Sigh. I got them "Early Adopter Blues". Where you love gettin' your greazy hands on some of that new tech, but that new tech always seems to let you down. Cuz it's new.
Such is the case (for me) with the LG Watch Sport (shouldn't it be the "LG Sport Watch"? Must be a language thing). IMO, the hardware is lagging behind the software, enough that it results in a negative experience - for me.
OK, so here are some of my final thoughts after using the LGSport Watch Watch Sport for about a week, before I RMA it:
Things I Liked:
Things That Didn't Bother Me:
Things I Didn't Like:
Deal Killers:
Last Woidz
I do like the direction AW2.0 is heading in, and what LG was trying to do with this watch, but I think they fell a bit short. And with all the new watches coming out this year - so they say - I think I will sit back and wait for a better option.
How about you guys? Agree? Disagree? What experiences have you had so far?
Such is the case (for me) with the LG Watch Sport (shouldn't it be the "LG Sport Watch"? Must be a language thing). IMO, the hardware is lagging behind the software, enough that it results in a negative experience - for me.
OK, so here are some of my final thoughts after using the LG
Things I Liked:
- Rotational navigation via the crown.
- Keyboard input (type or swipe) works nicely.
- The ability to receive or make calls via the watch when connected via Bluetooth to my phone (no LTE required), or not connected.
- Payin' for stuff via Android Pay. Fun, totally cool. Worked like a champ, not slow for me like some people have said.
Things That Didn't Bother Me:
- Watch size. Eh, that's obviously a personal thing - only you can make that judgment. For me, I have basically a normal (per the Webz) sized wrist (7.75in) and I was completely fine with the thickness and size of the LGWS.
- Looks. I think it's quite fine for a sport watch.
- Fit. It does have a different feel compared to the ol' Moto, due to the bigger size and the stiffer rubber watch band, but that didn't bother me.
Things I Didn't Like:
- Using rotational navigation via the crown is not consistent - that's annoying. I get that apps need to get updated and all, but it's not even consistent within AW 2.0. - that is not acceptable.
- Very difficult to activate LTE - Verizon completely unprepared to handle people who bought from the Google Store before they started selling the LGWS on March 16th (for some gory details, read: http://forums.androidcentral.com/lg-watch-sport/769934-has-anyone-activated-verizon.html#post5683044)
- With LTE activated, it appears you are forced to use Verizon's messaging app, Messages+. A lot of people like their app for texting, others point out the amount of private data that Big Red sees and shares. THAT is a separate topic - I'll just leave it at I don't like not having options to do things the way I want.
- Two navigation gestures appear to have been removed: "open/fwd" by rapidly moving arm downwards, and "close/back" by rapidly moving arm upwards. Why?
- The charging cable is short. Too short.
Deal Killers:
- Battery Life!!!! (cue dramatic music.....DUM DUM DUMMMMMMM!!!!). One thing that has always bothered me a bit is when manufacturers give guidance on how to save battery life. Now, that seems strange to say, but my thinking is quite simple: I'm only going to wear a smart watch during my waking hours, so it only needs to last 18 hours or so; I will charge it overnight and use it as a bedside clock. But IMO, I should be able to use all the wonderful goodies inside of it during those 18 hours, with reasonable usage of course.
Yesterday was the first time I took the watch, without my phone, on a run, which is one of the primary reasons why I was interested in its capabilities. I had all the radios on, nothing turned off (except always on display and gestures), and about 35% battery life when I started my run. I connected my Bluetooth earbuds (more on those shortly), fired up some downloaded (not streaming) music, started the Fit app and away I went.
25 minutes later the watch was outta juice. Pfftttt. Done.
I get that LTE, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, blablablabla use a lot of power, but tough t*tty said the kitty. IMO, 35% should have been enough juice to get me through the run while listening to music and being available to get a phone call if one came in. (btw, I was in my neighborhood - no high buildings - and it is very populated and has great 4G signal coverage).
- This is the biggest reason I am returning this watch. About those Bluetooth earbuds. I have a good pair, Jaybirds, that have served me well when used with my phone. But when hooked up to the LGWS? While walking - arms swinging naturally: constant audio choppiness due to the watch losing and regaining connection to the earbuds. While running: audio choppiness only slightly less choppy. If I raised my watch arm like I was doing a bicep curl, all the way so that I touched my shoulder - ONLY THEN could I hear beautiful, constantly connected audio, clear and clean. Based on that experience, it appears the Bluetooth connection range for the LGWS, at least for the purposes of sending music through the air to my earbuds, is about a foot. And an averaged-sized foot at that. Definitely not a Bigfoot foot.
For me, fellas, that's a big fail. With a capital AIL. As in, "Ail No!".
Last Woidz
I do like the direction AW2.0 is heading in, and what LG was trying to do with this watch, but I think they fell a bit short. And with all the new watches coming out this year - so they say - I think I will sit back and wait for a better option.
How about you guys? Agree? Disagree? What experiences have you had so far?
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