Don't get me an Android Wear watch...
As Christmas was coming up last year, any time I would mention an Android Wear based watch or look at one in the store I would tell my wife not to get me one. In my mind, I wanted to research things more - I have a tendency to over think / over analyze things. I was worried about battery life, and wondered if I should consider other non-Android options. Well she did what wonderful wives do sometimes, she ignored me and still got me a watch and a few things to go with it.
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| LG G Watch Spigen screen protector Ritche stainless steel watch band |
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| Another shot of my LG G Watch |
Here are some of the thoughts I want to share:
Battery Life: As I expected, the battery life isn't great on this watch. I am having to keep it charged more than once a day, but that may smooth later because I am still in the mode of loading apps and playing around with settings. (Update on battery life: On my Moto X phone, I had the LG G Watch as a "trusted device" to keep my phone unlocked but this seemed to impact battery life now that I am not using it as a "trusted device" the battery life is much better).
Charger: On the plus side, the charger is super easy to use. You just place the watch on the charger, and it has magnets to keep it in place. The back of the watch "sits" in the charger so it is aligned properly and the magnets are strong - I even put it up side down (just to test) and it held the watch in place.
Watch Strap: I haven't installed the Ritche watch band I got for Christmas yet, but it seems you can use any standard 22mm watch band. I would recommend doing a little research, although any band should work you may run into some issues (for example it may not sit in the charger properly.
Pairing Limits: Apparently Android Wear devices can only pair with one device at a time, and to change devices I believe you have to reset the watch completely. For me, I have a smartphone and tablet so I was hoping to pair with both but honestly it isn't an issue. If you have two Android phones (for example, one for work and one for personal) you will have to choose which one to pair with. I think this is a minor limit for most users.
At Work: Let's you clock in / out of work, and even gives you a reminder when you have worked you hours - pretty useful if you have a work schedule which allows a flexible start time.
Baby Time : Android Wear Lock: My daughter is the reason this app is important for me. Anytime she is near me and notices my watch, she feels the need to touch the screen. You wouldn't expect a baby to be able to use Android Wear but somehow she manged to run the IFTTT app and trigger a test action I had that caused my phone to ring. Not even 2 years old, and she is already using technology!
Google Keep: You can make notes for yourself that are stored in Google Keep. This is very useful, for example the other day I was thinking about watching Dave Chappelle and I just said to my watch "note to self Where can i watch Dave Chappelle online" and it saved my message to Google Keep. Sometimes it may get a word wrong, but in this case it didn't.
IFTTT: If you aren't aware of this app, read up on it here ( https://ifttt.com/wtf ).
Reminders/Alarms (Built-in): Another very handy feature is the ability to set alarms and reminders quickly using voice. For example, you can set a reminder for a certain amount of minutes if you are cooking or doing laundry.
tinyCam Monitor Pro: I use it as a baby monitor, but it could also be used for other situations where you need to see video from an IP camera on your watch ( security system for example ).
WatchMaker: One of the many apps for loading and even creating watch faces, as I mentioned earlier there are many options for faces so try things out and read reviews.
Wear Apps Tracker: On your phone it lets you see the apps that have an Android Wear aspect, and on your watch it will give you notifications when Wear apps are installed, removed or updated. I like knowing what is going on with my apps -- in fact I use Changelog Droid on my phone to see what changes when apps are updated, before I had that app I hated using auto-update because I wanted to see what changed.
Wear Battery Stats: Track your watch battery life.
Wear Mini Launcher: Great way to launch apps on your watch, and much faster than using the built-in option. It also gives you a way to chance a few settings on your phone, and even check the battery status of your phone and watch.
Wear Party Mode: This is one of those apps that is good to use to show off how cool your watch is.
Overall, from a geek side of things I really like this watch and plan to keep trying out various applications to see what other capabilities exist. I will probably get a 2nd charging base for work, that way I can use it without worrying about battery life. I have had the watch less than two weeks, and have already had a chance to figure out everything I used to pull together this post and I am sure this is just the start. I didn't really mention the Spigen screen protector, but I did install it (which was fairly easy as long as you follow the directions).
I would recommend the following resources to anyone who just purchased a LG G Watch, or any Android Wear watch:
1) Join online communities for information and help:
- On Google+ Communities, I joined one for Android Wear and another specific to the LG G Watch
- Reddit has good information /r/AndroidWear
- XDA has good information, some of it is more focused on "expert" users
2) Consider getting SquareTrade warranty ( www.squaretrade.com/smartwatch-warranty ).
Charger: On the plus side, the charger is super easy to use. You just place the watch on the charger, and it has magnets to keep it in place. The back of the watch "sits" in the charger so it is aligned properly and the magnets are strong - I even put it up side down (just to test) and it held the watch in place.
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| Charger (Left) and back of LG G Watch (Right) |
Watch Faces: There are a huge amount of watch face options for Android Wear. I have tried a few different options, even used an app called WatchMaker to play around with making my own. Bottom line, if customizing your watch face is important you will have plenty of options.
Watch Strap: I haven't installed the Ritche watch band I got for Christmas yet, but it seems you can use any standard 22mm watch band. I would recommend doing a little research, although any band should work you may run into some issues (for example it may not sit in the charger properly.
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| Ritche 22mm Stainless Steel Bracelet Watch Band Strap |
Here are some of the software capabilities / apps I have found useful so far:
Note: The app name is a link to the app in the Play Store
Note: The app name is a link to the app in the Play Store
At Work: Let's you clock in / out of work, and even gives you a reminder when you have worked you hours - pretty useful if you have a work schedule which allows a flexible start time.
Baby Time : Android Wear Lock: My daughter is the reason this app is important for me. Anytime she is near me and notices my watch, she feels the need to touch the screen. You wouldn't expect a baby to be able to use Android Wear but somehow she manged to run the IFTTT app and trigger a test action I had that caused my phone to ring. Not even 2 years old, and she is already using technology!
Google Keep: You can make notes for yourself that are stored in Google Keep. This is very useful, for example the other day I was thinking about watching Dave Chappelle and I just said to my watch "note to self Where can i watch Dave Chappelle online" and it saved my message to Google Keep. Sometimes it may get a word wrong, but in this case it didn't.
Reminders/Alarms (Built-in): Another very handy feature is the ability to set alarms and reminders quickly using voice. For example, you can set a reminder for a certain amount of minutes if you are cooking or doing laundry.
tinyCam Monitor Pro: I use it as a baby monitor, but it could also be used for other situations where you need to see video from an IP camera on your watch ( security system for example ).
WatchMaker: One of the many apps for loading and even creating watch faces, as I mentioned earlier there are many options for faces so try things out and read reviews.
Wear Apps Tracker: On your phone it lets you see the apps that have an Android Wear aspect, and on your watch it will give you notifications when Wear apps are installed, removed or updated. I like knowing what is going on with my apps -- in fact I use Changelog Droid on my phone to see what changes when apps are updated, before I had that app I hated using auto-update because I wanted to see what changed.
Wear Battery Stats: Track your watch battery life.
Wear Mini Launcher: Great way to launch apps on your watch, and much faster than using the built-in option. It also gives you a way to chance a few settings on your phone, and even check the battery status of your phone and watch.
Wear Party Mode: This is one of those apps that is good to use to show off how cool your watch is.
Closing Thoughts / Other Resources
Overall, from a geek side of things I really like this watch and plan to keep trying out various applications to see what other capabilities exist. I will probably get a 2nd charging base for work, that way I can use it without worrying about battery life. I have had the watch less than two weeks, and have already had a chance to figure out everything I used to pull together this post and I am sure this is just the start. I didn't really mention the Spigen screen protector, but I did install it (which was fairly easy as long as you follow the directions).
I would recommend the following resources to anyone who just purchased a LG G Watch, or any Android Wear watch:
1) Join online communities for information and help:
- On Google+ Communities, I joined one for Android Wear and another specific to the LG G Watch
- Reddit has good information /r/AndroidWear
- XDA has good information, some of it is more focused on "expert" users
2) Consider getting SquareTrade warranty ( www.squaretrade.com/smartwatch-warranty ).
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