Moto 360 is going back - my reasons why

anDAOroid

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I hope this review will help someone in a similar situation.

I have been psyched about the Moto 360 for months now, and was so glad I was able to put my order in before they sell out. When the Apple Watch announcement happened, I was amazed I couldn't care less and still thought that the Moto 360 was actually a better looking watch. The problem was my doubts I had when I received it. Don't get me wrong. I think this is still the best Android Wear watch out there right now. But the problem is that being the best now doesn't say much...

Here are my doubts:

1. Size - although big may be better, for my small wrist, this was just a bit TOO big. it took up the entire width of my wrist and just didn't feel right, considering it was always off (ambient mode off). I know this will get better with future Moto 360 iterations, but maybe that's why I thought it was not time yet.

2. Pixels - I know this doesn't bother some, but it bothered me a lot. I mean, a lot. And it could be the biggest reason why I am letting it go. I just felt like I had a watch on from the stone ages because you could clearly make out that the screen wasn't great. The watch details and the moving hour and minut arms don't help either when they are not straight and are at an angle. I know this will get better with future iterations, but that's exactly why I felt like this was just not the time yet.

3. Inconsistencies - my Moto 360 would disconnect without me realizing, and I would miss email, call, and text notifications.

4. Apps (too little) - there are literally no useful apps available right now. I think Runtastic would have been interesting given I run a lot, but didn't try it. I know it's only supposed to be used for notifications and when it worked, it was great. But I thought there was just a dearth of apps that made me really feel what it means to be an early adopter.

5. Watch Faces - the Moto 360 faces look great when I saw pictures of them, but actually seeing it was a bit disappointing. It looked like I was staring at a drawing on some faces, and didn't look crisp enough. And since the watch was so darn big, it felt awkward that the watch face was so flat. Maybe there will be future faces on the Play Store that makes the watch look better, but for now there was nothing that was worth installing or that looked better than the standard Moto 360 face.

6. Hesitation with reviews - The biggest setback for me was their decision to use such an antiquated processor. I know that people are saying it doesn't matter much, but I just felt like I was being cheated by Motorola. Maybe it's not too bad of an issue, but there definitely is lags, and the watch sometimes does not pick up my swipes. It's not frustrating, but knowing that they decided to go with an old processor makes me feel like I am cheated, despite dropping a good amount of money.

I'm sure some of the problems with software and Android Wear will be fixed with future updates. Maybe some of the concerns of design and fucntionality will be solved in future iterations of the model. But in the end, that was the problem. I felt like both Moto 360 and Android Wear was too much in their infancy stage that it wasn't worth it for me.

It's still a beautiful watch, but I realized this isn't the watch for me at this moment. If you're an early adopter and have the money to drop $250 on a watch every year or so, then this is definitely the watch to get, hands down. But as someone who doesn't even regularly wear a watch, I realized there's no point dropping that much money now when I know I'll want another one come a year or maybe two. I made an impulse buy on the Surface Pro 1, and ended up trading it in for a Surface Pro 3. That was to some extent justifiable for me because I use the computer for about 10 to 15 hours a day. But for someone who doesn't wear I watch, I decided that rather than dropping $250 now, I should wait and see how Moto 360 and Android Wear evolves with time. I mean, you can buy a really nice watch for $500... :confused:

In the end, I may just end up buying it in a few months when there is future software updates and more bands. We'll see. I really wanted the silver model with a light brown leather strap. But for now, as much as I want to keep it on my wrist, I think I have to hold back on my instinctive desire to buy and have and let it go... Just as Apple went with two sizes, I'm hoping that Motorola will also consider two sizes.

Good luck and enjoy your 360s! I'm sure I'll be rejoining this community again soon.
 

smooth4lyfe

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Hopefully you can find another smartwatch to fit your needs

I love everything about this phone but the battery

I've gotten asked and great impressions from people asking me what kind of watch I had

However, I'll be changing this for the Sony Smartwatch 3 when it comes out

Sent from my Galaxy S5 using Tapatalk
 

mattopotamus

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That is my only concern. I would actually love the LG G watch as someone coming from the pebble. My concern with that watch is the visibility in the sun. I may just have to wait for the HTC watch or the Asus.
 

DanPLC

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For reason #3, I'm using an app called Wear Aware. Its primary purpose is to alert you when you forget your phone; however it can also be used as a way to alert you if you lose your Bluetooth connection.
 

anDAOroid

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For reason #3, I'm using an app called Wear Aware. Its primary purpose is to alert you when you forget your phone; however it can also be used as a way to alert you if you lose your Bluetooth connection.

Yes, I was using that. And it was quite annoying that it kept buzzing. Which was another thing. The vibration felt so... cheap. I don't know, maybe it's because the design was light. But I wasn't impressed with that either.

In either case, it's a beautiful watch. But just didn't feel like it justified the expense for me at the moment. Looking forward to 2.0 or 3.0! Great concept and beautiful design.
 

DanPLC

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Yes, I was using that. And it was quite annoying that it kept buzzing. Which was another thing. The vibration felt so... cheap. I don't know, maybe it's because the design was light. But I wasn't impressed with that either.

In either case, it's a beautiful watch. But just didn't feel like it justified the expense for me at the moment. Looking forward to 2.0 or 3.0! Great concept and beautiful design.

Personally I prefer a lighter vibration. Just enough to get your attention, but not so strong to annoy.
 

jasonaward

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Some of these don't make a whole lot of sense. Either you misunderstand the point of Android Wear or you didn't do your research.

3. Inconsistencies - my Moto 360 would disconnect without me realizing, and I would miss email, call, and text notifications.

Sounds like you had a defective watch, a phone issue, or something else going on. I've very infrequently seen disconnections.

4. Apps (too little) - there are literally no useful apps available right now. I think Runtastic would have been interesting given I run a lot, but didn't try it. I know it's only supposed to be used for notifications and when it worked, it was great. But I thought there was just a dearth of apps that made me really feel what it means to be an early adopter.

This is where I think you misunderstand what Android Wear is. Yes, it's primarily a notification-based system. What kind of "apps" are you wanting to run from a watch? I think the platform will always be limited to very minimal actions based on apps on your phone... not a completely separate platform providing a variety of apps. And yes, you are an early adopter. But you should have known that if you had done any research.

6. Hesitation with reviews - The biggest setback for me was their decision to use such an antiquated processor. I know that people are saying it doesn't matter much, but I just felt like I was being cheated by Motorola. Maybe it's not too bad of an issue, but there definitely is lags, and the watch sometimes does not pick up my swipes. It's not frustrating, but knowing that they decided to go with an old processor makes me feel like I am cheated, despite dropping a good amount of money.

This is silly, honestly. You're returning it because Motorola used a slightly aged processor? From owning the Gear Live, I can assure you that the Moto 360 performs at least as well as the Gear Live with battery life not substantially worse. Lags? The Gear Live has them too. Not picking up swipes? Same problem on the Gear Live. The processor is running a watch, with very limited functionality... it's not a full blown device like a phone. You're not being cheated.

and Android Wear was too much in their infancy stage that it wasn't worth it for me.

I think this is your biggest complaint, if you want to focus on anything. But you are (or were) a very early adopter. Any amount of research should have told you what you were getting into.
 

clevin

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Wait a year, right now, these things make little sense. Since it asks you to use it either like a expensive watch that does little, or a cheap smartphone that dies quickly. Either way, it's not a sustainable proposition.

People can defend it all they can, it's still a niche product right now.

Posted via the Android Central App
 

jasonaward

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Lol, go ahead call it reasonable expectations. If only that means as much as it sounds.

It's a first generation product. As with all first generation products, depending on the use case, they will be extremely useful to some, and less useful to others. The only problem with the OP is that they either didn't do research to find out what they were getting into, or ignored the reviews of Android Wear in general. Either way, the whole thing comes down to fault on the OP.
 

mattopotamus

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What "apps" do people want in a smart watch? They are best served as a notification extension. That is what they do best. You either find that useful or you do not.

They will pretty much always be a niche product.

The refinements in future generations will be battery life and looks. The rest is software which will virtually remain the same outside of bug fixes and google now updates.
 

cdf3

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I'm looking forward to getting a Moto 360 for notifications and turn by turn directions.
I currently own a smart watch by another manufacturer, and it comes in handy for notifications. I was always missing important Emails and Text Messages because there were times when I couldn't feel the vibration of my phone when I was in motion.
I never miss an important message. If I get a message and it's only a notification, I don't have to take out my phone. It also comes in handy for turn by turn directions.
Turn by turn directions is also useful for those that ride motorcycles.
You can quickly glance at your watch for upcoming turns, as well as feel the watch vibrate when your turn is coming up. Using Google Maps navigation on your phone, while riding a motorcycle, would be very difficult.

Sent from my Surface Pro 3 using Tapatalk
 

anDAOroid

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Sounds like you had a defective watch, a phone issue, or something else going on. I've very infrequently seen disconnections.

I've read a few reviews noting the connection drops so it definitely wasn't defective. I'm just pointing out it's frustrating that it even occurs. If my opinion is not "reasonable," I guess I expected too much.

What kind of "apps" are you wanting to run from a watch?

I completely agree that this should be notification-based. And I believe that is what is so great about Android Wear. That they try to keep it simple. But if they don't function efficiently, it's not worth it for me at this point. Cloud Magic, for example, shows a portion of the email while Gmail shows the entire text. Like I said in my post, this is only my opinion and reason why I'm not sticking to the 360 because it wasn't worth it for me at this moment. If my opinion is not "reasonable," I guess I expected too much.

Lags? The Gear Live has them too. Not picking up swipes? Same problem on the Gear Live. The processor is running a watch, with very limited functionality...

If that's the case, seems like nothing is worth purchasing. If my opinion is not "reasonable," I guess I expected too much.

Any amount of research should have told you what you were getting into.

So you're telling me Motorola expects people to buy this watch knowing there are lags, unresponsive swipes, outdated processors, "infrequent" disconnections, etc. That doesn't sound very comforting to me, and sounds like there's quite a bit to work out. If my opinion is not "reasonable," I guess I expected too much.

reasonable expectations.

Wow, that's a low bar. I guess I just don't have the money to be throwing money at what you define to be products with "reasonable expectations."
 

booboolala2000

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Until battery life gets better pixels are probably here to stay. I can only imagine that the Apple Watch will underscore the use of lower red screens.

Posted via the Android Central App
 

anon(871934)

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I've got 3 full days of wearing the watch under my belt and I have absolutely no concerns about battery life at all. Day 1 the watch went on at 6 a.m and I put it back on the charger at 9:45 p.m. with 37% left. Yesterday I put it on at 8 a.m and put it back on the charger at 10:30 p.m. with 25% left but that day included about 90 minutes of navigation as well as ESPN score updates during two football games and quite a few text messages. Ambient is off with these numbers.

The only thing that I will say about my personal usage is I am not going overboard with notifications on my phone. I get no email notifications at all. I simply check the app periodically when I want to. I obviously get text message notifications through hangouts, breaking news notifications, ESPN sports score notifications, etc. I have my Twitter notifications backed down to only notifications of direct messages or mentions and in terms of Facebook I only get notifications if something is posted directly on my wall or I'm mentioned or tagged. I also connect my phones music player to my car's bluetooth through a Tasker profile so my watch is involved in music control anytime I am driving though I don't ever use it for control so far at least.

The only thing that I will say about the screen resolution and visible pixels is that in my opinion if those are complaints then the person was looking for a reason to return this device.

So far, in my 3 days, by far the two biggest reasons to use this smart watch is to look at and clear notifications without grabbing your phone and also as a voice interface to your phone while you are in the car. Those two uses alone make this worth it for me. This is far from perfect yet, for example I think the voice recognition dictation when responding to a text message needs to have an option to show you a preview of the text on your phone before it is automatically set. It will definitely be fun though to see how this improves over time as new firmware is released.
 

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