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Hi all,
Been a while since I posted in these forums! I think my last check in was around the time of the HTC Titan.
Anyhow, I recently I have been designing cases for high end tablets. I just finished work on the Samsung Ativ700t. Check it out.
Demo and making of.
http://youtu.be/-QlsQIz71KU
Now that I'm finished with the Ativ I'm looking for the next best high end tablet to work on. I was thinking that the Helix may be a good fit.
The Surface Pro seems like it would be fun but MS seems to have things pretty well covered already with their kickstand and keyboard cover.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Isaiah Coberly
Routb3d said:
Hi all,
Been a while since I posted in these forums! I think my last check in was around the time of the HTC Titan.
Anyhow, I recently I have been designing cases for high end tablets. I just finished work on the Samsung Ativ700t. Check it out.
Demo and making of.
http://youtu.be/-QlsQIz71KU
Now that I'm finished with the Ativ I'm looking for the next best high end tablet to work on. I was thinking that the Helix may be a good fit.
The Surface Pro seems like it would be fun but MS seems to have things pretty well covered already with their kickstand and keyboard cover.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Isaiah Coberly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, what about a 500t one? There is a lot more demand for the 500t tablet than the 700t.
Appreciate the video for the fabrication process.
Looks like Batman armor. You should stick in a bat insignia (and hope DC Comics won't sue). Suggest Batman-style "musculature" styling accents. Glow accents? (http://thatscoolwire.com) Right now it looks...utilitarian. No sizzle. For high-end toys, you want some panache. A little je ne sais quoi.
The handstrap in the back looks useful and you should use it as the leading pitch, since most cases don't have the feature. As a logical progression, suggest enhancing strap with a 360 pivot--although it would be wasted on Windows tabs, since Win8 Metro is still functionally limited to landscape. Which segues to another question: Why Windows tablets, which has about zero market share? Why not popular Android tablets? Adjustable retention tabs?
Frankly, the origami folds look way too complicated to use, and can't be locked in place for optimal touch use, ie if you press on the screen, the whole thing bounces up and down like a bad shock absorber. Apple's tri-fold is the simplest and best. That allows two incline angles (for viewing & typing), which is all you need. You can allow said tri-fold in both landscape & portrait orientations, ie a tic-tac-toe pattern.
>Yes, what about a 500t one?
With a $129 price, OP is right in sticking to high-end toys. I think he can simplify the design and reduce a substantial part of the labor. But for higher volume (for lower margin), he'd need to go to a mass production process anyway.
e.mote said:
Appreciate the video for the fabrication process.
Looks like Batman armor. You should stick in a bat insignia (and hope DC Comics won't sue). Suggest Batman-style "musculature" styling accents. Glow accents? (http://thatscoolwire.com) Right now it looks...utilitarian. No sizzle. For high-end toys, you want some panache. A little je ne sais quoi.
The handstrap in the back looks useful and you should use it as the leading pitch, since most cases don't have the feature. As a logical progression, suggest enhancing strap with a 360 pivot--although it would be wasted on Windows tabs, since Win8 Metro is still functionally limited to landscape. Which segues to another question: Why Windows tablets, which has about zero market share? Why not popular Android tablets? Adjustable retention tabs?
Frankly, the origami folds look way too complicated to use, and can't be locked in place for optimal touch use, ie if you press on the screen, the whole thing bounces up and down like a bad shock absorber. Apple's tri-fold is the simplest and best. That allows two incline angles (for viewing & typing), which is all you need. You can allow said tri-fold in both landscape & portrait orientations, ie a tic-tac-toe pattern.
>Yes, what about a 500t one?
With a $129 price, OP is right in sticking to high-end toys. I think he can simplify the design and reduce a substantial part of the labor. But for higher volume (for lower margin), he'd need to go to a mass production process anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yours is the best reaction I think I've ever gotten from one of my videos! I woke up, Read your review and subsequently woke my girlfriend up Giggling at the thought of the Batcase. Seriously though, "Batman, if you're really out there, I want to make your case!". You know he wouldn't be caught dead with an iPad!
As for the rest of the suggestions and comments.
Hand Strap
There are other cases that have the hand strap. You are the third to suggest a swiveling hand strap. I'll look into it and see if I can find a way to Swivel the hand strap without increasing the thickness of the case too much. Too much is any more than .07".
The Price
The Ativ family of tablets taught me something about price. I initially offered the case for both the 500T and the 700T at $99. I had way more interest for the 500T but way more orders for the 700T. I Think of it like this, If someone were to offer me one of the two tablets for free, I would certainly take the 700t. That said, the people who bought the 500T most likely settled. It's that same decision making that prevents the majority of them from justifying a case that is X11 more expensive than the cheapest case they can get. Not every tablet has a bigger brother to separate out the price conscious shoppers so I'm greatful for having accidentally stumbled into the Ativ family. Though my product has the potential to be much more widely adopted, I am fine with the idea that I can continue making small quantities of hand made cases For a fair and sustainable price. With limited time and resources, it's imperative that I find tablet users that recognize the value in what I do. The very tablet that my potential customers buy tells me something about their decision making. I will never hand make a case for a product that someone has most likely settled for.
Origami Folds
The cover automatically folds into the stand. A child can do this. There's a removably attached Teather that activates this folding mechanism. The auto fold is one of the surprising features of the case. When people see the case in action for the first time They experience some rare form of the Bewilderment that is particularly stronger when they see it in person.. Because it delights people, The case is a lot of fun for show and tell. It is really commonly stated from users that they are giving demos in public places to perfect strangers and loving Or loathing the attention.
The stand has a very minimal amount of spring even before the live hinges are broken-in and is a sturdy enough stand that you would literally destroy the case before it would collapse/bend into an unusable viewing angle.
I couldn't agree less about the trifold being the best or better solution. The trifold is a design that fails to adapt and requires way more energy and attention to actually set up. If you can open a book cover and set something down you can use my case. The structure of the case will naturally adapt whether you're setting it down on a table, a knee, a pile of laundry or an un-even surface of any kind. I have literally had Amputees writing me and telling me that they love my case because they don't need a second hand to use it.
Thanks! And great reply!
Isaiah Coberly
Hello all,
I wonder if I may ask your collective opinion. I've been an HTC user since the Desire and have had a One X for the last 2 years. I'm due to upgrade in a month on EE 4G in the UK and have decided to go down the Note 3 route.
I have a varied lifestyle which means I can be in a variety of quite different environments with different use profiles for my devices (how's that for jargon?).
I'm looking for some advice around the best options to protect and power my phone.
I run an industrial and agricultural engineering business, as such my working environment can change from extreme to office boardroom on a daily basis. Extreme can involve outside in the Scottish winter so cold and wet. Industrial means drop risk and impact and screen protection, scratch protection, solvent and oil protection. We also restore old land rovers so mineral oil on hands is a frequent risk as is scrabbling around on dirty garage floors. I need to protect the phone from this environment but also retain full functionality.
However, I also find myself in the corporate boardroom where I need smart and sleek and unobtrusive and don't really want an oil stained lump of rubber in the table or desk.
In addition, at home I have two young children who have sticky fingers, accident prone (I've replaced my wife's iPhone screen and case 3 times now, who help themselves to phones and tablets to play games etc. I don't mind thus too much as it keeps the little buggers off my alienware M18.
At work we frequently find ourselves in remote locations where signal can be patchy and offer away from power sources for a while so I'm also looking to iccassionally beef up the battery. The remote locations can gobble up battery with roaming increased and whilst I know you can adjust settings, it can be a pain in the butt to remember to do this.
Strikes me I need a rugged, oil proof case and screen protector with the option of an extended battery capacity both of which can be removed to return to stick when in the office/socialising etc. Something with a holster would be good as well so I can pick up without rummaging in pockets which all too often contain knives, screw drivers etc.
What would you recommend? I've seen a few different options but am getting to the confused stage!
Secondly, I've recently developed osteoarthritis in my left hand, this makes using a phone the size of a One X with one hand tricky so the Note 3 will be even more of a challenge. So annoying and painful is this I very nearly opted for an iPhone 5s and breaking my vow never to own an apple product as Jobs was the antichrst and I can't stand Apples hypocritical, smug, controlling, 'aren't we just so wacky and cool', twat, Bollox corporate image- just because it is skinny enough to be easier to hold in my left hand when used as a phone or thumb texting.
I then recalled...just a minute, these days there are a plethora of solutions for this problem, there is no need to sacrifice my deepest principles!
Now I'm not a huge fan of Bluetooth ear sets they don't sit well with helmets, goggles, spectacles etc. So I have been interested to see the Galaxy Gear watch which looks like it might be an option despite the fact that I don't necessarily want to be bothered by phone and text all the time...sales calls, the bank, irate customers etc....
Question is...is the current GG watch worth getting or am I better waiting six months for the new one? I'm not sure if the latest one is waterproof and shockproof as most reviews tend to be about its gadgetry rather than its construction as a watch.
Lastly, I do a lot of miles behind the wheel in different vehicles, from family and work cars to vans and classic cars. Is there a decent generic vehicle dock avaliable for this phone, one which can be moved between vehicles easily and which allows me to easily access the phone as well as spotify and audible. I've gone back to my Garmin sat nav as in the uk anyway, Google maps app went from brilliant to utter push about six months ago. I've list count of the cash I have wasted on various phone mounts for cars and given the huge size of the Note 3 am thinking about somthing specific.
Thanks in advance for wasting valuable time pondering the best way forward for my hectic lif. I'm determined not to trash thus phone and secondly, to actually get the best out of its productivity as I'm getting busier and busier and need to use the devices smarter, one if the reasons I don't is the environment challenges.
Cheers
Rich
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk
Hello fellow xda-members,
I am currently waiting for the delivery of my SGP 311. Should be here by monday :fingers-crossed:.
I chose the XTZ because of its features, design and weight and last but not least price. It was a head to head race with the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014, which falls behind in design (touchwiz urgh), weight and pricing (180 bucks more), but has one feature, that I do find useful as a student: The S-pen.
I know that no third party stick can replace a fully integrated pen system like the s-pen, but I dont need the complete package. I am looking for a reliable and useful combination of accessoires both software and hardware, that will enhance the creative capabilities of the XTZ to some extent.
Please share your good/bad experiences with certain pieces of hard-/software.
I would need suggestions:
Case (w/ keyboard?)
Stylus
Bluetooth headset
Creative software for students
Thanks in advance,
Buster
Case: I'd say the Original Sony one. It is really expesive compared to third party ones, but every single of them had some kind of problem that turned me off. I use mine mostly for transport and at school, to protect. At home, I'm really careful, so I just remove it (it gets bulky and heavy-ish).
Stylus: Can't comment about that
Bluetooth Headset: Can't comment about that²
Apps for Stundents: I can recommend quite a few. I'm assuming you know most apps, but still giving some obvious recommendations.
Cal: It's a Beautiful Calendar app. I'm using it because 4.3 stock Calendar app is basically useless, as it force closes all the time (I'd probably fix it by doing a factory reset, but I'm too lazy for that now).
Calcu - The Ultimate Calculator: Quite feature-rich, beautifully designed calculator. The stock one is quite good too, not as feature rich, though.
CliffHanger: I'm constantly watching TV Series, and this is a great app to have notifications about new episodes and to keep track of which you have watched already.
ConvertIt (Pro): Great conversion app, lots of units (LOTS)
Google Drive: Great writing app, IF you have a internet connection the whole time. It is almost useless as a editing tool while offline.
Box.net: I'm not sure if the promo is still going on, but if it is, as a Xperia owner, you have 50 Gb of lifetime cloud storage.
Financious: Great, also beautifully designed, finances tracking app.
MX Player: Awesome video player. With a plugin, you can reproduce basically everything.
Office Suite (Pro): I personally don't like their editor, but the reader is quite good, specially PDF.
PackageBuddy (Pro): Great package tracking app.
Sony Sketch: Great simple drawing app... A stylus would make it more useful.
Sony Tasks: Not feature rich, but useful for simple things.
Timetable (by Gabriel Ittner): Well designed, highly customizable Timetable app.
Those are the ones I can recommend. Hope you enjoy your device. In any doubts, just let us know
Case = Poetic SlimLine
The case is pretty heavy, but very thin, magnet works very well and is one of the better cases available. Still the best case I've seen. If you are going to carry it in a bag near a wallet you might not want a magnet that strong though...
Sony MDR-10RBT with viper4android; pretty awesome!.
Case official sony one. Had a poetic slim and it damaged the LCD display; so I got a new tablet and sony case. Also bought the dock, it's worth it if you plan on maintaining waterproof long term. Also you should try to use the USB port as little as possible. Tabs are flimsy and damage easily, also the USB port is weak in that if used too often one of those days when you unplug it you may take the port along with you!
Poetic slim is a nice feel case but it doesn't bend as easily as the tablet itself. If you use a dock to charge as I did, I had to remove the tablet from the case daily and that means bending my display daily which eventually lead to dead pixels; the case also exerts why to much pressure on the table which makes rainbows swirls more likely to occur and damage if dropped. If you want to see for yourself insert the tablet into the case while the screen is on.
These quirks aside; it's an awesome tablet! And it's is built for the long haul. I love being able to wash it when it's dirty and curtesy of Aqua cam Z Pro, I have got some awesome pics from my last snorkel adventure in the ocean; probably won't do that again as the tablet doesn't float at all!
I think that the current solution to the module layout is inefficient.
The area of the partition (marked in yellow) itself equals to at least another small module, IMO, a phone can't have so much 'dead' space and the more features a phone has the better. The partition area and the magnets also add weight to the device which could otherwise be used for more features.
Secondly, instead of 'wasting time' on fancy new features that we've never seen before, they should focus on getting the phone and modules to work together and release it for consumers for now and then later focus on these bleeding edge tech.
Thirdly, if water will spill on the back they could potentially sip through the cracks and get to the connection causing a short circuit and oxidation.
Lastly, the more expensive parts and the time to assemble them means the consumers would have to pay more. The whole point of this project is to make smartphones more accessible by making this significantly cheaper than current smartphones.
I think a back cover with clips or some mechanical locking mechanism to hold all the modules would be a much better solution. It will probably make switching modules a bit more complicated but it shouldn't be harder than changing the battery on a current smartphone (like in the Galaxy S line), in Ara's case it would be like changing several batteries.
TL;DR: I think a back cover to hold all the modules in place would be a much better solution because of the 'dead space' of the partition, weight, water protection and cost.
I think that the modules would also make the phone quite annoying to hold with the current design - the modules themselves seem smooth, but the partitions between them appear to stick out slightly more than the modules themselves, resulting in a bumpy surface. If I do buy an ara phone, I will definitely buy/create a case for it if they keep the current design, purely due to the annoyances created by the lumps and bumps.
I agree
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I agree also. They probably have thought about it also.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
The frame does not stick out from the modules from what I saw till now.
I guess there will be back covers that comfort your hold.
I think they decided to use this method mostly because it is different and people will recognise you when you use it. Despite of that, it is significantly smaller than Xperia Z for instance and you should be able to hold it comfortably.
And I like the design, even more that you can print your own covers...
What I question is, how big the battery modules will be....
Gesendet von meinem Xperia ZL mit Tapatalk
Why not 3rd party TPU bumper cases?
That should do the trick, it will hold everything together + protection
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Just as I said.
But the point about water and safety is true... Maybe there will be done kind of "rubbers", ultra thin that tighten the gap between where the shell touches the endo? I guess things like that will spread if the ara becomes a hit
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I agree with the back cover idea but at the same time I do like the look of the design that they've done with it. As for the liquid damage worries, like keenofhiphop said about the rubber, the modules themselves will probably be sealed units with the only opening being the connectors which might make them somewhat waterproof hopefully
GT-i8730 Asseveration 1.0.0
They are definitely not waterproof. You could see at the first Dev con that is just a metal kind of box with a plastic shell, it's like a lunchbox made from aluminum: tight but not waterproof.
I, too, like the design. It's special and while it is the definition of pragmatical, it as well is unique and the fact that you can individually change it by printing shells tops off every other device around here. You don't like the design? Buy a cover...
I heard someone complain about the Epms and why they would not use any mechanics, but that way there will not be trouble with breaking connectors and warranty due to physical activity.
And they do not take up much space and hold tight.
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I think they did not considered the back cover as the primary idea here is freedom of changing the modules quickly and adding new features, like say your battery is dyeing so you replace it quickly with another battery module while on the other hand the back case will make it a little difficult and will cost a little bit of time.
keenofhiphop said:
They are definitely not waterproof. You could see at the first Dev con that is just a metal kind of box with a plastic shell, it's like a lunchbox made from aluminum: tight but not waterproof.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are not waterproof - yet. The pre-alpha modules are not ready for prime time. Judging them right now is a little silly. Who knows what will come in the months to follow.
Covers are a good idea indeed, but you never know when Ara might be partition less and actully support the idea of orignal Phonebloks? using Lego like stuff as modules and there base would go in the holes on the main body
I love the design of the phone for the same reason I have a clear window on my PC. If I help build something or if I play a part in putting it together or whatever the case may be, it makes that experience much more personal and I have a lot more pride in the device. If I'm proud of something, then I'm gonna show it off, its as simple as that. So I like the "raw" look of the phone and it's semi-exposed modules.
Yeah. Why not use transparent modules to show of the processor or so
Per Regenbogen von meinem Moto G geKANGt.
I think your supposed to be able to hotswap modules. I don't mind the current design, but it should have some kind of border that goes on the edge of the phone to secure the modules better.
Hotswap or not, they look like they could slide out with very little force. Dropping your phone and having to pick up the dozen pieces doesnt sound that fun. I dont think you should be able to remove your memory module without turning the device off and as such a shell somewhat like a galaxy or whatever would be ideal
The poibt of the EPMs is that they need quite a bit of force to take off, once locked they even demonstrated that...
the critics
Hello everyone,
from what I've read here i can see that some are still thinking the old way about a smartphone.
It should have every new feature and therefore a waste of space for borders is a waste of possibilities. Wrong!
Will you use your camera, high end GPU, LTE, flashlight, fingerprint sensor, WiFi, NFC, audio jack, HDMI port, USB port, speaker's and what ever else your phone has all at the same time? Or will you take pictures and share them over the internet, another time play a game on it and so on.
The medium sized model has 8 slots at the back, i guess WiFi and NFC can go in one, or even together with mobile and LTE. Another is CPU, GPU, camera, battery and sensors like gyroscope. Still at least one left. Maybe for another camera for 3D movies. Or a second battery so you can use it for several days.
If you don't need one, swap it with another one. They are not big, keep them in your purse or so.
Another thing was of they fall off easily. No!
They use electronic magnets to keep them in. When turned off they are very weak but strong enough to hold them in when you move and turn your phone, but nearly unremovable when turned on. A modified version of Lollipop will enable you to change most of the modules while the system is running. A weak CPU and battery are included in the Endo, so nothing will happen. You can guess you will have some kind of menu where you can choose which module you want to remove so the magnets turn off.
Why no backcover or pins to hold the modules?
Because they can wear off or even break. If you want to change modules often, like you have different camera modules for different occasions, a simple one for daily use, one with optical zoom and one with a big sensor for darker pictures, you will damage your phone sooner or later.
The phone normally is 9,7mm thick, same as normal smartphones, a cover would make it thicker. If you like one, get one. They surely will be available, because everything is modular.
It's not waterproof. Why is that a problem for you?
Every less expensive phone is not and this phone is designed for the 5 billion people who don't have a smartphone yet, because it's very cheap and customisable for every need. If you want it waterproof, there surely will be modules or covers available that guarantee you that, but they will cost a bit more, simple.
Why should the first version of a completely new way of handling the mobile hardware market put everything out at the same time. Get this piece of high-tech-art to work smoothly. That's what Google promises. And what they also promise is that everybody can participate in its evolution.
So if you have ideas on how to give that phone a new feature, think it through and try to form it into a sellable solution. This time you can not only complain and hope it's done better next time. No, you can improve it or even invent it.
It's time to use our brains finally!
I agree with that. It is not good enough
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ProjectAraTalk.com - let talk about Google project Ara
xysawq said:
Why should the first version of a completely new way of handling the mobile hardware market put everything out at the same time. Get this piece of high-tech-art to work smoothly. That's what Google promises. And what they also promise is that everybody can participate in its evolution.
It's time to use our brains finally!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, you summarised all what I wanted to say;
The project must start very simple, it's aimed to be sold for the majority of consumers, not adding x, y, x', y', x'' and so on... This way they'll lose a very large layer of consumers, for it requires more knowledge about electronics than the normal.
Afterwards there can be any accessories or additions as you guys want. The hundred step way starts with a step!
No.1 Sun S2 Smart Watch Review
Thanks to GearBest for the sample
First Impressions: Having already had a “first look” at the device, that being a read up online all about the thing, I had a fair idea of what was coming. The box seems alright, nothing too fancy. Inside there we have the watch. It looks nice in the flesh. Though I’m still not sure I love the triangular pattern round the edge, feels like it’s there just to make it look more watch like. Mind you given how often I smack the face of my other watches off of things maybe it’s there and so raised to act as a defensive measure?
Picking it up I rather like it. I like metal bands and while I’ve seen reviews say its strap feels so light and cheap I can’t say I agree. Maybe normal watch straps are made of lead but to me it feels nicely weighted. Very flexible too, I like very much. I have never loved tightly fitting watches, I like them a little loose on the wrist and with this I can. Don’t think the heart rate thing will like that but how often will I use that?
Specifications: Built-in chip type: MT6260, Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 3.0, Waterproof Rating: IP67, Health tracker: Pedometer, Heart rate monitor, Alert type: Ring, Vibration, Screen: LED, Screen resolution: 240 x 240 px, Screen size: 1.33 inch, Camera pixel: 0.3MP, Battery capacity: 350mAh, Standby time: About 90 hours, Product weight: 0.120 kg
Actually there are tons of more details in the full spec list but I’ve skimmed to the bits that I think matter. Some spec too are variable, like the band material. My one is metal, silvery metal but you can get black too or leather of varying colours. The bands are actually standard watch straps so you can change it for anything you want. You hear that Motorola, Sony!!!! Standard bloody watch straps! So if you don’t like the strap or just feel like a change you can use anything you like and you shouldn’t have any trouble doing so.
Screen: The screen is pretty nice. It does do the Moto 360 “flat tyre” thing. You know where the bottom of the round screen has a black flat cut off at the bottom. For the most part this doesn’t really bother me as I’m used to it but….. when you use a round dial its really noticeable that 6 is missing and the faces all seem to pretend that the bottom is there. I don’t know why, the 360 does this too, just acts like it’s there when it’s not. Otherwise though the screen is pretty damn good. I was expecting poo viewing angles give the low cost but it’s actually really wide. It’s not perfect but its works great all the way to angles you would never encounter in the real world. It can get rather bright too. I’m really impressed for the price.
UI: This if anywhere is where things drop. The UI is not Android Wear. The UI is a proprietary thing I think made by Mediatek. While China has absolutely got hardware nailed I cannot say the same in regards to software. It all works, functionally but it can be odd. Like there is just 3 fascia’s for the watch. The white backed one I don’t like as the flat tyre is so noticeable. The two black ones, one having silvery typeface and the other goldish. Now it so happens I really quite like the silvery one so I was happy to use it but I could find no way to add any more options. Then when you go past that first face you are greeted with a digital, in yellow with a call button and a message button below it. You cannot change this screen and it’s different from the one in the photos, the one it the photos doesn’t seem to exist anywhere which I found really odd. The UI on the whole is quirky, once you start delving into menu’s you often feel a bit lost. Now you’ll hardly ever do it but you know. The rest of the functions, there are all fairly easily accessed. Somethings on there though, I don’t get. Like what use is the video playback app or the video recording when the storage space is so super tiny? Like I said, quirky but for the most part it’s pretty simple.
Features: The Sun 2 has a couple of really unusual bits. Now you see how the face looks like a watch and it has the little dial on the side where you would either wind it up or set the time? Well obviously you do neither with it, so you may wonder what it’s for, just decorative? Hell no, that thing is a camera!!! Yes you read that right, a camera. Granted it’s a low quality, 0.3 mega pixel camera but the 10 year old in me thinks it’s kinda awesome. Come on a real camera in your watch, that is some James Bond type gadgetry right there!!! Oh and you know what else!?!?!? The damn thing has a speaker and a microphone built in so it can initiate and receive calls, on the watch!!! Now I get you may look weird taking a call on your watch but…… come on, that is so James Bond. I can tell you if I was 10 and had this thing I would be ecstatic. As a grown up, I love the idea but I think I might feel too self-conscious to use in public.
Weirdly you can also use the watch to playback music on from your phone. I don’t know why you would chose to do this. I hoped I could use the watch as a remote control for audio being streamed to a Bluetooth pair of headphones but the Sun 2 and the headphones (Blueudio T2S) refused to be both connected to the phone (Moto G) at the same time.
Where you can use the watch as a remote control though is for your phones camera. It’s a little bit odd, there is no live transmission so you can’t see on the watch what your about to snap on the phone. Still it’s kinda cool that you can. I’m not quite sure what you’d do with it, maybe some more James Bond spying perhaps?
The other features that you may want to make use of are the health stuff. Now things like the pedometer it seemed to act more like a stopwatch than being some background, always monitoring feature. Same for the sleep monitor and sedentary reminder. So I don’t know if it was me missing something but they just seemed realistically of minimal use. The “Heart Rate” and ECG apps seem to be pretty much the same thing. They don’t continually monitor but if you’re interested in your heart rate they will tell you. I found it be really very accurate too.
Build Quality: It feels rather solid. Now it doesn’t exude luxury it doesn’t look or feel like a piece of jewellery. It feels like a man’s watch. Some plain stainless steel, polished on the face, brushed on the band. It’s a pleasant, plain, functional object. It appeals to my sense of the functionally aesthetic. Well bar that triangular bevelling, I still have mixed feelings about that. It feels like decoration for decorations sake. The rest of the thing looks fairly chunky, functional, and manly. You can barely see them unless you take the watch off but near the strap attachments and the underside you can see that its screwed together. I like that.
Usability: Well it depends what you want to do. If you’re happy to pair it up, just let it notify you of calls and texts you’re golden. It does this very ably. If you want to start doing things on the watch, like initiate a call or god forbid send a text, not so much. The round screen is a pain and to make things more awkward the big bevelled facia makes it hard to hit things near the edges. It sadly is awkward to do much more than hit the answer button or to acknowledge the notification of something. Stick to the basics, which is what I really want a watch for anyway, you cannot over estimate how handy a vibrating notification on your wrist is in my opinion. In these days of giant phones, leaving your phone on your desk or pocket means you might miss the vibration but when it’s on your wrist, you notice.
Battery: The battery life I found to be quite variable. I had the thing set to light up with a flick of a wrist. It would seem that while sleeping some nights I did this a lot and others not so much. Therefore sometimes the battery would last nearly 3 days others it would be dead in the morning when I went to use it. You should really just get in the habit of charging it overnight anyway. Like you do with your phone, it’s what I would have done normally if I wasn’t specifically reviewing to see how long it would last.
What was more of an issue I found was the charging dock. It is a little dock that magnetically clamps to the underside of the watch. The thing is it didn’t always seem to quite get the contacts lined up. More than once I put it to charge and sever hours later I discovered it hadn’t been. That got really annoying, if it just had some light or something to let you instantly see if it’s charging or not would have solved this. There is not, if you want to see you have at wake it up and see if the battery meter is animating.
Connectivity: I’ve seen people say they have had issues connecting different smart watches to their phones, so this category is here but I can’t say I did. There is some issue with the variety of apps available. Having the latest “Meditek SmartDevice” app it paired saw each other and worked just fine. Its range seemed more sensitive than my android wear watches, if I left the phone and wandered to the other side of the flat it would start ringing and vibrating to let me the Bluetooth connection had been lost. When I wandered back it reconnected automatically. That is with multiple devices all over the place too.
Value: Ahh value, there is no getting around the headline fact that as “smartwatches” go this is cheap, hell’a cheap. Right now it’s for sale, with a little Xiaomi LED light thrown in, for US$63 or with the handy discount code GBSS2 its US$54. At present exchange rates that’s just £35. So £35, with the cool wee light and delivered to your door. So that’s pushing one tenth of what an Apple watch would cost you. While I found the Sun 2 more limited and a little quirky, if what you want, the most important aspect for a smart watch for me, the notifications right there on your wrist. You feel it vibrate where you rarely feel your phone in your pocket and you can glance to see if it’s worth bothering to dig your phone out. With phones getting stupid big this matters ever more. Tbh even if you just use it for a watch, it’s still kinda bargain priced.
Conclusion: So I have 6 different “wearables” in arms reach right now. Yes I have issues, I know. You know you can never really judge an item on its own without having some other thing to compare it to. You know, your mothers Victora Sponge is cake and all cake is nice, then you have a big slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte that’s had a generous drizzling of Kirsch. One is good, one is to die for. The Sun 2 then, it falls into the first category. It isn’t a device that will wow you, change the way you look at existence, have you pondering in awe of the miracle that is human creativity. The Sun 2 is a good product, a solid product that has a clearly defined parameter of functionality.
The Sun 2 is about just a few things, telling you the time, looking like a proper watch and notifying you of people trying to reach you. Both calls and text notifications come through perfectly. Its functionality that my long vanished, ancient Sonyericsson MBW-100 that I so loved, provided. The Sun 2 replicates those functions admirably and throws in some little extras. Most of those extras are things you probably won’t use. Like the camera, it’s a super cool novelty but not actually useful. It’s just a cool little gadget.
Would I buy one, I dunno. I’ve gotten used to my Android Wear watches that do lots more but then they cost a lot more too. This therefore I see appealing to the young, seriously 10 year old me would have freekin’ loved this thing beyond belief. The other group being those who want the notifications in a reasonably looking package. To both those groups it suffices perfectly. It also is a really cost effective way to see if you can get used to wearing a watch but mostly I see it being for those who are forever not noticing calls and texts. When something strapped to your wrist vibrates, you notice it. It is that simple. So do you think you fall in to those categories? If so it’s a nice, functional, pleasant, watch looking way to get that without having to throw down considerably more money.
Photos i tried to add but it wouldnt let me, no idea why. however if you want to see them they are all in here http://www.mobiletechtalk.co.uk/no-1-sun-s2-smart-watch-review/
No.1 Sun S2 Smart Watch Quick Review
Thanks to GearBest for the sample
Brief: Bargain Bond watch.
Price: US$63 but with code GBSS2 US$54 ( so about £35)
Specification: Built-in chip type: MT6260, Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 3.0, Waterproof Rating: IP67, Health tracker: Pedometer, Heart rate monitor, Alert type: Ring, Vibration, Screen: LED, Screen resolution: 240 x 240 px, Screen size: 1.33 inch, Camera pixel: 0.3MP, Battery capacity: 350mAh, Standby time: About 90 hours, Product weight: 0.120 kg
Accessories: It comes with its little dock/charger and a micro USB cable to link it to a USB socket.
Build Quality: It feels very sturdy, chunky, and functional. I’ve seen people say its band feels really light but I don’t think it is, not in the least. It’s all rather weighty and solid.
Comfort/Fit: Great. I like metal banded watches and I like them to sit loose on my wrist. If you like more snug you can remove links or just change bands. Oh or you could pick it with the leather and not metal band.
Aesthetics: I mostly like it. It comes is several options so you chose what you like most I guess but that triangular bevelling still looks a bit flashy to me. I kinda think I might have preferred the black metal one, that being less reflective. It’s hard to say but it certainly gives you plenty of options.
UI: Hmm quirky. Works but I doubt you’ll use most of it. What use is the image viewer or file manager? Much of it seems rather superfluous to me.
Functionality: Where the Sun 2 excels is acting as a notifier for calls and texts, I regularly don’t notice my phone as I always keep it on vibrate. Vibrating in my pocket isn’t something I always notice but you do when something strapped to your wrist vibrates and lights up. That is handy beyond words in my opinion. Also I have to mention the camera, super cool but not so functionally useful. I did though have an issue with the limited number of fascia’s available, just 3. That was bluntly disappointing and I couldn’t find any way to add more. Lastly you can use the watch to make calls, it’s got a mic and speaker built in, super cool but I’d feel super silly using it in public.
Battery: Variable. Screen on time hammers the battery so clearly in my sleep I would set it off and that slashed the battery life. Though if you take it off at night you’ll easily get a few days out of it.
Connectivity: Great. Would drop if I left the room with the phone but that’s what its supposed to do. Never had it give any problems.
Value: It is a bargain priced device. Sure it’s not got the functionality of Android Wear watches or the Apple watch but it’s just a sliver of their price tags. If all you really need is notifications then this will got the job done considerably more cheaply.
Pro’s: Bargain price tag. Chunky feel. Standard watch band fittings.
Con’s: UI is interesting. Limited fascia’s. Docking charger not always catching.