Operating experience LG G Watch. 3 months on the wrist

At the end of October, I became the owner of one of the first intelligent clock running Android Wear – LG G Watch. All their discoveries, experiences, emotions and observations obtained during the three-month use of G Watch, I’ll discuss in this article.

Housing

LG G Watch – this is definitely not a fashion or status gadget, but it does not try to seem such as G Watch R or Moto 360, which, in my opinion, make it quite ridiculous. Most G Watch like sports LED-clock. Not to say that this is the best example to follow, but in others when looking at your wrist will emerge that impression, and you do not run the risk of looking in the crowd did not even black sheep, but as it is not in the best sense speak English «geeky» .

The body clock is used plastic (made from it their interior) and metal (the frame around the screen), screen covers protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3, silicone strap. During the three months of operation I did get to leave a few scratches on the metal frame. They appeared after I touched the clock or table, or a door, or cabinet. I do not know – that’s my problem (because the clock had not worn) or metal frame G Watch.

Silicone Strap showed himself perfectly – it is soft and pleasant, it does not want to replace. However, if desired it can be done – at specialized forums, there are plenty of examples replace the standard strap to any other, brought the usual hour shop.

Hours are protected by standard IP67, with them without any fear I wash my hands and utensils. Also with G Watch can walk in shower, but this idea is somehow not for me.

On the case there is a single button or connector. Pad dock – the only thing wherewith G Watch can communicate with the outside world (not including wireless modules, of course). On the one hand, this is done for the sake of dust- and waterproof – still without buttons and connectors housing becomes more monolithic, but on the other hand, if the clock for any reason, turn off all (I did this happen a few times) or you just get them out of the box, it is not clear how to turn them on. It’s simple – they must be connected to the charge, but the first day of January of this I could not remember.

IPS-display resolution is 280 x 280 pixels, pixel density – 240 ppi. Paired with the Nexus 5 catches the eye of the granularity of the screen, but after three months of operation of smart hours I can say that the display brightness and autonomy for their hours are much more important than the pixel density. We’ll talk about autonomy alone, but I will say this about the brightness of the – of the six available levels of brightness, I used only the third and fourth, the need for the fifth or sixth has never arisen.

Functionality LG G Watch

Android Wear – something that is worth and why I bought the LG G Watch. Frankly, the first Galaxy Gear, developed by Samsung, did not cause me any interest. When the matter was taken for itself Google, eyes lit up almost immediately.

What is the Android Wear now? This is your Google Now, notice from your smartphone and applications for hours, combined in one device. I’ll tell you about the basic usage scenarios LG G Watch.

Oddly enough, the clock. Remember, at the Google I / O, we were told that the average person gets smart phone from his pocket something about a hundred times a day? So, half the time I pull out your smartphone to see the time, date or day of the week. Now, for these purposes, I use the clock. Once again I remind you that to G Watch I did not wear a watch, so check the time and date look at the wrist became for me even a little, but a revelation. By the way, as if the world’s smartest hours Android Wear not boasted its scale in terms of applications and dials, I still use one of the standard “votchfeysov” because he could not find an appropriate third party, which could at the same time show the time, date and day week in Russian. If you use those, you share with me in the comments.

The second reason why the smartphone has to get out of your pocket – notice. These can be emails, calendar reminders, messages from the messengers, and notices of Twitter spam from all sorts of applications (mostly games this sin). Familiarization with the notification on the screen hours makes it clear, it is worth to go into his pocket for a smartphone or not. Further, the situation is as follows – in most cases you still have to get a smartphone. With Android Wear you just save yourself from having to get a smartphone in order to see the spam (e-mail or those annoying notifications from applications) – seeing the notice of this kind on the clock, you just smahnёte them and forget. If you received a really useful e-mail, then most likely you will not be able to read it completely, as the clock is available even if large enough, but only Preview letters, which entails an inevitable appeal to the smartphone.

With reports of messengers and notifications from social networks the situation is different – almost always be enough hours in order to fully understand the notice, sometimes you will even interact with them (add, archive, and things like that), but the key feature of Android Wear – the ability to respond to messages, you almost never have to use it. The reason for this is quite simple – the text on Android Wear you dictate that the part looks like communication with the clock, that is very strange. Add to that a slight delay in the recognition of text that is in the Ukrainian EDGE increases several times, and get 5 dictated voice messages for three months the use of smart hours.

In a rebuke to modern technologies of voice recognition can also say that they are very poorly with punctuation marks, and indeed the grammar. To create a more or less literate message, you have to tell the hour “hello comma Bob”, and both “hello” and “Bob” will be written with a lowercase letter.

For Android Wear already developed a lot of applications, but for the most part they are, frankly, clueless – 90% of the applications that I use were developed by Google itself and installed in hours out of the box.

On Android Wear sensibly implemented agenda – in contrast to the text of e-mails text events from Google Calendar, you can drill down and view completely.

Also, using the hours I regularly check the temperature of the air – the weather is just the card as much as and convenient.

In LG G Watch installed accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer trёhnapravlenny (compass). With these sensors clock somehow count my physical activity – how much time I went today, a number of steps walked. Of course, the use of G Watch as fitness tracker will not be too reasonable, but to focus on the data can be quite.

With the clock running Android Wear comfortable control of the music played on the smartphone. My headphones are not equipped with playback control buttons, so switching tracks on the clock, I had to be very helpful. But even when I had a headset on the way to work I do not just take the phone out of your pocket to see the name of the currently playing song. Particularly uncomfortable it was to do in a crush on the subway. Now, however, the need for this has disappeared – all the necessary information is displayed on the clock display.

Yet a few third-party apps I’ve installed. Firstly, Calendar for Android Wear – simple and beautiful calendar that on a small screen well enough hours shows the current month and in the paid version – and the agenda. Wear Mini Launcher – probably must-have for all users of Android Wear. This application adds to your smart watches screens with normal mesh applications and switches. The third and last third-party application installed on my LG G Watch, – TrackID. This application needs no introduction, but agree, how convenient: playing an unfamiliar track, almost imperceptibly brings to the dynamics of a hand, we learn his name. This is the rare case when a similar effect with a smartphone looks much weirder than the clock – because everyone has ever had to bring to the columns of your smartphone and catch glances of passersby.

It has the functionality of Android Wear and questions. For example, I think everyone has heard that in order to connect your smart watches to other smartphones, they must be returned to the factory settings, or, quite simply, to lose. And it’s really annoying, because reset the clock and re-connect the order of five to ten minutes.

Out of the box with a watch you can not view photos from your smartphone. In Play Store, I found several applications that promise similar functionality, but their dubious rating and the absence of the free version does not have forced me to install them. You may ask: “Why on such a tiny screen to view photos?”. I’ll tell you that, even on the sixth-generation iPod Nano was a possibility, and it is infinitely grateful to several generations of modern students.

Android Wear does not display «Google Maps.” It would seem that there is a hint to the desired route to me, there is a button “in the way” – and that’s already on the bus or your bike I rush towards a brighter future, simultaneously peeking at the map on his wrist, but no. All that can offer hours of running Android Wear, – open the map and the corresponding route on the smartphone.

With the clock running Android Wear can not talk on the phone. Let’s say I’m walking down the street with headphones in my ears, I receive a call, the watch immediately report it, with them, I can send one of the standard messages in response, to fight off and take the challenge. Only in the latter case the microphone hours is not activated, and in conjunction with my headphones it becomes a headset, as we would like.

Autonomy

Autonomy – one of the most important parameters when choosing a device such as smart watches. In LG G Watch installed capacity of 400 mAh battery, but this figure is about anything you can say can simply remember and brag about it at every opportunity.

You should start with the fact that after the purchase of hours you should decide which mode you will use them: to constantly turn the display or not. Let me explain. On continuously display brightness level hours in standby mode on your wrist is minimal, you can always look at them and be aware of everything that happens. In the second mode, the clock screen in standby mode turns off completely. I have such a mode of use were not satisfied at all, so the whole time using my clock worked on continuously display.

You’ve probably noticed that the minimum brightness level hours in standby mode becomes exactly on the wrist. The fact is that with the latest update LG G Watch began to distinguish standby on the wrist and, say, on the table. Therefore, if you remove the watch at night and put it on the bedside table, their lights turned off completely – during which time they have worn only a few percent, rather than a few dozen, as if their brightness level was minimal.

Thus, we can talk about two days of battery life LG G Watch. By removing the clock with charging the morning of the first day, late in the evening of the second you get in the remainder of the order of ten percent of the battery capacity.

G Watch charged with a special docking station to which are attached by a magnet. Hours realize when they are charged, so at this time display on minimum brightness is enabled continuously, allowing intelligent hours and serve more as a bedside.

But the use of G Watch as an alarm clock, I did not. Like all smart watches, they are equipped with vibration is, the thrill of waking up with the help of which (judging by users) are incredibly nice. I also, as in the case of the shower, the idea of sleeping with a clock do not really like, so I wake up with a more conventional methods.

Our author, Anton Pozdnyakov question bothered rapid discharge of smart hours during the winter frosts. Asked? Answer! Subzero temperatures are not too affected (if at all affected) on the autonomy of LG G Watch. May protect from frost watch outerwear and warm hands. In general, whatever it was, I can say with certainty that the subzero temperature LG G Watch is not terrible.

Output

Should you buy the LG G Watch right now? Remember, whether you ordered HTC G1, Nexus One, or first-generation iPhone? Android Wear and devices under its control – a new milestone in the history of mobile devices. Those were once and smartphones running Android and iOS, but today we can not imagine their daily lives without them. As smart phones at the end of zero, smart watches is not without drawbacks, and the possibility of their not so great. However, this is the beginning of a long and interesting way, our beloved rivalry between Google and Apple. Although, who knows, maybe the leaders in this field will be very different company.

Read another very interesting article about alternative energy of the Sun, water and air.