusual screen technology. Instead of AMOLED or IPS, Sony has gone for transflective which means the display is still readable - given sufficient ambient light - without the backlight. It's the same technology used in many outdoor GPS devices.

You can choose whether or not to keep the screen on all the time. If you turn it off, you'll have to wake it up just to check the time, but if you leave it on permanently, you can merely glance at your wrist without having to tap or lift your arm.

Sony has also included an ambient light sensor so brightness can be adjusted automatically, but it doesn't appear to yield any extra battery life.

The 320x320 display has a few more pixels than the circular watches we've seen but there's no real difference in the amount of information shown. The disadvantage of using a transflective display is that while colours look ok square-on, viewing angles are terrible by today's standards.

If battery life were more like 4-5 days we'd forgive this, but LG's G Watch R also lasts two days between charges. Recharge time is roughly an hour.

SONY SMARTWATCH 3 REVIEW: FEATURES

Storage remains the same as the Sony SmartWatch 2 and rival Android Wear devices at 4GB eMMC flash memory. This can be used to store music which can be played without a companion smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth.


The SmartWatch 3 does have one ace, though: built-in GPS. With an on-board receiver, there's no need to take your smartphone with you on a run, hike or bike ride. The GPS can record your route and feed the data back to the Sony Lifelog app.

There's also NFC, a gyro, compass, accelerometer and Bluetooth. The latter isn't merely useful for connection to a smartphone for Android notifications: you can pair the SmartWatch 3 with some headphones and listen to music stored on the watch (there's 2.6GB of usable storage) when you're exercising.

What it doesn't have is a heart-rate monitor, although that doesn't mean the G Watch R is the best choice for fitness enthusiasts. The LG has a heart-rate sensor, which takes on-demand readings rather than monitoring heart rate over time. If you need that, consider one of the new Fitbit trackers: the Charge HR or Surge.

Also, unlike those activity trackers and Sony's own SmartBand Talk, the SmartWatch 3 has no barometer to detect floors climbed and neither does it track your sleep.
You can install apps on Android Wear, though, which add functions and features which could be even more useful. Right now the selection is rather thin on the ground, but it's sure to improve over time.

More: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/review/smart-watches/sony-smartwatch-3-review-3543048/

Microsoft Band 2 reviews

MICROSOFT BAND 2: SPECS

• Microsoft Band 2: Specs
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3, AMOLED screen, 32 x 12.8mm, 320 x 128 resolution, 255 ppi
• Li-polymer battery
• claimed battery life: 48 hours
• Optical heart rate sensor, 3-axis accelerometer, gyrometer, GPS, Ambient light sensor, Skin temperature sensor, UV sensor, Capacitative sensor, Galvanic skin response, Microphone, Barometer
• Haptic vibration motor
• Bluetooth 4.0 LE
• USB charge cable
• Compatible with iPhone, Android Windows Phone

MICROSOFT BAND 2 REVIEW

The Microsoft Band 2 is an activity tracker, smartwatch and sleep aide with GPS, heart rate monitor and more. It has a unique but limited feature set which we like, but you may disagree. Read our Microsoft Band 2 review to find out which camp you are in. Also read our first-gen Microsoft Band review to see how it compares.

MICROSOFT BAND 2 REVIEW: WHAT IT IS, WHY IT MATTERS

The Band 2 is the second generation wearable from Microsoft. A wristband/smartwatch hybrid that aims to make you both more productive, and more healthy. It is an important product for Microsoft, because it is intended to promote the Band platform to OEMs, in the hope that partners will come onboard and build other Microsoft wearables. But it is important for wearables in general.

That's because Microsoft has taken the long view on wearables, not rushing in with over-specced expensive products such as the Apple Watch or Google Glass, nor jumping on the wear-em-for-three-months-then-bin pedometer wristbandwagon. The Microsoft Band 2 builds on the ideas behind the - frankly, prototype - Microsoft Band, offering a similar feature set in a more complete and consumer friendly device.

It is not a smartwatch on your wrist, nor is it a dumb activity tracker. Rather, the Band 2 is a device that enhances smartphone use whilst allowing you to be more present in your environment. And it is a GPS-enabled fitness tracker that helps you to improve athletic performance, and quantify and enhance all the factors that influence your overall health. Finally, it allows you to check and respond to messages from your wrist.

MICROSOFT BAND 2 REVIEW: DISPLAY

Key to the success of the Microsoft Band 2 is its curved display. This is a bright and sharp Corning Gorilla Glass 3, AMOLED screen. Measuring 32 x 12.8mm, with a 320 x 128 resolution, it boasts a snazzy pixel density of 255 ppi. That combined with the rich colours of AMOLED makes for a rich display experience, albeit on a tiny screen.

You wouldn't compare the Band 2's display to that of a smartphone. Or, at least, you wouldn't compare it favourably. At this size that would be daft, and anyway it exists to show off data: words and numbers, not images. As such it is perfectly fit for purpose, without being battery draining. Even when tramping the mean streets of Surrey, sweat in our eyes, we could always see distance, heart rate and speed data at a glance. The touchscreen is responsive and there is no obvious pixellation, either. Good job Microsoft.

MICROSOFT BAND 2 REVIEW: SPECS AND FEATURES

The Band 2 is an fitness aid that tracks heart rate, calorie burn and sleep quality. Out of the box it can work as a pedometer, and to track and record running, cycling, gym workouts and golf. But Microsoft is also keen that other providers jump in and add other sports and activities. Also see: Best GPS watch for running.

The Microsoft Band 2 provides notifications of incoming email, tests and calender alerts. You can get it to add other notifications such as WhatsApp messages, too (if you want no down time at all). Each aspect of the Band 2's feature set is accessed via a tile from the simple interface. You can rearrange these tiles, and add third-party notifications such as Twitter and Facebook.

There are multiple sensors in the Band 2, including GPS, and always on optical heart rate sensor, a barometer to measure your elevation and - new to this device - a UV sensor to nudge you when your skin is getting burnt. It isn't a big deal right now, you might think, but often the most damage is done when you think it isn't sunny.

The Microsoft Band 2 connects to your phone via Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and is compatible with Android, iPhone and Windows Phone. You install the Microsoft Health app to access insights into your activity and lifestyle based on the data gathered by your Band.

MICROSOFT BAND 2 REVIEW: BATTERY LIFE

Microsoft claims around 48 hours of in-use battery life for the Band 2, which has a lithium polymer battery. We can't benchmark it in the same way as we can a smartphone, so I can only speak to my own experiences of using the Band 2.

In short: 48 hours is about right. I tend to charge it for half an hour or so when I am in the shower and getting ready every other morning. It charges quick: Microsoft claims a full charge in one and a half hours, but I found that a half an hour burn gets it up to around 80 percent charged. And that will do for a day or two, a day or two in which I walk to the station and then to the office, receive emails all day long, and almost always go for a run or a bike ride.

So although a wearable feels like it should last for a week or more, we can't really quibble with the Band 2's battery life. It is fit for purpose. And as it synchs with your smartphone via Bluetooth, I guarantee the phone will run out before the Band does. Which is in itself an issue.

MICROSOFT BAND 2 REVIEW: AS A PRODUCTIVITY TOOL

This is weird. But I have to be honest. I love the feature set of the Band and the Band 2. I find that wearing a device which puts on my body notifications about incoming email and texts actually makes me more present in the real world Perhaps this is exclusive to me, but I receive so much (boring and work-related) information every day that I find it impossible not to constantly take out my phone and stare into its brightly lit abbyss.

When I am wearing the Band 2 life gets simpler. I can dismiss with a swipe any email, text or call which doesn't require immediate response (hint: this is almost all of them). 

Furthermore, the haptic feedback that tells me a calender event is 10 minutes away lets me concentrate in the office, safe in the knowledge that I am not about to miss a meeting (or a meal). I don't want to be able to respond on my wristwatch: I have a smartphone from which to compose and send emails. But being able to triage messages on the hoof is actually relaxing to me. (I should point out that you can send a series of pre-written messages such as 'I will call you later', which may be useful to you.)

I am aware that praising the lack of a feature as a positive makes me sound like a glassy eyed true believer who is blind to the Band 2's faults. Perhaps that is the case. The fact is that if you want a smartwatch that replicates all of the functions of your smartphone, the Band 2 is not it. Not at all. You need an Android or an Apple Watch. But for me the Band 2 is a good productivity tool. It does what it does extremely well. 

MICROSOFT BAND 2 REVIEW: AS AN ACTIVITY TRACKER

It is a great activity tracker. The Microsoft Band 2 has everything that my TomTom GPS-enabled runners watch gives me, and more. As well as everything I can get from my Fitbit or Jawbone. And in a better shell, with a better app.

Of course the Band 2 tracks your steps. And the built-in GPS is a must if you are serious about measuring performance. In my experience the Band 2 locks on quickly and accurately.

I love the way I can clearly see heart rate, distance, time and average pace on a single screen. Every GPS runners watch I have tried has shown only one of those things in a format that I can reasonably see. It's the clear and sharp screen, innit? This is even more important when out on the bike.

Always on heartrate monitoring is a boon, and again accurate and easy to view.
We haven't managed to get out on the golf course with the Band 2, but we did take it to the driving range. All three of the courses closest to my house are in the app, and so next time I hack my way around I can log on and it will measure from where I take each shot. Which reduces the chances of cheating somewhat, but does give you accurate yardage into the green.

On the range it worked as advertised. The Band 2 ignored practice swings but recorded when I actually managed to make contact.

All of this data is parlayed into real-world tips and information on the app, which may or may not be useful to you. Personally I don't feel that I need the Health app to tell me how long I should rest between exercise, but I do like to see my splits and how my heartrate reacted to effort. Indeed, heart rate data is critical to pushing yourself harder and getting fitter.

You may be able to tell, but I love the Band 2 as a fitness device. My only quibble, and it is a significant one, is that the battery life runs out without enough warning. Which is wildly irritating if you are in the middle of a barnstorming run.

More: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/review/activity-trackers/microsoft-band-2-review-3630027/

Apple Watch reviews

Apple's smartwatch, called the Apple Watch rather than the expected iWatch, is available to buy now. Here, we bring you an Apple Watch review based on out experience with the hot new device so far.

APPLE WATCH DESIGN: WHAT DOES THE APPLE WATCH LOOK LIKE?

Apple has always paid particular attention to the design of its products, and has built a reputation as a fashionable and stylish brand. When it comes to smartwatches, design more important than ever. It's wearable technology, after all.

As can be expected, the Apple Watch is a pleasure to look at, and with 38 different styles to choose from there's bound to be something that suits you. There are three different Apple Watch models.

As the name suggests, the Apple Watch Sport is designed with exercise in mind, made with strengthened Ion-X glass for maximum durability and anodised aluminium to reduce the weight. It's available in Space Grey or Silver. You'll get the choice of a White Sport Band, Blue Sport Band, Green Sport Band, Pink Sport Band or Black Sport Band.


It's worth noting that we're concerned about the Sport Bands of the Apple Watch – we think they'll get grubby quickly as they're made with a rubbery plastic. It only took one weekend for our blue Sport Band to go brown around the edges. Yuck. It is very comfortable, though, and we've heard that some of the metal bands are significantly less so, even if they do look a lot nicer.

The Apple Watch has a Sapphire glass display rather than the Ion-X used in the Sport, and a Stainless Steel case rather than aluminium, and comes in silver or Space Black. Strap options for the Apple Watch include the White Sport Band, Black Sport Band, Black Classic Buckle, Milanese Loop, Black Leather Loop, Bright, Stone Leather Loop, Light Brown Leather Loop, Blue Leather Loop, Black Modern Buckle, Midnight Blue Modern Buckle, Soft Pink Modern Buckle, Brown Modern Buck, and Stainless Steel Link Bracelet and Space Black Link Bracelet.

And if you're wondering why the Apple Watch Edition is so expensive, that'll be because of its 18-carat gold case available in yellow or rose gold. You'll even get a fancy leather box that doubles as a charging cradle. Bands for the Watch Edition include the White Sport Band, Black Sport Band, Black Classic Buckle, Midnight Blue Classic Buckle, Rose Grey Modern Buckle, Bright Red Modern Buckle.

Phew. That's a lot of options. And even more confusing is that some straps can't be purchased with certain sizes of Apple Watch. For example, the Modern Buckle isn't available for the larger model, and the Leather Loop isn't available for the smaller model.

You can swap straps at a later date, though. Apple sells the Watch straps separately in the Apple Store and third-party accessory makers will be selling their own too. 

It's worth noting that several owners of the Apple Watch Sport and even some owners of the Stainless Steel Apple Watch have complained of scratches and some have even smashed the screens within days of getting them. It sounds like it's not the most durable of devices, though we've yet to have any issues with our Apple Watch Sport review unit.

All three models come in two different size options. The first is designed for more dainty wrists, at 38mm high. The larger option has a 42mm high screen. You'll notice quite a significant difference between these two sizes, so we'd strongly recommend popping into an Apple Store before you buy to try on both sizes and see which suits you best.

We were surprised by how small the 38mm model looks, and many people have commented that it's smaller than they had imagined. Some people will consider that a good thing, but it does make it somewhat tricky to use, as the text, icons and apps are very small. It does mean that it's really light on the wrist, though, so you'll hardly notice it's there until you want to.

The Apple Watch is water resistant to the IPX7 standard, which technically means that the device shouldn't be damaged if it sat in up to one metre of water for up to 30 minutes, but Apple doesn't recommend trying it. Instead, Apple describes the Watch as "splash- and water-resistant but not waterproof" and suggests that you could wear it in the shower but don't take it swimming. We'll have to wait and see how well the Apple Watch holds out against water over time.

We think that the Apple Watch is a stunning device, but we are slightly disappointed that it isn't round. We love round smartwatches from the likes of LG, Motorola and most recently Huawei, because they blend in as an ordinary watch better. The Apple Watch is quite obviously a piece of tech stuck on your wrist, and that won't appeal to everyone (yet, but this is Apple we're talking about so we'll probably all be wearing them in a couple of years and won't think anything of it).

We do like the fact that there are so many different options, even if it does get a bit confusing. Knowing that there are 38 different options makes the choice you make even more personal.

APPLE WATCH REVIEW: SPECS

The Apple Watch's display has a resolution of 272x340 or 312x390 depending on whether you choose the 38mm or 42mm size option. We thought the screen quality was excellent during our testing.

The Apple Watch is powered by an Apple S1 processor, and we have found that it can be a little slow on occasions, particularly while using third-party apps.


As can be expected from wearable tech, there are several sensors in the Apple Watch that enable the fitness tracking features. There's a gyroscope, an accelerometer and a heart rate monitor. There's no GPS, though: the Apple Watch relies on the iPhone for that part. That means you'll need your iPhone with you if you plan on tracking a run, which is a bit of a shame.

Prior to its launch, the battery life of the Apple Watch was a bit of a concern, and unfortunately those concerns haven't been completely put to rest now that the Apple Watch is here. Apple claims it'll last for 18 hours of normal use, which it says is 'all-day battery life'.


But our first day with the Apple Watch was disappointing. By 6.15pm, our iPhone had run out of battery (we later found it was the Apple Watch app that was guzzling up its fuel) and just half an hour later the Apple Watch gave up the ghost. Admittedly, we think we were using it a little more than we would normally as we were getting to know all of its features, but it's disappointing nonetheless. We'll update this review with more information about the battery life once we've spent some more time with the Watch to find out whether things improve once we get more used to using the device.

For now though, we've put together a list of tips that should help you make the Apple Watch battery last longer.

Charging takes around two and a half hours, and works with an inductive magnetic charger that snaps onto the back of the Watch itself.


There's no camera in the Apple Watch, but it can be used as a remote for the camera on your iPhone.

APPLE WATCH FEATURES: WHAT CAN THE APPLE WATCH DO?

We've determined that the Apple Watch is a good-looking piece of kit, but what can it actually do?

Well first things first you're going to need an iPhone 5 or later in order to use the Apple Watch, and you're going to need to download the dedicated Apple Watch app (if you've updated to the latest version of iOS 8 you'll find that you've already got it).
INTERACTING WITH THE APPLE WATCH


The Apple Watch runs Apple's own software, with some familiar elements taken from iOS in addition to many new ones. Interacting with the Apple Watch is an all-new experience, with new Force Touch technology that helps it determine when you're tapping and pressing, a physical button called the Digital Crown that can be pressed and scrolled, a second button that takes you to the Friends screen and also voice control using Siri.

Siri can be used to search, set reminders, dictate messages, get directions and more. It's as easy as raising your wrist and saying "Hey, Siri" followed by your command.

There's also Taptic Feedback, which uses vibrations that'll tap you on the wrist for alerts, directions and more. You can even send others your heartbeat and they'll feel it tapping on their wrist (sickeningly romantic, isn't it?).

With all of those ways of interacting with the Apple Watch, it's certainly going to take a bit of getting used to. You'll need to spend some time getting to know your Apple Watch to figure out whether you need to tap, scroll, swipe, push or speak to get the job done. You'll find lots of Apple Watch tutorials in our sister site Macworld's Apple Watch section.

APPLE WATCH REVIEW: NOTIFICATIONS

While wearing the Apple Watch, you'll get notifications for emails from VIPs, text messages, social media alerts and more. Apple has designed the Apple Watch interface with little snippets of information that the company calls 'Glances'. They're mini versions of apps that aim to let you get the information you need within seconds – Apple says you shouldn't need to spend more than 10 – 15 seconds looking at your watch at a time.

If you are the kind of person who likes to constantly check their iPhone for notifications, then the Apple Watch could be a time saver, as you'll simply need to glance at your wrist. But equally, if you'd prefer an occasional bit of peace and quiet away from the digital world filled with Facebook and Twitter and email, getting tapped on the wrist every time a notification arrives is probably not a good idea, so we'd suggest that the Apple Watch (or any smartwatch, for that matter), isn't going to be for you.

APPLE WATCH REVIEW: APPS

Apple's Apple Watch apps include Messages, Mail, Weather, Maps, Calendar, Passbook, Music, Photos and more. Apple doesn't intend for you to use the Apple Watch for web browsing, though, so Safari is notably absent.

Maps is among the most useful of Apple's apps, bringing turn-by-turn directions to your wrist. It's much more convenient than getting out your iPhone and by using the Taptic feedback to tell you whether to turn left or right, you won't need to look at a screen anywhere near as much, and can concentrate more on what's going on around you. 

You can use the Apple Watch to answer and make phone calls thanks to the built-in microphone and speaker, but we doubt you'll want to, particularly if you're outside or in a public place where everyone will be able to hear both sides of the conversation. If you're somewhere quiet you might find that it works well, but the quality isn't great at all.

There's also the ability to reply to text messages using smart responses or dictation, which we found worked well but again, only if you're in a quiet place and only if you speak very clearly.

Third party developers have been busy creating apps for the Apple Watch, incorporating Glances and the 10 – 15 second idea into the design. Apps range from hotel apps that let you use your Apple Watch as a key to apps that help you find your car in the car park.

There are even games designed for the Apple Watch, though we don't image we'll spend much time using our Apple Watch for gaming.  Facebook, Twitter, Shazam, CityMapper, TripAdvisor and more have confirmed that they're creating Glances for the Apple Watch.

It's such third-party apps that'll make the difference between whether it's worth buying or not, and it'll differ between each and every individual. Before you decide to invest your £299 or more in the Apple Watch, it's important to think about what you plan on using it for. Do you want to use it to remotely control various internet-connected devices around your home, for example? If yes, you'll need to check whether there's an app available to let you do that to find out whether the Apple Watch is worth buying for you.

But as mentioned in the specs section, we found most third-party apps to be annoyingly slow and often buggy. We're sure they'll improve over time, but for the moment it can be particularly frustrating. So much for that 10-15 seconds at a time thing, Apple.
Right now, we don't think there's a killer app on the Apple Watch that would make us feel like it's worth the £299 or more it costs. We think that app will arrive eventually, but right now we're still waiting.

Apps are all downloaded by first installing them on your iPhone and syncing with your Apple Watch. Apps can be reorganised on your Apple Watch home screen using the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, too.

APPLE WATCH REVIEW: FITNESS TRACKING

Apple has also come up with new Apple Watch specific apps for fitness tracking, something we've come to expect from smartwatches what with the rise in fitness and activity tracking wrist-bands from the likes of Fitbit and Jawbone.

The fitness tracking features are made possible thanks to the heart-rate sensor and accelerometer. As mentioned previously, GPS is also utilised but the Apple Watch uses the iPhone to gather that information – there's no GPS built-in.

The first of Apple's apps is Activity, which features three rings that represent Move, Stand and Exercise. Move shows you how many calories you've burned. Stand measures how often you get up off your bottom, and will prompt you to do so should you remain sitting for an hour without getting up. And Exercise measures activities that it considers to be as strenuous or more strenuous than a brisk walk. When the rings are full in the Activity app, you've met your target (which you can set with factors including calories, time or distance. Apple will use your sex, age, weight, height and general activity level to make target recommendations, but you can adjust them as you please) and you'll earn an achievement.

The Workout app takes things a bit further, tracking your workouts whether you're running, walking, cycling and more. It'll measure how far you travelled, how fast you moved and how long you were working out for. And for iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus owners, it'll also measure elevation thanks to the built-in barometer in Apple's latest smartphone. It'll keep all of this information in the companion app on your iPhone so you can track your progress over weeks and months.

The Apple Watch will monitor your heartrate throughout the day, even if you've not asked it to, which it does to help estimate how many calories you've burned and when you've been doing what it considers to be "excursive" but we're not convinced that it's completely accurate. We'll be carrying out further tests on the heartrate monitor soon and will update this review once we've determined just how accurate (or inaccurate as the case may be) the Apple Watch is. 

APPLE WATCH FEATURES: APPLE PAY

Additionally, the Apple Watch features an NFC chip that will allow you to use it with Apple Pay, Apple's secure mobile payment system. Unfortunately, though, Apple Pay still hasn't made its way to the UK so we might have to wait a while until we can use that functionality here.

When it does arrive, though, we imagine it'll be brilliantly handy not to have to dig around in a bag or pocket to get out our purse or wallet at the checkout in a shop. You'll be able to touch your wrist to an Apple Pay supported reader to pay in seconds.

APPLE WATCH FEATURES: TIME

Of course, the Apple Watch can also tell you the time. There are lots of different (software-based) watch faces to choose from, some of which you can see below, and you can quickly and easily change it whenever you fancy.

More: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/review/smart-watches/apple-watch-review-iwatch-design-features-apps-3607916/

LG G Watch reviews

LG G WATCH: SPECS

• LG G Watch: Specs
• Android Wear
• 22mm (0.86inch) Changeable Watch Strap
• 1.65in IPS LCD (280x280)
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with 1.2GHz CPU
• 512MB RAM
• 4GB internal storage
• Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy
• Micro USB on Charging Cradle
• 9 Axis (Accelerometer/Compass/Gyro)
• 37.9 x 46.5 x 9.95 mm
• 63 g
• 400 mAh

Android Wear is upon us and is Google's version of the popular mobile OS specifically designed for wearable devices like smartwatches. The LG G Watch is one of two launch products for the platform alongside the Samsung Gear Live so here's our full LG G Watch review. Read: The best smartwatches of 2014: List of the best wearable tech you can buy right now.

The wearable sector is one of the fastest growing in technology and if you haven't been convinced to buy a smartwatch yet, perhaps Android Wear is the reason you need. Smartwatches have been, at times, good but almost always lacking in some way or another.

As you might expect, Android Wear ties in with the main OS and aims to bring things forward in terms of both style and functionality. "Android Wear organises your information, suggests what you need and shows it to you before you even ask." says Google. See also: What is Google Android Wear?

LG G WATCH REVIEW: DESIGN AND BUILD

Out of the three announced Android Wear smartwatches, the LG G Watch is certainly the plainest looking. It's an understated square black slab with little going on – not even a button on the side. Perhaps this stealth style will appeal to some but to us it looks like LG's design department got a basic idea together then went to pub never to return and finish the project. The 'White Gold' model is a little more interesting but is likely too feminine in appearance for male consumers.

Smartwatches tend to be a bit bulky and the G Watch is about the thickness of a smartphone at 9.95 mm. We'd rather it was thinner but it doesn't feel too big when you've got it on. Weight isn't a problem at 63 g.

The G Watch comes with a rubber strap which has a nice smooth finish making it more comfortable than most and less clammy in hot conditions (although it's definitely not sweat-resistant). If for whatever reason you don't like the supplied strap, you can change it for any standard 22mm replacement which is always a good feature to include. This way you could spend a few quid to improve things on the style front with perhaps a contrasting stainless steel strap.

With no physical buttons, it's a little difficult to know what to do with the G Watch once you take it out of the box. To save you reading the instruction manual, simply put the watch on its charging cradle. There is a reset button on the back should you need it which you need a SIM removal tool or similar to push.

Last but not least on the design front, is the G Watch's waterproof credentials. It has an IP67 rating matching the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone meaning it's completely dust tight and can be submerged in up to 1m of water for a maximum of 30 minutes.

On a practical level, this means you can leave the G Watch on in the shower or go for a paddle with it without worry. Possibly more beneficial is the ability to simply wash it under a tap if it gets sweaty or dirty.

LG G WATCH REVIEW: HARDWARE AND PERFORMANCE

Even though the G Watch is the least exciting Android Wear device in terms of looks, you get some decent specs for your money.

The most important element of a smartwatch is the screen which on the G Watch is an IPS LCD panel, 1.65in in size. It looks great with nicely popping colours and a decent resolution at 280 x 280 although we've seen better. The size is just about right in order to provide enough space for information but not feel too big on your wrist.

Although it's advertised as 'always on' you can opt against this in the settings menu of Android Wear. It simply means you have to turn the screen on with a tap when you want it. If you do leave it 'always on' the device will automatically dim to conserve battery life.

Under the stealthy black exterior is a competent 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with 512MB of RAM. About what you'd find in a mid-range smartphone and we've had no problems with performance on the G Watch – it's as nippy as you like and will also appear to be laggy if you companion smartphone or tablet doesn't have a data connection.

The G Watch, as you would expect, connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth (4.0 Low Energy) and other specs include a 4GB of internal storage, a built-in mic, accelerometer, gyro and compass sensors and a 400mAh battery. We'll talk about what some of this hardware is for later.

Like a smartphone, a smartwatch with an LCD screen will vary on battery life depending on how much you use it. We've been using the G Watch with the screen set to off to get the best possible battery life and it will easily last a few days without needing to be charged. Heavy users will get about 3-4 days use while lighter users will get up to a week.

As we mentioned earlier, the G Watch charges by way of a cradle. The watch sits in place easily thanks to magnets and charges via five small metal contacts. It works perfectly well and we're impressed with how quickly the G Watch reaches 100 percent but if you don't have the cradle then you have no way of charging up which can be frustrating.
LG G Watch review hardware

LG G WATCH REVIEW: ANDROID WEAR SETUP AND COMPATIBILITY

Once you've turned the G Watch on for the first time you'll be asked to select your language, then you'll be prompted to download the Android Wear app to a smartphone or tablet. It's free in the Google Play store.

If you have Bluetooth switches on, your companion device will easily find the G Watch and you'll be paired up quickly. Following a quick and helpful tutorial on how to navigate Android Wear you're away and ready to use the device.

It's a wonderfully quick and easy process that even beginner Android users will be able to understand and follow.

It's worth pointing out that the device which you want to connect the G Watch to needs to be running version 4.3 Jelly Bean or later. If you're unsure about compatibility, visit g.co/WearCheck on your device before splashing out.

 LG G WATCH REVIEW: ANDROID WEAR FEATURES AND USABILITY

We're onto Android Wear itself so bear in mind that the system isn't exclusive to the G Watch while you read this section.

That aforementioned tutorial will get you up to speed with how to navigate and use the user interface but even if you breeze through it paying no attention you won't find it hard or time consuming to get accustomed to Android Wear. The interface is extremely user friendly unlike some previous Android-powered smartwatches.

In a nutshell, it's like have Google Now on your wrist and if that means nothing to you then Android Wear uses a card style system where each notification gets its own card. You swipe up and down through all the available cards to view them, swipe right to dismiss or clear on and swipe left for more information.

A slightly annoying thing is that there's no way of recalling a card If you accidentally swipe it away. There's also no way of choosing the order in which the cards are displayed either which would be nice.

One of the most common cards, for example, is weather and will show current information but swiping left will give you a four day forecast. Each card is given an appropriate background wallpaper which is a nice touch.

The main advantage of a smartwatch is getting notifications from your smartphone tablet without getting it out of a pocket or bag. Many smartwatch makers have tried to pack in too many additional features but Android Wear gets the basics right.

More: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/review/smart-watches/lg-g-watch-review-3532599/