One of my reasons for dumping my Athena was that i found it was a complete nightmare as a phone (amongst other issues)
Does anyone think it is a Good Phone, OK Phone, Crap Phone or Bloody awful Phone
This is about MAKING CALLS on it not the other functions
Ive only been using mine for a couple days, but its just fine for me. I'm not holding top secret phone conversations, and if I do need to keep a call under wraps, I just use my bluetooth.
To answer that you'd need some criteria as to what makes a phone good.
It can make and receive calls ok but after that there are many things that could be percieved criteria that make a phone good.
IMHO a good phone is one that you can put to your ear when it rings and talk to the person on the other end. It is small enough to comfortably fit in the pocket of a pair of jeans. Has good battery life. Has a good radio (phone signal reception).
These requirements are a must for a phone for me.
The Athena does not fit all of these criteria but then again it is not primarily a phone.
It is a top notch all round communications device/office and if you buy it expecting a "comfy phone" you'll be disappointed.
In a word, is it a good phone? No.
I love the x7500 best one I ever had. Love the GPS the huge screen and all the cool stuff and software that ís to come
I suppose i should make it clear what i meant by this thread Ahem.
Im talking about Making Actual Calls on it not not the other functions
The problem with the Athena as a phone is that it takes a while to figure out how to set the volume control correctly.
It's better now that I know to set the phone volume to zero, and then hold the edge of the device to my ear with the little hole (which I assume is a mic) roughly in the direction of my mouth.
After doing that I can just about have a conversation (as long as I'm in a quiet room).
WHATS ????
I,m REALLY HEAT THIS...too many words...about?
Whats made this post here..., plase get out... write in a PHONE forum !
This Forum in about POCKET PC..if some of all in this site...wants a phone...so simply....write in phones sites !
But...at anyone ...a simply phone is not we need!
Beacuse we buy..P O C K E T PC (Pocket PC) !
FranCOKE!
ClashOfThe said:
To answer that you'd need some criteria as to what makes a phone good.
These requirements are a must for a phone for me.
The Athena does not fit all of these criteria but then again it is not primarily a phone.
It is a top notch all round communications device/office and if you buy it expecting a "comfy phone" you'll be disappointed.
In a word, is it a good phone? No.
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francoke said:
I,m REALLY HEAT THIS...too many words...about?
Whats made this post here..., plase get out... write in a PHONE forum !
This Forum in about POCKET PC..if some of all in this site...wants a phone...so simply....write in phones sites !
But...at anyone ...a simply phone is not we need!
Beacuse we buy..P O C K E T PC (Pocket PC) !
FranCOKE!
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You sir need to learn how to read and count.
I think i made it quite clear the device is much more than a phone and also stated it was top notch.
Also I only wrote 12 or so more words than you and none of mine were wasted.
Athena's phone functionnality is OK, nothing more, nothing less.
BUT I find the integration into the entire environment pretty awesome, really.
I rate the Ameo 1 out of 10 for using as a PHONE.
Other uses (e.g. Mobile Internet, Sat Nav, Watching Video Blogs) I would rate it 10 out of 10 but for actually talking to people I have had so many problems:
1) The hands-free headphones+microphone that are supplied no longer work for me (my voice intermitedly cuts out - like a loose connection).
2) Whenever I use my bluetooth headset ("Discovery 655"), I get complains from whoever I'm trying to talk to about low volume.
3) And if I try to use the Ameo without plugging in some kind of microphone, everyone in the room gets to listen to my conversation.
The Ameo is not a good phone (in my opinion).
I heard The "LG style-i" is good but I can't get hold of one in England.
francoke said:
I,m REALLY HEAT THIS...too many words...about?
Whats made this post here..., plase get out... write in a PHONE forum !
This Forum in about POCKET PC..if some of all in this site...wants a phone...so simply....write in phones sites !
But...at anyone ...a simply phone is not we need!
Beacuse we buy..P O C K E T PC (Pocket PC) !
FranCOKE!
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Click to collapse
the athena isnt a pocket pc - its a phone. it is sold as a phone by phone companies in phone shops. it is a windows mobile phone and, by design, a convergent device. unfortunately one of its primary functions - the phone - is poorly designed and doesnt give very good clarity without the help of a bluetooth headset. sadly windows mobile doesnt like bluetooth headsets very much so i think overall the athena fails as a phone quite badly. other aspects of the device are not relevent to the question in hand.
Athena is a primarily a mobile data device which also does phone, adding value to it as a convergent device. If you're looking for a phone, go somewhere else. This will not be the best size as a phone, but it is the best sized convergent device, with phone function.
As a VOIP phone it is excellent. As long as I use a headset and have good signal, I get quite good voice at mere 8 cents per call untimed to anywhere in the world. Using headset on it as a normal mobile phone of course gives very good voice quality.
The SMS aspect of the phone is absolutely top notch because of the large screen.
The debate always comes down to size. It is crazy to try to rate it only as a phone and proves nothing. It's like rating a PC with TV tuners as only a TV. Or Athena only as an MP3 player or only as a Camera.
If I have a TV tuner in my computer, I don't expect an intelligent guy to come up with a survey that says "who thinks this PC is a good TV". The result is meaningless. If a guy is looking for a TV and nothing else, he would of course dump this computer. But if TV is not his primary focus and computer is, then he is happy with the TV.
Similarly, if the future version of Athena decides to incorporate TV, it does not make it a TV per se. If you have a survey that says "who thinks Athena II is a good TV", its a meaningless question. The screen would be deemed too small by a guy looking only for a TV, much like Athena is viewed as too big by the guy looking mainly for a phone.
Does it mean that one should never incorporate phone feature into a convergent device? Or that one should never incorporate television into the PDA? By no means. There is a very niche market segment who longs for these all in ones. If you're not one of them, then this is not a product for you. That does not make it a crap phone or crap tv.
One of the key values of Athena lies in it converging all these technologies together. While it does not take the best picture in the world, the picture quality is okay. While it is not the fastest computer, it is okay. While it is not the best mobile phone in the world, it is okay. I've seen much worst dedicated Nokia phone than Athana.
Everything taken as a whole, it is stil the best.
Athena is closer to PDA than a phone. What's a PDA? I'd quote Gartner's definition:
Gartner defines PDAs as "data-centric handheld computer weighing less than one pound that [are] primarily designed for use with both hands." The devices use "open market" OSes and can be equipped by the users with third-party applications. Additionally, PDAs "offer instant on/off capability and synchronization of files with a PC," in Gartner's view. Although the PDAs included in Gartner's data may offer voice capabilities, they are "data-first, voice-second devices."
DATA FIRST, VOICE SECOND. If Francoke's pocket pc means PDA, then using Gartner's definition, he's right. This is a pocket pc (PDA). In Gartner's eye, this is not classified as a phone.
eaglesteve said:
Athena is a primarily a mobile data device which also does phone, adding value to it as a convergent device. If you're looking for a phone, go somewhere else. This will not be the best size as a phone, but it is the best sized convergent device, with phone function.
As a VOIP phone it is excellent. As long as I use a headset and have good signal, I get quite good voice at mere 8 cents per call untimed to anywhere in the world. Using headset on it as a normal mobile phone of course gives very good voice quality.
The SMS aspect of the phone is absolutely top notch because of the large screen.
The debate always comes down to size. It is crazy to try to rate it only as a phone and proves nothing. It's like rating a PC with TV tuners as only a TV. Or Athena only as an MP3 player or only as a Camera.
If I have a TV tuner in my computer, I don't expect an intelligent guy to come up with a survey that says "who thinks this PC is a good TV". The result is meaningless. If a guy is looking for a TV and nothing else, he would of course dump this computer. But if TV is not his primary focus and computer is, then he is happy with the TV.
Similarly, if the future version of Athena decides to incorporate TV, it does not make it a TV per se. If you have a survey that says "who thinks Athena II is a good TV", its a meaningless question. The screen would be deemed too small by a guy looking only for a TV, much like Athena is viewed as too big by the guy looking mainly for a phone.
Does it mean that one should never incorporate phone feature into a convergent device? Or that one should never incorporate television into the PDA? By no means. There is a very niche market segment who longs for these all in ones. If you're not one of them, then this is not a product for you. That does not make it a crap phone or crap tv.
One of the key values of Athena lies in it converging all these technologies together. While it does not take the best picture in the world, the picture quality is okay. While it is not the fastest computer, it is okay. While it is not the best mobile phone in the world, it is okay. I've seen much worst dedicated Nokia phone than Athana.
Everything taken as a whole, it is stil the best.
Athena is closer to PDA than a phone. What's a PDA? I'd quote Gartner's definition:
Gartner defines PDAs as "data-centric handheld computer weighing less than one pound that [are] primarily designed for use with both hands." The devices use "open market" OSes and can be equipped by the users with third-party applications. Additionally, PDAs "offer instant on/off capability and synchronization of files with a PC," in Gartner's view. Although the PDAs included in Gartner's data may offer voice capabilities, they are "data-first, voice-second devices."
DATA FIRST, VOICE SECOND. If Francoke's pocket pc means PDA, then using Gartner's definition, he's right. This is a pocket pc (PDA). In Gartner's eye, this is not classified as a phone.
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Well said. And If I might say, asking a question where the answers are (1) crap (2) crap (3) ok and (4) best ever doesn't strike me as being particularly balanced!
I don't make many phone calls, but those that I do are fine. Speaker phone is fine as long as you're calling a landlines (mobiles and handsfree kits tend to generate too much noise and confuse the phone as to if it should be 'listening' or 'playing' the sound). Wired / Bluetooth headset works perfectly. The issue that we've had time and time again though, is that its not really a 'pocket' phone, and unless you have a handbag or manbag, you feel like a bit of a twonk carrying round this brown wallet. I usually give the phone to the missus to carry then have a bluetooth in my pocket ready to shove in my earole.
For me the diference between not using the X7500 at all as phone and using the X7500 as phone has been the LG Style-i HBM-700.
I tried an BT headset first but the trekky look is not for me then I tried the Style-i and now X7500 is my only cellular.
Athena is not a phone in a traditional way you could think it.
My experience is good even with cheap bluetooth headset (far better than Universal...)
mahjong said:
For me the diference between not using the X7500 at all as phone and using the X7500 as phone has been the LG Style-i HBM-700.
I tried an BT headset first but the trekky look is not for me then I tried the Style-i and now X7500 is my only cellular.
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Completely agree with this post. If you use LG Style-I, you end up having the smallest phone in the world!
As a phone by itself the Athena is Crap. The LG Style-i certainly helps.
I use the other features far more than just the phone which is secondary to me but as the T-Mob Ameo is sold as a 'phone' I can see the OP's point.
As eaglesteve points out it is far more than 'just' a phone but if you buy one primarily as a phone you would probably be disappointed.
Confucious said:
As a phone by itself the Athena is Crap. The LG Style-i certainly helps.
I use the other features far more than just the phone which is secondary to me but as the T-Mob Ameo is sold as a 'phone' I can see the OP's point.
As eaglesteve points out it is far more than 'just' a phone but if you buy one primarily as a phone you would probably be disappointed.
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With LG style-i, it does not matter what the "host" is anymore. That's why I voted it to be as good as the phone best ever. Athena gives very good 3.5G reception, far better than any other phones I've used. Also, like eaglesteve said, it is very easy for me to create SMS messages on this device, which is another aspect of the phone features. I highly recommend that those who had found it tough to use this as a phone because of its size to consider LG style-I. I guarantee your opinion will change.
eaglesteve said:
It is crazy to try to rate it only as a phone and proves nothing. It's like rating a PC with TV tuners as only a TV.
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Excellent comparision, couldn't have put it better.
And yet, I think some extremely useful (at least for me) phone-related functionnalities are very usually overlooked with PocketPC PDA-Phones in such polls.
What about seamless synchronisation with Outlook content ? This functionnality alone saved my *ss more than once when I had trouble with my phone. Instant search for directory numbers ? Etc. etc.
I once had a Nokia N92, an excellent multimedia device. Well, I returned it as soon as I saw that the "conduit" between the phone and Outlook mixed numbers up, and didn't synchronise properly (most of my contacts are business contacts, and have more than one phone number. The Nokia conduit handles this extremely poorly, mixing numbers for a same contact when they are synchronised on the phone until it is almost impossible to find a contact through his / her phone number).
Confucious said:
As eaglesteve points out it is far more than 'just' a phone but if you buy one primarily as a phone you would probably be disappointed.
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True. But I always have trouble imagining how ANYONE would get an almost one-pounded, 5-inch screened *phone*. Who needs a 5-inch screens only for phoning ? To see 1-inch wide numbers ?? :-S
Anyone know how this handles incoming text messages. Does the watch vibrate and are texts easy to read in day light or nightime? They seem to get, unlike many reviewers, that one killer app is not having to take your phone out of your pocket to answer calls. That function is also important to anyone bombarded with incoming texts. It is odd that Mota's description makes no mention of text messanging. This is the main way I use my current device, an ancient sony liveview (given new life for reading incoming texts by excellent openliveview software).
Given pricepoint, novel functionality and stylishness clearly deserves its own thread.
I would steer clear of this device. Very, Very limited functionality, poor build quality- my battery was DOA, When I finally reconditioned the battery, it had constant connection issues. Got rid of it quickly.
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Guys, this look any other cheap $40-$50 bluetooth bracelet I have seen being sold on ebay, amazon, or chinese retailers (like dx.com) for the last 2-3 years. Its just a bluetooth caller id notifier that vibrates on calls, shows who is calling, and plays music from your phone like a remote bt speaker. It's no different than this $40 feature watch I reviewed here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2435751) but in a bracelet format.
If you ask me, this is no different than all those scams trying to sell already existing products on KS or IGG lol!!! They just got clever and doing it through Groupon to attract more suckers, I mean buyers
This is not a smartwatch, it doesn't show emails or txt msg or anything else, and it only supports BT 2.0.
Thanks for info
Thank-you to the previous posters for saving me some money.
I'm leaning towards purchasing a Sony Smart Watch today, but I would like to ask a few questions before I pull the trigger.
Is it possible to pair both a Sony Smart watch and Google Glasses to my Nexus 5? If possible, are there any drawbacks to having both devices active at the same time, other than duplicating functions?
My thought process is that by having the Sony Watch, it would allow me to screen alerts and messages visually on my arm. If I feel as though the message warrants a immediate response I would then activate GG to respond accordingly. Keep in mind that Google Glass only provides a audible beep of a incoming message..i.e text and emails. This would help me stretch the battery life on GG by not having to activate it each and every time I hear a beep. I travel a lot in my profession by car on a daily basis and this would really help if its possible.
Thanks in advance!!
Can't speak for SW, but was fine when connected to me pebble and gear
Use the SW2 and Glass same time with Z1, there's no problem.
Thanks guys...was holding off until I got confirmation from forum members.
I'm not sure what Bluetooth profile the watch and glass uses, but yesterday I connected my Bluetooth car stereo to my phone while glass was connected and I couldn't make calls on Glass as long as it was connected to the car. Paired it with a Bluetooth headset with the same results, knowing that they both fall under the Bluetooth headset profile. Unsurprisingly I couldn't operate both.
As you see my goal was to reproduce the same scenario as if I was connected via Bluetooth to both Glass and a smart watch. I appreciate your feedback, but could you specifically elaborate if you lost any functionality.
Brendo, you stated you had a Galaxy Gear. Were you able to choose which device you wanted to make or accept calls on without manually selecting the device in your Bluetooth settings? After you made a call say on your Galaxy Gear, did it kill the call functionality in your Glass and vice versa. I'm sold on the Sony SW because it uses Bluetooth LE to connect to phone for data only. Now that I'm leaning towards purchasing a Martian Passport, I just want to make sure before I go plump down $300.
I know I have many questions, and would love to be able to go to a store to demo one to get my answers, but I don't know of a store that have live units out for demo.
Again thanks.
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Thanks guys...I settled on the Sony SW 2 and it works without a hitch. Now I can finally reserve battery life on my Glass by screening my messages.
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Oh, I had mine connected to car at same time also
Phone call followed which ever device initiated the call (call out or pick up)
I have a question. If I would like to use the SmartWatch following situation: I'm going on a bike, on hand SmartWatch (without SIM in slot), in a backpack or pocket smartphone HH6 (with SIM) paired with a watch by BT. Someone calls me, I answer a call on the watch and lead the conversation by saying to the hand on the steering wheel. At this time, simultaneously goes GPS and Endomondo. It is feasible that equipment? Such a test network I have not seen, and the only excitement is that you can let go of a game or film. Which to me is a complete misunderstanding, taking into account the size of the display and battery.
I thought about d5 but there probably is not possible to carry on a conversation by saying to watch when the SIM card is in your phone.
Can the new K18 (2016) would give this advice? Is K18 and K10 the same thing?
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I would say a yes - sort of... There are considerations which would affect your scenario that would impact *any* device regardless of who manufactures it. If the phone is in a backpack and the watch on your wrist, there there will probably be issues with BLE signal quality between the devices. However, if the phone is on the side where you're wearing the watch, then there will less drops/glitches. This of course is *before* we talk about the quality of the wrist device itself - in how well its microphone/speaker might work, etc.
With all of that said, I have a similar setup with several devices. I just received the No.1 A10 (mainly for swimming but also for general use when out-and-about) and the K9 3G (more for 'civilized' situations) each of which I pair with my HTC one M8 when in-use. I also have a SIM in my K9 3G, both as a backup for my phone and for SMS (I've been involved with the SWApps Link app roadmap since early stages - so I test its failover from BLE to Push and SMS) and for tethered use/notifications from the phone. I'm not sure if that helps you, but it should give you some 'color' on the options that are available.
I think just about *any* device will promise to do what you suggest. But there's bad news: the real world. The little bit of time I've spend with the A10 as a transponder (phone calling **** Tracy style, but the call is to/from the mobile phone in my pocket with the A10 as mic/speaker) has been bad enough that I pulled the phone from my pocket and took over the call. I'll spend more time experimenting with it and the K9, but I'm not sure if the technology is really ready for the real world, if the hardware I've selected is actually up to the task - or - if my standards are simply too high.
I thinks all you need it an Android wear/ or Original Android to connect with your phone and also can run Endomondo. To answer the call, I think it will be better if you use a bluetooth headset, It will better for music, voice training and call.
Now I'm using a D5 with backup sim with a mi bluetooth headset to track my running. I let my phone home and set an automatic app to send a sms for someone who call my phone to call to my backup number in necessary case. And it just works fine with me (I try and D5 can run almost all running apps quite good. But for see the map when you run, looklike Runkeeper and Endomondo is the best)
So at the moment is not fully good watch, which can be used for making calls, if your SIM card is near the inside of the phone?
I care not to insert every time the SIM card from my phone to watch and vice versa. I also do not want to run another SIM number.
Are D5 offers such a possibility at all? In the movies on YT people call from the watch, in which is placed SIM card. I have not seen anyone talking on his watch and the SIM card in the phone.
Are currently in the Chinese market is something better than D5 in price to approx 150$. I mean similar or better functionality. I mainly depends essentially on the good battery life, protection against light rain, GPS and the communication with the phone, about which we speak. Maybe M8? There is battery 600mAh.
Are K18 for example, would not be better? There is probably the SD card slot.
elephant_ml said:
So at the moment is not fully good watch, which can be used for making calls, if your SIM card is near the inside of the phone?
I care not to insert every time the SIM card from my phone to watch and vice versa. I also do not want to run another SIM number.
Are D5 offers such a possibility at all? In the movies on YT people call from the watch, in which is placed SIM card. I have not seen anyone talking on his watch and the SIM card in the phone.
Are currently in the Chinese market is something better than D5 in price to approx 150$. I mean similar or better functionality. I mainly depends essentially on the good battery life, protection against light rain, GPS and the communication with the phone, about which we speak. Maybe M8? There is battery 600mAh.
Are K18 for example, would not be better? There is probably the SD card slot.
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You confusion is well founded. My two examples, the No1 A10 and the K9 3G are to show examples of *completely* different device setups.
A10 - Bluetooth connection to phone only - no SIM. It has a microphone and speaker for using like a bluetooth headset for answering calls, except it's on your wrist. The No1 A10 can be found online for $50-60US.
K9 - It can *both* function as a bluetooth extension to the phone like the A10- - AND - also operate on its own with a SIM chip inside the watch itself. Depending on how your carrier operates, you *may* be able to set up the SIM on your wrist to look/act/feel like the SIM on your phone (presenting the same number, receiving calls, etc) so that the experience is relatively seamless. But aside from the technical hurdles as to whether the telecom/mobile carrier actually allows this function - there's the cost. I paid $124 for the K9 3G and you can find it for prices in that range at various outlets online. The cost of running a second SIM and related hassles vary widely.
The D5 is more similar to (and perhaps even exactly the same as) the K9 3G though I don't know the D5. I chose the K9 because of the 1900 support that allows me to use it on T-Mobile in the US.
These two different device profiles give different positives and negatives. One the one hand, the K9 is a much "smarter" watch, with more capaiblities - being that it runs full Android 4.4.2. On the down side, it burns through battery very quickly when in heavy use (such as running Google Fit to track steps/location via GPS during workouts) - and it isn't fully waterproof. The A10 is water "resistent" and presumably more able to handle the rough-and-tumble world, and the battery last several days without a charge - but - it has no SIM, no memory to speak of, and relatively limited functionality.
That is a very, very long way of saying YMMV (your mileage may vary).
I'd like to buy a smartwatch, however all that meet my requirements (AMOLED, waterproof) are stand-alone versions, with SIM card slot. I've notice that most of these watches do not support full phone synchronization. I'd like my watch to have functionality like: phone camera trigger, answering phone calls, answering SMS or WhatsApp messages...
If some of you can advice me how can I achieve that by external software, or what kind of smartwatch should I buy to meet those requirements, it would be great.
None of them will be able to make or receive calls properly through Bluetooth if that is what you are asking.
There is a reason for this. Google owns the api that allows this kind of interaction with Android. They will never allow it to be used on these watches. To google, these watches go against everything they are working on with Android Wear. They also protest that it is a security issue.
So, long story short - if you want full Bluetooth interactive mode you will need a Wear watch.
Not one of these Bluetooth pairing watches you find on Aliexpress. They also are not allowed to use these api's and cannot make or receive calls over Bluetooth.
If you find one that really works (a lot of them claim to but don't) I'd be interested ?
You might look at the Ticwatch 2. Nice looking watch and is licensed by Google - kind of......
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Have you looked at the Imacwear M7? It might be what you're looking for.
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Thanks @pablo11, however I can't say that I'm happy with what I've just read So it is not possible to implement this functionality in ROM or with the App?
Samsung watches overspend my budget
I completely don't get it! A 10$ smartwatch (like DZ-09) can answer phone calls and push notification two-way, and 100$ can't?