Returning this watch

[starcat42]

Alright, after spending some time with it, this watch is garbage. its basically the same thing as the Urbane. demands my phone, needs to be paired, wont do ANYTHING without being pared. boasts Independence from the phone via 2.0 but no. even with google maps installed i MUST have a phone on with wifi to use it. what exactly is the point then? ill just use my phone.

400 dollar call forwarding machine.

 

[dpeters11]

Alright, after spending some time with it, this watch is garbage. its basically the same thing as the Urbane. demands my phone, needs to be paired, wont do ANYTHING without being pared. boasts Independence from the phone via 2.0 but no. even with google maps installed i MUST have a phone on with wifi to use it. what exactly is the point then? ill just use my phone.

400 dollar call forwarding machine.

Even with a SIM card in it? I haven't done that as I don't need the independence.

 

[afblangley]

The current crop of standalone smartwatches (Urbane 2, Sport, Gear S2 and S3) have a functionality equivalent to a flip phone. In a form factor that's smaller and more convenient. They can handle calls and texts, provide time, date, weather, and run simple apps like calendar, reminder, stopwatch, etc. For those whose needs are basic, these watches can be an only phone.

If more advanced functionality is needed, they can be remotely connected to a smartphone (that doesn't need a SIM, just access to WiFi) and never leaves the house. As more standalone apps are created, the watches will become increasingly more capable.

I've found that wearing a phone is much more convenient than carrying one. There were many instances when I didn't have my phone on me. Lounging around the house or yard, my phone was frequently in a different room. Once or twice a month I'd leave the house only to realize later that I'd forgotten my phone. Then there were occasions when the phone was a hassle: at the gym, wearing skinny jeans, or being out on the water.

I no longer use a smartphone. I strap on my watch in the morning and never need to think about where's my phone. Of course there are tasks that can't be done on a watch. I keep an LTE tablet close at hand for composing emails, watching videos, reading eBooks, surfing the web, running apps, etc. What I used to do on my smartphone is now split between my watch and my tablet. Less compromise, more freedom, and greater efficiency.

 

[starcat42]

I understand, but someone like me, who is self employed and works from home, i do not need a smart phone plan, i use skype for all my calls. if i can get a cheap wearables plan thats fine. but if for whatever reason i dont want to pay for it, i at least want to know my watch has basic functionality without a sim card, and this so far, doesn't. i cant connect to my Wifi, i dont know why, but its buggy, there is a video on here showing it in another post.

but i installed google maps <from my phone...to the watch, which is stupid> and without wifi google could not tell me directions, where i am, or anything. it just loaded the app and was like ok now what? while my phone can map the entirety of my state, tell me everything i need to go offline, route trips, see what restaurants are close. i cant do this on the watch. its useless. ill just use my phone with no connection.

 

[hagar852]

I understand, but someone like me, who is self employed and works from home, i do not need a smart phone plan, i use skype for all my calls. if i can get a cheap wearables plan thats fine. but if for whatever reason i dont want to pay for it, i at least want to know my watch has basic functionality without a sim card, and this so far, doesn't. i cant connect to my Wifi, i dont know why, but its buggy, there is a video on here showing it in another post.

but i installed google maps <from my phone...to the watch, which is stupid> and without wifi google could not tell me directions, where i am, or anything. it just loaded the app and was like ok now what? while my phone can map the entirety of my state, tell me everything i need to go offline, route trips, see what restaurants are close. i cant do this on the watch. its useless. ill just use my phone with no connection.

I just tried Google maps on LTE only with my watch.. I was able to open navigation, but what I noticed is that through the LTE connection it opened Nav on my phone and once my phone got the route it put it on the watch.. that didn't work 100% of the time but it did get navigation not being connect to phone via wifi or Bluetooth. It did connect to the phone which was unexpected. So if phone is off navigation will fail on the watch.

 

[Richard Servello]

Alright, after spending some time with it, this watch is garbage. its basically the same thing as the Urbane. demands my phone, needs to be paired, wont do ANYTHING without being pared. boasts Independence from the phone via 2.0 but no. even with google maps installed i MUST have a phone on with wifi to use it. what exactly is the point then? ill just use my phone.

400 dollar call forwarding machine.

This is with LTE? That doesn't seem right.

 

[anon(661246)]

I understand, but someone like me, who is self employed and works from home, i do not need a smart phone plan, i use skype for all my calls. if i can get a cheap wearables plan thats fine. but if for whatever reason i dont want to pay for it, i at least want to know my watch has basic functionality without a sim card, and this so far, doesn't. i cant connect to my Wifi, i dont know why, but its buggy, there is a video on here showing it in another post.

but i installed google maps and without wifi google could not tell me directions, where i am, or anything. it just loaded the app and was like ok now what? while my phone can map the entirety of my state, tell me everything i need to go offline, route trips, see what restaurants are close. i cant do this on the watch. its useless. ill just use my phone with no connection.

How does being self employed and not having a cell phone plan even work? I am seriously curious? There are pretty good plans that are cheap.

 

[starcat42]

because i dont need a cell phone plan when i can pay 3 bucks a month for skype.