Q Marshal

[Bob31464]

Just got the new Q Marshal from the Fossil store. I have several Fossil watches already, so far I really like this watch. It's a typical Fossil, big and heavy but I'm used to that. Android Wear is taking some getting used to, I've been wearing the Samsung Gear S2 Classic, which is also a good watch, but I just had to have this one. Btw, I got a free leather band with it as a promo, I'm not sure how long this will last but it's a good deal.

 

[B. Diddy]

Pics, we want pics!

I always find it useful to see the watch on someone's wrist, rather than only seeing the watch alone. The LG Urbane looked pretty good to me alone, but when I tried it on, it just seemed too massive for me.

 

[Bob31464]

Here ya go. The 2nd pic shows the speaker. The mic is beside the stem/button. It was easy to setup and seems to work pretty good. I know many don't like the "flat tire", after a little bit you don't even notice.

 

[Bob31464]

2nd pic

 

[Bob31464]

Btw, I'm not very big, about 5'8", 165 lbs.

 

[B. Diddy]

Very nice. Looks like the Huawei Watch, to a certain extent. Is that the band it came with? Looks pretty high quality.

 

[Bob31464]

Thanks. Yes that's the band that came on it and I got to choose another leather one. They are both actual Fossil bands and they have the pins so that you can swap them out and there are many choices available.

 

[Bob31464]

Well, I gave it a fair shake and will be returning it tomorrow. It's a good, solid watch but I like the way the S2 I have works a lot better, at least for me.

 

[Bob31464]

Ok, I really like this watch so I went and got it back. Maybe it'll just take time to get used to AW. I did make the jump from Blackberry to Android so I should be able to adjust.

 

[TJH132]

You seem really torn up about this purchase!

The mailman dropped off the new Q Wander today. This is my second Android Wear smartwatch; the first was the OG Moto 360 that I have used and abused for two years. It was finally starting to act up, though it's still surprising robust and the battery would last through a long workday.

My initial thoughts on the Wander are a bit mixed:

1. The silicone band is incredibly supple and a bit stretchy. I have to back off a couple holes otherwise I can wrench it too tight on my wrist.

2. The case is a tad taller than the 360, but the lug placement allows it sit very nicely on the wrist.

3. Compared to the 360 (and especially the 2nd Gen my wife has), it is really small! The bezels are larger and the screen is smaller: 1/8" inch smaller in diameter to be precise. Not good on my aging eyes; I had to bump up the font to make it comfortably readable.

4. The charger is causing me problems: During setup, it asks to be connected to power. When I did (using the Moto wall wart), I got no response from the watch. I tried a Samsung wart from a tablet, no luck. I plugged it in to a powered USB hub and FINALLY got it to start charging! After setup, I took it off the charger to play with it and when I returned it, no luck! I moved it to the Moto wart and it started up again. Am I doing something wrong? Seems like it doesn't automatically start charging like the 360 did. It began charging most recently when I pressed the side button.

5. The flat tire: I don't care about the flat tire. I like the flat tire. I especially like what it's there for in the first place: Ambient light sensor. Only, I don't think this watch has an Ambient light sensor! At least in the settings under 'brightness,' it only lists 1 through 5 with no 'auto' like the 360. Hmmm...

6. Most frustrating of all: I can't get all my favorite apps to sync to the watch! I use Keep and Cartwheel for shopping and Tinycammonitor Pro for webcam viewing. Next to Hangouts, those are my most used apps and I can't get them to come across to the watch. I've pressed 'resych apps' three different times, rebooted the watch, uninstalled/reinstalled Keep and Cartwheel to no avail.

I'm going to copy/paste this post as a new post now that I've hijacked yours! Sorry...

TJH

 

[Bob31464]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not sure which one I like better. They both have their pros and cons.

Hijack my thread anytime.

 

[TJH132]

My apps eventually synched, though it took a REALLY long time. Think: hours!

 

[TJH132]

Seems like you and I are the only ones with new Fossils. Can we compare notes?

After just one day of use, I have some mixed feelings (some posted above).

1. Vibration motor is VERY slight. I've only noticed it once during a day of medium activity. That's a little disappointing because I have an active job and need a pretty good jolt to get my attention.

2. Charging puck is unreliable. If I set the watch on the puck and get a good solid connection, there's no guarantee it will start charging. I do a fair bit of manual fiddling until the charging screen lights up.

3. I've had a couple random disconnects from my phone today for no apparent reason. Only toggling Airplane mode on the phone reconnects. My phone is getting on in age, so it could be the issue, not the watch.

4. Battery life seems pretty good. I'm used to 5% an hour drain on the Moto360 with Ambient mode off. Today I'm getting a respectable 2.9% an hour drain. (Using a face from the Play Store. Could be better/worse with a stock face.)

How does the Marshall compare to these observations?

TJH

 

[Bob31464]

To be honest, the main reason I got the Q Marshal is because I love Fossil watches and I was about to by the Q Founder when the salesman at the Fossil store told me that the new ones were coming out at the same price and were supposed to be an improvement over the current models, so I decided to wait. But to compare notes:

1. I agree that the vibration isn't what I would like either. I have my phone with me so know something has come through, so this isn't really an issue for me.

2. I haven't had any trouble with the charging puck, it usually takes a second for the watch to start charging but it always does. I do prefer the chargering cradle that my S2 Classic uses, seems to have a better contact and secure hold. My complaint about the Fossil charger is that $300.00 for the watch and they can't put in a charging block? Only the cable? Fortunately I have a couple of extras laying around.

3. I haven't experienced any random disconnects that I'm aware of. If I walk away from my phone far enough it'll disconnect but reconnect as soon as I'm back in range. The only thing similiar to this is that sometimes my phone notification sounds will stop working and the only way to fix that is to resart the phone. This has only happened when connected to the Q Marshal, it never happened with the S2 and doesn't happen constantly, just on ocassion.

4. I haven't really done any drain times as you have but I get more than a full day out of a charge. I take it off of the charger around 7 am and put it back on around 7-8 pm and I'm generally around 40-45% left. I get text messages and emails all day so my notifactions are pretty heavy, I'm happy with the battery life so far. I have downloaded a couple of watch faces but still use a preloaded one, I just like the look of it.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with it. I am also very satisfied with my Samsung Gear S2 Classic. The Os's are very different and has taken some adjusting to get used to the diffences between Android Wear and Tizen (the Gear OS).

I do like the size of the Fossil watch face itself better but the clarity is not as good as the S2, also the S2 doesn't have the "flat tire", the sensor is in the center of the face, but the "flat tire" doesn't bother me at all, I don't even notice it any more. As I stated in a previous post, there are pros and cons with both and both are very nice watches.

Bob

 

[TJH132]

Can you confirm that the Marshall has an ambient light sensor? I'm positive the Wander does not, which makes the flat tire a little less appealing. I come from the 360 and appreciate the sensor's utility.

 

[Bob31464]

I'm thinking it doesn't. It doesn't change brightness regardless of the surrounding light level.

I actually took it back to the Fossil store a couple of days ago, as I mentioned in my last post, it would turn off my notification sounds. It had gotten to where it was doing that 2 or 3 times a day, it was also turning of the vibration for the phone and watch. The only way to get it all back on was to restart the phone. I was missing work related texts and emails. I've never had that problem with my Gear S2, too bad to, I really liked the watch.

 

[Tex_Norseman]

so it has the flat tire but no ambient light sensor? That seems counter intuitive. I'll stick with my Q Founder then, even though the battery life is horrendous.

 

[Bob31464]

I can't say that it doesn't have the sensor, I just can't tell that the brightness changes.

 

[TJH132]

If there is no 'auto' setting in the brightness menu, then it doesn't. The Wander does not. Not ideal.

 

[Bob31464]

Agreed. I never found the "auto" setting on the Marshal.