Database Users

Lost JasJar, help me decide whether to replace

Yep, I've done it AGAIN - left the bloody thing on a plane!
Despite being a pretty fair contributor to the early days of solving this newborn's issues, I'm somewhat undecided as to whether it's worth replacing. Hope u don't mind me bouncing my thoughts off you, while I debate degrading to a JAM or PDA2 - I'm pretty sure that my cynicism will be refuted more strongly here than anywhere else:
Downside of JasJar:
Big n bulky meant that I kept on putting it down - and losing it! And if one more cheeky bastard commented on my retro brick...
I pretty much stopped reading eBooks. Read 120 in 1 year on the PDA2 and raved about it, but on the JJ it was tough to hold in bed, and the buttons were too small to page down easily. I just faded on that which is rather sad.
Hinge was definitely working loose. A post I've made covers tightening it up by bending the plate, but I'm not sure where the end game of this falls...
In SA, it's way expensive (given that I lose them every 3 months). However, I'm going to the UK end January, perhaps I can get a cheap one and unlock it? Or is it not cheap given the contract? I think I can use UK addresses and banking details to get a contract, or do they require more than that? Thoughts anyone?
Software: So few games work well! And we still havn't solved the GPRS/3G traffic counting issue
Battery: Daily charging was indeed a ball-ache.
Radio quality: Hell this sucked! Now that I'm using an old Nokia, I'm trully understanding how bad all iMate radio stacks are! And BT gave so much trouble that I wondered if it was better without; crackling, echo, etc etc despite testing 3 top-end BT headsets. Still, the JAM is not that much better.
Stability: Let's face it, despite all our work to free up memory, close apps, run lean-n-mean, the damned thing was still dicky. You had to reset every few days at best, how many times did you look at the screen and see that the call you made 25 minutes ago was still in progress (Hell, what have I just been saying about the dickhead I was chatting to??), and altho I was a storng advicate of it being usable with a little effort, the truth is was that it was never as fast as the PDA2
Upside of JasJar
IIWPO likely to stay in memory. However, JAM allows for ROM hacking to secure this, and my JasJar hasn't phoned home in 3 days. I'm now figuring out that the issue is not whether thieves have the ability to hard reset, but rather whether they are intelligent enough to track down a charger for this new device - I think not!
Persistent storage: But in truth I was better off backing up the PDA2 as at least I could recover when it was lost. Now it's gone, all I have is my Outlook backup - no eWallet, no notes, no s.sht that I spent so long working on to justify my SL55 to the wife (and I was oh-so-close to succeeding...)!
3G! Yep, that was AWESOME. I used mine as a modem frequently, and with data rates in SA being so low, it was a truly workable alternative. However, I didn;t really use it for browsing (IE browser renders SO slowly with bad bad caching), and for email I only d/l headers which can be done on a JAM's GPRS. So, why not a JAM with an EDGE or 3G PCMCIA laptop card?
Keyboard! Loved it! But in truth I didn;t use it as much as I expected. The occasional email where I could nto wait to get back to my laptop, and quite frankly if I'm that desperate, why not use SBP Full Screen keyboard?
VGA: LOVED my slick WAD desktop with oh-so-glossy pic of my CLK55, but in truth I was the only one who ever looked at it and I get to see the real thing every day anyway! VGA browsing via Oz was kewl, but browsing was slow. Terminal Services was AWESOME, and I think that's probably my main concern. Loved getting into my eMule server and seeing how it was doing - or grabbing an eBook within 5 mins of being told about it!
Media player in VGA: Yeah, I liked that. But in truth the PDA2 was more stable for running mp3 playing apps, so it's pretty video vs mp3 - in truth the mp3 got used more - tho neither were used all that much.
Landscape: Naah - this was never a useful thing for me.
Hmm, as you can see I've pretty much convinced myself that it's back to to a JAM or PDA2...anyone able to pull me back from the retro abyss?
PS: There was a post where ppl covred what they were using their JJ for and why it was a worthwhile upgrade. Can't find it now - anyone mind giving me a string to search on?

I have put in some comments below, hih!
Downside of JasJar:
Big n bulky meant that I kept on putting it down - and losing it! And if one more cheeky bastard commented on my retro brick...
---Little difference between this and the PDA2K in size
I pretty much stopped reading eBooks. Read 120 in 1 year on the PDA2 and raved about it, but on the JJ it was tough to hold in bed, and the buttons were too small to page down easily. I just faded on that which is rather sad.
---I have read at the same rate since going from other PDA's to Universal, but I do it in landscape.
Hinge was definitely working loose. A post I've made covers tightening it up by bending the plate, but I'm not sure where the end game of this falls...
---Yeah, the jury's out on this one
In SA, it's way expensive (given that I lose them every 3 months). However, I'm going to the UK end January, perhaps I can get a cheap one and unlock it? Or is it not cheap given the contract? I think I can use UK addresses and banking details to get a contract, or do they require more than that? Thoughts anyone?
Software: So few games work well! And we still havn't solved the GPRS/3G traffic counting issue
---spb GPRS monitor?
Battery: Daily charging was indeed a ball-ache.
---Switch off 3G
Radio quality: Hell this sucked! Now that I'm using an old Nokia, I'm trully understanding how bad all iMate radio stacks are! And BT gave so much trouble that I wondered if it was better without; crackling, echo, etc etc despite testing 3 top-end BT headsets. Still, the JAM is not that much better.
---It's a tradeoff I guess for all the extra tech inside
Stability: Let's face it, despite all our work to free up memory, close apps, run lean-n-mean, the damned thing was still dicky. You had to reset every few days at best, how many times did you look at the screen and see that the call you made 25 minutes ago was still in progress (Hell, what have I just been saying about the dickhead I was chatting to??), and altho I was a storng advicate of it being usable with a little effort, the truth is was that it was never as fast as the PDA2
---Not as quick to the eye, but also seems to be ok in real use. I get about one reset a week at the moment with my minimal install
Upside of JasJar
IIWPO likely to stay in memory. However, JAM allows for ROM hacking to secure this, and my JasJar hasn't phoned home in 3 days. I'm now figuring out that the issue is not whether thieves have the ability to hard reset, but rather whether they are intelligent enough to track down a charger for this new device - I think not!
---Tea leaves only need a mini-USB lead to charge it. Now as they are likely to be on crack I guess they sold their computers already. Might take some time to have it phone home. You can inactivate the device to all through the IMEI number
Persistent storage: But in truth I was better off backing up the PDA2 as at least I could recover when it was lost. Now it's gone, all I have is my Outlook backup - no eWallet, no notes, no s.sht that I spent so long working on to justify my SL55 to the wife (and I was oh-so-close to succeeding...)!
3G! Yep, that was AWESOME. I used mine as a modem frequently, and with data rates in SA being so low, it was a truly workable alternative. However, I didn;t really use it for browsing (IE browser renders SO slowly with bad bad caching), and for email I only d/l headers which can be done on a JAM's GPRS. So, why not a JAM with an EDGE or 3G PCMCIA laptop card?
Keyboard! Loved it! But in truth I didn;t use it as much as I expected. The occasional email where I could nto wait to get back to my laptop, and quite frankly if I'm that desperate, why not use SBP Full Screen keyboard?
---Learn to love landscape. I don't use portrait ever these days.
VGA: LOVED my slick WAD desktop with oh-so-glossy pic of my CLK55, but in truth I was the only one who ever looked at it and I get to see the real thing every day anyway! VGA browsing via Oz was kewl, but browsing was slow. Terminal Services was AWESOME, and I think that's probably my main concern. Loved getting into my eMule server and seeing how it was doing - or grabbing an eBook within 5 mins of being told about it!
Media player in VGA: Yeah, I liked that. But in truth the PDA2 was more stable for running mp3 playing apps, so it's pretty video vs mp3 - in truth the mp3 got used more - tho neither were used all that much.
---PDA2K has a 'pop' on MP3 playback - the reason I couldn't stick with it.
Landscape: Naah - this was never a useful thing for me.
---Learn to love it.

here's the other topic
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=35069&highlight=

iiwpo
I have a universal (qtek 9000) with the latest o2 rom. I have read that iiwpo works on the universal, but have not been able to do it. I edited the cab file exactly as per the instructions. The guide then says to edit the config.txt file from the rom. I opened it in text editor, but there is no reference to '
5. just before the line
EXEC:\Extended_ROM\TPEnable.exe
insert a new line (provided the name of the CAB is "IIWPO.CAB")
CAB: \Extended_ROM\IIWPO.CAB
My config.txt file contains no such line 'tpenable.exe'
I tried the other method described in the forum by just putting the iiwpo.cab file in 'my documents' and executing it. It installed itself into windows and the windows startup folder. Changing the owner name and resetting does nothing. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

I'd add your Q to the IIWPO thread in here as this is OT to this thread.

Thank You.

craigiecraigie4
maybe you might want to wait for new models that will be launch this year? Perhaps there will be more better models launching soon like this loox T800 model ? IMHO.
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...or try the K-Jam in the meantime:-
Smaller, more convenient, more responsive, more buttons, better radio, much better battery, more stable, better bluetooth, more free memory.
If you don't need the VGA screen, the bigger keyboard and 3G, you can do more or less do everything you did on the JasJar on the K-Jam, and much of it works better - especially as a phone, despite the price.

Let me put it this way:
"If you don't need the VGA screen, the bigger keyboard and 3G, you can do more or less do everything you did on the JasJar"
You can do it in any other htc device since the himalaya.

ncruz said:
Let me put it this way:
"If you don't need the VGA screen, the bigger keyboard and 3G, you can do more or less do everything you did on the JasJar".
You can do it in any other htc device since the himalaya.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read it again. I said need "the bigger keyboard", not "a keyboard". Last time I looked, the only HTC devices that have keyboards are the Blue Angel (which he used to have), Universal (which he lost) and the Wizard. Unless you include the Treo and the Ipaq Messenger of course

Mini S Yey or ney ?

Im just about ready to jump for one of these babies but am finding that as soon as you settle for one device you have a doubt and see something else and your like ohhh whats that ...
The next phone I get I want to stick with for at least a couple of years so you can imagine im taking this decision very seriously.
I have a home wifi network and really want this to be able to surf the net with wherever I am in the house. I have an ipaq 2215 which I never use as its always somewhere where I am not and I really want the benefit of always having my device with me because its my phone.
Whats the browsing software like on the mini and the signal on the wifi ? I have used a nokia 9500 in the past and thought the browsing was superb. Full page web sites across the screen and all you had to do was scroll down, no scrolling across to the other side of the page.
Does the mini do full screen browsing in landscape mode ? I use a lot of forums. Would this suffice ?
Is wm2005 the same as you would get on an ipaq or is it a special phone edition ?
Are there any websites I can check out to see what software is available ?
Im sorry for all the questions, but am going out of my mind trying to make this decision. Found the phone for £99 and £19 month on 02 which seems reasonable.
Any help or tales of glee about this phone would be most appreciated.
Fantastic forum btw.

Could anyone take some screen grabs of a few web pages in Landscape mode so I can see how it looks ?

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Hi,
Have you ruled out the exec? Seems an all road better option for you if you are gonna have it as your main phone and device for a couple of years, mainly due to its superb screen and laptop style mode and screen protection when folded in on its self etc?
Bryson

bought xds mini s aftercomparing with exec.
excellent device. clear screen, small (exec is tonne), good keyboard. v.fast browsing using wi-fi. also good on gprs. wm5 good update over wm2003. this seems to be a good implementation of it as other first implementations were not so good (xda exec/universal and dell x50v upgrade). IE is also much improved on wm5, you can now set it to shrink text and the web page to minimise horizontal scrolling. this works very well on the xda mini s in landspace.
points to watch out for, apps start slower then on wm2003 due to static ram being used. minisd - any old sd cards you have will not work. some people report cpu is slow, I have not found this at all, like any pocket pc you don't want to keep lots of things running. I use the 'magic button' software which has just been updated to wm5 to kill apps after use. only gripe is that latest version of skype for_low_cpus (1.2.0.91) doesn't work well. I understand skype know of the problem and are releasing a new version soon.
in summary, if you want a small and light pda for web browsing, or a full featured pda to use as a phone as well, this is probably the best. if you want 3G or a vga screen look elsewhere.

what is the xda mini s like when using tom tom and watching divx/xvid?

I have been using the 9100 since it came out and have been happy with it so far. I debated getting a Universal but lack of a 3G network in the US, size, and the fact that the Universal is not a quad band pushed me towards the 9100. My previous phone (PDA2K) was on the edge of being too big for me to carry everywhere so I suspect the universal would have proven too big in the end in any case.
So I have a few gripes with it but overall it is nice.
Gripes:
If you get a Wizard, get an external stylus. The Stylus silo is probably the single largest flaw I know of at the moment. It will not last 6 months of normal use, much less years. Already mine is a little loose, I only use the built in stylus in emergencies. I suppose I could ship it back under warranty but that would be annoying.
There are no really good cases for it either. The case that comes with it will do but it is hardly great. If I had the time and a shop I would make a rotating clamp style csae, but seeing as I have neither I'll make do with what I have.
I have had a couple instances where the radio stopped working but gave me no indication, this might be restricted to the 9100 or me though since I have seen no other reports of this problem. (has happened about 1-2 times a month since I got it.)
When not plugged in I have problems keeping a constant connection on my wifi with WPA. I use IM+ from my PDA and would like to be able to rely on wireless at home, but I can't. It works well but drops me for a second every once and a while dumping me off my GTalk, AIM, ICQ, etc... Hopefully a ROM update will help this.
On the positive side:
Browsing is as good as you are going to get at QVGA. I have problems logging into some forums from it though. Might try your forums on such a device before jumping.
Keyboard is great and the sliding mechanism seems to be holding up much better than the silo. Time will tell.
Bluetooth is good, though not excellent. Unlike the PDA2K it is usable and reliable.
WM 5 has been more stable for me than 2003SE was. I still end up soft resetting every day or so, but have not had the stability problems I had with 2003SE. I install and use quite a few applications though (53 by counting in remove programs but some have multiple parts.) so my stability issue might have nothing to do with the OS itself, which seemed stable if boring before tweaks.
One handed operation is possible. I make heavy use of MortButtons to allow me to switch/launch/close tasks. Even without though one handed operation is getting there.
In conclusion it is a rough decision. Right now I think this device is the perfect compromise of size, performance, and functionality for me. The hard part is there is always something newer and better on the horizon so when you decide to bite the bullet is a tricky question. My feeling and impression of the Wizard is that it is not a device made to last. A year, prehaps two, but if the desire is for a real commitment to a device I would wait a generation and see what it coming out next.

I find the external stylus fine. it is telescopic, and I read a magazine review where they didn't work this out and said it was too short! (PDAEssentials UK - although they give the wizard a top rating)
My wifi works excellently. WPA is choppy on some routers. I always used to have problems with many devices using encryption. now i don't use any encryption but just register mac addresses so no one else can use my router.
There are some great cases just coming out for this new device:
http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=302&t_mode=cat
It feels very solid to me. this was also verified by cnet and pdaessentials review. it is plastic, that really keeps the weight down. Metal would appear to feel more sturdy but i think this is an illusion.
for the question about tom tom, version 5.21 works, see here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=29277
betaplayer is not yet optimised for the omap 850 although it seems to work for most (the 850 has a 2d accelerator with 384k, but no one in the open source community knows how to use it yet. I am sure there will be plenty of software over time as this is a new device):
http://www.corecodec.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=29&expv=0&topic=2155.0
pockettv runs ok.
The best performance is encoded wmv files played through the internal windows media player.
when you get one, on first boot it asks which install you want. pick basic as the full install puts on active apps that really slows things down.
enjoy

Thanks for all the info. Im so close to jumping for one of these I can almost touch the screen ;o)
I notice on the second web browsing pic ( This is reaaaaaaaaaallly important to me as I will be doing a whole load of browsing at home via wifi ) that there was no horizontal scroll bar. Will IE automatically resize any webpage so you only have to scroll up and down ? I hate it when to read everything you have to scroll horizontally as well.
Also does it give you full websites or does it detect your on a PPC and give you a mobile version ? What if a website doesnt have a mobile version ?
The only other thing that concerns me is that there is obviously a massive amount of things to do with this phone ... but is the cpu up to it ? I remember reading about the nokia 9500 being slow but when I used one I really didnt have problem with it.
Will it be noticably slower than using my old ipaq 2215 ?
Anyway thanks for the info.
Also as a last point, the deal I am going for, the exec is only £49 extra and the tarrif is exactly the same. I really prefer the mini size, but is the exec far and away better than the mini apart from the size ?

knowsleyroader said:
Thanks for all the info. Im so close to jumping for one of these I can almost touch the screen ;o)
I notice on the second web browsing pic ( This is reaaaaaaaaaallly important to me as I will be doing a whole load of browsing at home via wifi ) that there was no horizontal scroll bar. Will IE automatically resize any webpage so you only have to scroll up and down ? I hate it when to read everything you have to scroll horizontally as well.
Also does it give you full websites or does it detect your on a PPC and give you a mobile version ? What if a website doesnt have a mobile version ?
The only other thing that concerns me is that there is obviously a massive amount of things to do with this phone ... but is the cpu up to it ? I remember reading about the nokia 9500 being slow but when I used one I really didnt have problem with it.
Will it be noticably slower than using my old ipaq 2215 ?
Anyway thanks for the info.
Also as a last point, the deal I am going for, the exec is only £49 extra and the tarrif is exactly the same. I really prefer the mini size, but is the exec far and away better than the mini apart from the size ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its mostly personal opinion. I played with both the exec and the mini before I chose the mini. The main thing that swung it for me was the 3g browsing didn;t seem to be much faster then the gprs browsing. the exec screen was ok, but could have been bigger given the device and the exec was really heavy. the other thing that swung it for me was speaking to the o2 guys. they are selling loads of minis and none come back. they sell fewer execs but some are returned (can't tell the %age though). Also if you read the faults in the universal thread of this forum and then compare them to the wizard thread. At the end of the day, i really suggest you go into the shop and try both.
In direct answer to your questions:
1. IE in WM5 has more options for screen formating then Wm2003. (a) One column - minimises side scrolling and converts web sides to single column. (b) default - shrinks web sites to eliminate or minimise horizontal scrolling (I like this one bests), (c) desktop - shows full size for horiz and vert scrolling.
2. Not sure how it notifys web servers. Yahoo email seems to think it is IE 4. But I think it sends a mobile code as well and some websites automatically show you the mobile formatted version.
3. I had and axim x50v (624 mhz) and i don't notice any difference. however apps are sluggish to start up, but this might be a wm5 thing to do with static memory. the cpu is slow (200mhz) but is not an intel, and seems to process better. there is a very interesting description on the ti website. Its actually a triple cpu. but despite what people say on the web, it only has 1 generic cpu. the other two are a comms cpu (for gprs, wifi, etc) and a 2d accelerator with 384k of onboard memory. This explains why web browsing over wifi and gprs is so fast (well for gprs, as fast as it goes). some apps do not take account of these other 2 cpus, so run slow. but as the omap 850 is a new cpu, perhaps more software will take account of it over time. tcpmp (divx) player works very fast, no troubles there., and other software seems fine. I run the 2003 version of gs+ and tre and they work fine. the only software that annoys me is skype. the latest low_cpu version does not work very on the xda mini s. reading the skype forum it seems they know about it and might write a version that will use the omap 850 better. In summary it runs pretty fast, but the flat out rate of the cpu is slow and some programs may not run as well.
enjoy!

Many thanks for all the help. I will post here what I plump for and my thoughts

colonel. Just to clarify, my problem is not with the stylus but with the silo in which the stylus resides. Over time the retention mechanism gets loose, and sometimes breaks.
Thanks for the link to the cases by the way. The two leather ones appear to use the plastic sheet in between keyboard and screen trick, which is no good ot me. The aluminum case has potential though.
knowsleyroader, have fun with whichever you choose. If you can I would try and see both in person before making your choice.

Saying hello

Ok,
Officially in my 30 day period for my new Evo!!! Woo Hoo. Yes I have read up on all the phones that made my top 3...and the negs and postivs on all had me with the Evo top for avail and the Droid X for top of unavail and Samsung Captivate as top of not sure whens. :^)
Well got a call this morning that they had 15 in and first come first served. I got one.
Moving to the Evo after a long time with the (basically crippled) Rapheal (Fuze). I am looking forward to my first Android and my first big screen. Actually I am almost aroused by my first big screen....
Will start digging in here a bit more indepth and still need to learn more about how to set up ALL SEVEN screens. LOL. Sweet.
She's gorgous and I need to give her a name.

Name: Evolina

Evolynne.... Evotica.... Ev-O-my lord, what are you doing? Not in public... put that back, and zip me up!!

hah beat to the punch!
hope you enjoy it! After getting up on such a spacious screen I don't think I could go back.

Ok, two days in and wondering if I am crazy to still be this excited? I ran that battery doubler thing first night (2nights ago) but probably too early in ownership to see huge changes as I also read that battery gets somewhat better after a few chargings anyway.
I really fiddled around with phone yesterday, 4g for youtube, texts, a couple of calls, lots of internet, etc. I made it from unplug at 8am to 7pm before I was totally in the red and had to plug in...not wonderful...but I made it through the day.
This morning I tested out the GPS as that is something I used a ton on the Raphael (Fuze). HOLEY CRUD!!!! This thing is fast. It had my location blue dot on screen before the map loaded and the map loaded in like 2 seconds. The Raphael would take up to 4 seconds to fully load map and avg of 30-45 seconds to find me if I had not left the city. (Once in new regions it could take up to 3 minutes to get a satellite.) The GPS is smokin fast!!!
This screen is so sexy too....Dropkick Murphys 'Dirty Glass'...watch it on youtube. Make sure to hit the HD button. DAYAMN! Sweet for a PHONE!!!
Still playing around, lots of questions about android and some of the widgets, but I might do some searching before I post my android newbie questions...LOL.

sablesurfer said:
Ok, two days in and wondering if I am crazy to still be this excited? I ran that battery doubler thing first night (2nights ago) but probably too early in ownership to see huge changes as I also read that battery gets somewhat better after a few chargings anyway.
I really fiddled around with phone yesterday, 4g for youtube, texts, a couple of calls, lots of internet, etc. I made it from unplug at 8am to 7pm before I was totally in the red and had to plug in...not wonderful...but I made it through the day.
This morning I tested out the GPS as that is something I used a ton on the Raphael (Fuze). HOLEY CRUD!!!! This thing is fast. It had my location blue dot on screen before the map loaded and the map loaded in like 2 seconds. The Raphael would take up to 4 seconds to fully load map and avg of 30-45 seconds to find me if I had not left the city. (Once in new regions it could take up to 3 minutes to get a satellite.) The GPS is smokin fast!!!
This screen is so sexy too....Dropkick Murphys 'Dirty Glass'...watch it on youtube. Make sure to hit the HD button. DAYAMN! Sweet for a PHONE!!!
Still playing around, lots of questions about android and some of the widgets, but I might do some searching before I post my android newbie questions...LOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like you

Ok, ran into my first annoyance...and now my first REAL aggravation with this phone.
Last night I tried to use the Market just to see. I have had a google account from back in the dark ages when I used their forums for Macromedia software discussion (no, they do not exist anymore). So I had to blindly figure out how to set up that google log in for my phone.
There are NO instructions ANYWHERE on the internet about setting up the google account on your phone. Nope...none. It is all assumed. (No I don't need you to prove me wrong)
Anyway, then I went to market and tried to download. They just hung. I could get into the Market and select the ones I wanted...but the download just hung at 'starting download'.
Many hours of searching found that this happened to people in UK when then went from googlemail to gmail...but I wasn't. Never had or wanted a gmail account.
I thought maybe I'd give it a go at a gmail account. Well after about 30 minutes of trying to find a user name that was available I just gave the F up.
All of that was merely annoying, because I had faith there was a way and I was just missing something. So this afternoon I went to the Sprint store and they all just looked at me strange when I said I didn't actually have gmail...just a google account. I finally agreed to persevere and set up a gmail account. I have and it only took another 15 minutes of trying user names. GAH!!!
Now...it turns out the Evo has NO way to remove the old account. None..nada. I even tried to add a new and delete the other. Nope. When you attempt it, a popup says that you must reset to factory.
I have tried the changing password from pc fix - The Evo only allows password change not user name
I have tried the clearing data - but there IS NO SUCH BUTTON in the manage accounts area. (I tried force stop to see if button would show..nope)
So this is where I start to get seriously ticked off. There is no way to EVER change accounts? Really? WHAT THE FRICK?!?! Really? I have to reset to factory and lose EVERYTHING because I have NO apps because I can't get any apps because I can't change my account?
And did the Sprint store warn me of this in anyway? NOPE. CRAP Damn frick!!!!

F'n amazing. Works if you do it right from the start. Too bad no-one bothered to explain that the Evo will never let you change. Now to continue with getting to know this little lady.
First fight over...download from Market is working.

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Ok, 'nuther update.
Well today's surprise is that the battery went a WHOLE day and a bit!! Yep, put her on to charge two nights ago...by end of day yesterday (8pm) still had about 38% charge.
Since I still live in the camp where all batteries need to be conditioned...and evidence here seems to bear (bare?) that out...I wasn't ready to plug her in for charge. Then this morning still had like 28% charge left. (Based off whatever battery app I have installed.)
This morning made a few texts, some test MMS's (more later), some web browsing etc. No calls this morning. OH...and I had google maps on going to work. So with all that, I still made it to about 5 minutes ago when phone shut down. So that is what...about 28 hours on a charge? Getting better! First few charges barely made it through till 7pm of that day.
Still diggin on my Evoline and showing her off. As bad as a teenager with his first GF. (Boss walked by, 'you still showing off your phone?' 'yeah! wanna see this?' <pointing to web page resolution> 'no, i'm uhm late'...)
Last night I found that the Evo is really really really severly limited when it comes to MMS's. Like enough that I am seriously upset. (I really didn't subscribe to the 30fps is crippled arguement as she is fast for me.) BUT...now I am subscribing to the IS A DAMN SMART PHONE WITH TOP HARDWARE WHY ARE YOU SCREWING HER UP...arguement!! GAH. All photos from Evo are resized smaller than 80k. All photos RECEIVED are also resized to nasty, grainy, horrible looking things.
MMS was a deal breaker for me in past...and this one I just cannot let go. Not sure if I need to blame HTC or Sprint for this one. (It seems there are only a few of us in the world that care about this feature..but we are passionate!)
So that said..I get that some phones cant, or that some networks cant, or whatever...but I have the largest screen (not counting Dell Streak) and top end graphics...there is NO NEED to limit my incoming MMS's. And that out going crap is way overboard!!
I still have about 2.5 weeks to determine where my deal breakers are and what I can live with....
Great - Google Maps, Camera, Android (although no instructions anywhere), screen.
Good - Blue tooth for my stereo headset works as good as others, SMS seems to be working fine, no build problems others have had
Not so good - Power button seems more difficult on mine than displays in store(?), no button I can dedicate to camera (like the PPT on Raphael now opens cam app), flashing (winmo) and rooting seem about even for complexity, charging is very messed up (charges different when powered on vs powered off and charg-doo is required when first getting phone), oh...battery life is what you expect from a highpowered phone were people are still figuring out how to optimize.
Bads - MMS resize issue, set up is complicated for users new to Android, no phone when powered off to recharge!!!, not international capable
But overall I think I am falling for her. I was even looking at fancy accessories yesterday...which case to get and how to take care of her long term..

Well...Evoline1 is out the door and Evoline2 has moved in. Picked her up today. The battery button on 1 was extremely loose. The whole button sat flush with the top of the case and to turn on and off you were actually pushing the button below the level of the case. Later I got the Seidio Limited Edition case and it was worse then as you could not feel the button move at all...you just mashed until it worked. Now Evoline2 works like charm with the Limited Edition case.
After going back to Sprint store to compare with demos...mine was not right. So naturally the tech guy is all...'nuthing wrong', 'works fine', 'if didn't work at all you might have something'. To which I responded..."Is it like these?" I win! Anyway I was still in my 30 days even though I committed and had my AT&T phone number ported over a week ago.
First try I am in store...'I want to replace.' 'We don't have any, maybe Wed.' I showed up Wed to get number ported over and asked again about replacement...'We don't have any.' So I get all huffy about then I need my 30 days extended, put me on a list please, etc. Next they move to porting phone number over.....
...
...
.........and a sales rep walks up to a phone at counter, calls someone and says...'Hey we just found another Evo. Can you come down?' WTF?!?! Anyway, didn't want to have that fight then...but I learned my lesson.
Today I call them in morning, 'Hey, did you get any Evo's in? I want one.' 'Oh, you are so lucky we just have four left, can you get down here?' 'Sure can, I need to replace this one.' (silence) HA HA....I WIN.
(Now I can understand the business approach, why give new evo to current customer when you could earn more money with new customer...but still...jack me around like that and I will play the game.)
So Evoline2 is having her first charge. I lost my free Golf game... It was limited time offer from Gameloft. Also three of my apps not showing in Market place...Astro, Google Map, Battery Widget. I thought these were saved to my log in...that is cruddy.
New hardware seems different too. I forget what I had before...but I have noticed right off the bat that the keyboard letters look crisper. They are sharper and lines are tight...I mean like no anti-aliasing almost. I like it. Still confused on what screen they are shipping with now. That slider test totally confuses me...because the rep and I tried it on like five phones...old demos and new models...they all react same way.
This is my journey with Evoline. Now we start to finalize my notes on rooting and see what is up there. I'll root and then I want to put the cpu controller on. Not sure what after that...would love to see CM6...but don't know anyone around me that would be going to it.
(OH...and I did get the batteries from eBay. The thread in accessories shows the label only for touch pro 2. Both the ones I just got the other day say HTC Touch Pro2EVO 4G on the label. Huh.)

Nice post. HTC is to blame for the fps cap. If your screen looks a bit better, you probably have the Epson screen. Kinda weird those apps are missing from the market. I know rooted phones have some issues with that but not stock ones. I'm getting close to #2 (not that #2) due to light leakage but I have the insurance so I'll wait til I'm feeling motivated to root again. Oh yeah, I think you've inspired me to name mine.
Sent from my EVO using xda App

IKWEAR IK8 MTK6577 Smart Phone Watch 1.54 Inch Android 4.0

This IK8 Watch Phone looks a lot like a ZGPAX or EC-309, but the camera points across the band instead of from the front and I think it has a faster processor.
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I haven't seen any other mention of it here on XDA.
Does anyone know if it is a rebrand of something else that I'm missing here?
It's fast. I've been able to use Google Hangouts on it, even with video. Zello works with no problems and even sounds good. I'm going to get a SIM for it and see how well the phone works.
Biggest drawbacks are lack of support for Google Voice and Voice Search. I've been able to workaround most of the other issues. This appears to be a common issue for this type of phone, and it's a big disappointment here. I'd love to find a way to get those messages. Has anyone solved this?
I got mine at http://www.geekbuying.com/item/IK8-...4-0-512MB-RAM-4G-ROM-5MP-GPS-WIFI-325392.html but you'll likely find a place that ships more quickly than Geekbuying.
Thanks!
DC

Thanks for the small review! Runkeeper or other runner's app work on it?

dcrisis said:
This IK8 Watch Phone looks a lot like a ZGPAX or EC-309, but the camera points across the band instead of from the front and I think it has a faster processor.
​
I haven't seen any other mention of it here on XDA.
Does anyone know if it is a rebrand of something else that I'm missing here?
It's fast. I've been able to use Google Hangouts on it, even with video. Zello works with no problems and even sounds good. I'm going to get a SIM for it and see how well the phone works.
Biggest drawbacks are lack of support for Google Voice and Voice Search. I've been able to workaround most of the other issues. This appears to be a common issue for this type of phone, and it's a big disappointment here. I'd love to find a way to get those messages. Has anyone solved this?
I got mine at http://www.geekbuying.com/item/IK8-...4-0-512MB-RAM-4G-ROM-5MP-GPS-WIFI-325392.html but you'll likely find a place that ships more quickly than Geekbuying.
Thanks!
DC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I own a ZGPAX s5 and I see this watch on ebay as well.
For the processor they are the same :MTK6577 1GHz Dual Core
Both IK8 and s5 actually run the same system as well (android 4.0.4)
They look different just because of different default launchers.
I just root mine and use Launcher 8 instead.
The real difference should be the position of the camera.
Both camera are 2MP and 5MP interpolated.
s5 is better for selfies and Skype while IK8 is better for taking photo shots.
Both are 2G as well.
They even share the same battery!!! ZGPAX s5 got 500mAH and 700mAH and IK8 should be 700mAH
You can take a look of this
http://www.ikwear.com/wangzhanjianshe/1.html
It should be a rebrand product.
The best solution is to mix the two products' camera into one LOL
Then I can selfie and take normal shot!!! :laugh:
Cheers!
---------- Post added at 09:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:30 AM ----------
dcrisis said:
This IK8 Watch Phone looks a lot like a ZGPAX or EC-309, but the camera points across the band instead of from the front and I think it has a faster processor.
​
I haven't seen any other mention of it here on XDA.
Does anyone know if it is a rebrand of something else that I'm missing here?
It's fast. I've been able to use Google Hangouts on it, even with video. Zello works with no problems and even sounds good. I'm going to get a SIM for it and see how well the phone works.
Biggest drawbacks are lack of support for Google Voice and Voice Search. I've been able to workaround most of the other issues. This appears to be a common issue for this type of phone, and it's a big disappointment here. I'd love to find a way to get those messages. Has anyone solved this?
I got mine at http://www.geekbuying.com/item/IK8-...4-0-512MB-RAM-4G-ROM-5MP-GPS-WIFI-325392.html but you'll likely find a place that ships more quickly than Geekbuying.
Thanks!
DC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the Google Now, Just refer to the last two pages in [GUIDE] ZGPAX SmartWatch::1/22::Embedded more Videos/ OP
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=51806814&postcount=764

dcrisis said:
This IK8 Watch Phone looks a lot like a ZGPAX or EC-309, but the camera points across the band instead of from the front and I think it has a faster processor.
​
I haven't seen any other mention of it here on XDA.
Does anyone know if it is a rebrand of something else that I'm missing here?
It's fast. I've been able to use Google Hangouts on it, even with video. Zello works with no problems and even sounds good. I'm going to get a SIM for it and see how well the phone works.
Biggest drawbacks are lack of support for Google Voice and Voice Search. I've been able to workaround most of the other issues. This appears to be a common issue for this type of phone, and it's a big disappointment here. I'd love to find a way to get those messages. Has anyone solved this?
I got mine at http://www.geekbuying.com/item/IK8-...4-0-512MB-RAM-4G-ROM-5MP-GPS-WIFI-325392.html but you'll likely find a place that ships more quickly than Geekbuying.
Thanks!
DC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got a couple of quick questions if you don't mind. I find some interest in this smartwatch
1 How do you like this smartwatch now?
2 I noticed on a youtube video that this smartwatch seems to have a sort of hidden menu button and back button located at the bottom of display. Am I correct?
Any thing else you would like to comment on would be appreciated.
Thanks

sny11 said:
Got a couple of quick questions if you don't mind. I find some interest in this smartwatch
1 How do you like this smartwatch now?
2 I noticed on a youtube video that this smartwatch seems to have a sort of hidden menu button and back button located at the bottom of display. Am I correct?
Any thing else you would like to comment on would be appreciated.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. It is stand-alone watch phone, android v4.04 system, high definition touch screen, high resolution camera, you can use it smoothly and freely like a smartphone.
2. There is menu button and back button on the side of the watch, not at the bottom of display. And you can touch the screen to get what you want...
See more @ watchphonechina.com/watch-phone-china/

Zwatch said:
2. There is menu button and back button on the side of the watch, not at the bottom of display. And you can touch the screen to get what you want...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using the IK8 for a few days now, and I discovered that there is definitely a menu- and back-button located directly underneath the display. In fact, they often get in the way while trying to touch lower areas of the screen .

Is this $120 the same one on AliExpress?
it gives notifications when connected to a phone?
It says 700mah battery. .. many days use do you get from it?

I got mine from Aliexpress It's super fast for me just two days to arrive to Hong Kong! I ordered another one earlier before from Chinavasion to Scotland and it takes me four days.
Sent from my PadFone using XDA Premium HD app

IK8
simple1i said:
Is this $120 the same one on aliexpress.com/item/IK8-Smart-Watch-Phone-154-Inch-Screen-MTK6577-Dual-Core-50MP-Front-Camera-OGS/1851182462.html ?
it gives notifications when connected to a phone?
It says 700mah battery. .. many days use do you get from it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like the same device to me. Just be cautious since this seller has only received feedback once. I'm not sure if this deal is legit, especially since the price is incredibly low. The IK8 usually sells for about $135 - $145.
Since it's a standalone Android device, you don't need any additional phone running a companion app in order to receive notifications. Just insert your SIM card (regular SIM) and you're ready to go. If you'd like to pair the IK8 to your smartphone and receive notifications over Bluetooth, maybe it is possible to install the Osmart app which is originally developed for the Omate Truesmart. I'm not sure if this will work, but it's worth giving it a try. XDA user 'KOAO' already had some success using this app with his ZGPAX S5, which is not that different from the IK8;
KOAO said:
I am successfully able to receive notifications from Emails, and texts. i haven't tried to reject a call yet. However, i used the Osmart Companion app from the omate truesmart. You download the companion app to you watch by loading the Ostore app on your watch(i might ....might link the APK file i extracted from the Truesmart OS)Then you go to the post at the bottom, join the group and then download the master app to your Andriod based smartphone. Then you pair them up and test. If successful, WIN if not then try again.
Osmart Master app:
plus.google.com/109641424466258907138/posts/8PrkrDdUsR4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The original battery supplied with the IK8 is 500mAh in contrary to what is promised on most websites/shops, it's exactly the same type of battery as used in the ZGPAX S5, but I'm not sure if they are interchangeable since the plastic 'mounting clips' look a bit different. With WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS turned off and the screen set at the lowest brightness I get about 7 - 8 hours of battery life. But I haven't been using the device a lot yet, so I think battery life will probably increase.
I ordered my IK8 from Aurabuy and received it within 1,5 week (to the Netherlands with SingPost).
Edit: I came across several 'relabeled' versions of this watch lately. They are all exactly the same, but simply indicate different brand-names. For as far as I know, the IK8 Smartwatch is originally known as the TCW-006 and is being manufactured by Tecomax Electronics. This also explains the build-number visible in Android; TECO_V2.0_20140420.

haven't posted in xda for a while..let alone in the smartwatch section...but here we go. was in hong kong for a conference and decided to drop by the it shop. came across a host of smartwatches and just for fun picked up the ik8 for $90. haggled it down to $80 and figured i'd ditch it sooner or later. didn't play around with it until like 5 days later after i got back to melbourne. lo and behold, was actually quite surprised and impressed with it. my 2 cents worth:
display/interface
- not bad, quite responsive though i replaced the screen protector with a matte (anti-glare) one
- the small keyboard takes some getting used to but once you've used it you'll get around the limitations. i still make the occassional mistake but that's only when i'm using playstore
hardware
- camera is quite good though i have no plans of using it as i have my note 2
- speaker is surprisingly loud for such a small device
- one con i have is the lack of a 3.5mm jack. the built-in micro usb (for data transfer and charging) is also the plug for the earphones which comes with the watch. thus you can't really plug your own set of earphones...unless of course you use bluetooth
- quite light, watch strap is quite sturdy
- took in my 32gb microsd with no problem. pretty easy and straightforward in mounting the card
- same with the sim, but no plans on using the phone function
- don't think its "water proof" as some smart watches that claim to be (e.g. omate). but i'm not complaining.
internals
- i installed adw launcher which spiced up the homescreen (better than the default launcher). no hangs or whatever
- installed a bunch of widgets, just have to be careful as some are obviously built for larger screens. example, clokr (time widget) tends to not fit due to the length
- installed button savior to avoid using the hardware buttons. no need for root as i only need home, back and power off
- mx player works well, can actually watch a movie on it. no plans though as i have my note 2
- not planning on using this for music but poweramp works well on it. though there is sometimes a tendency for some icon labels to overlap given the small screen
gps
- i had to put a separate review on gps as i'm quite impressed with it
- installed navigon, apk had no problems loading. through wifi, the additional data and maps were installed
- also installed gps tester as well as other apps for cycling
verdict: gps signal takes around 1-2 minutes to get a good fix. the watch is able to lock on 4 satellites. accuracy is quite good but tends to be a little off when it's cloudy. the gps is not as spiffy as the one in my note but i'm not complaining. for a device this small, i was quite impressed how good the gps works
- strapped on the watch on my bike, used bikemate app. speed was quite accurate as well as keeping it locked on the satellites. didn't lose a signal as i cycled away
- had no issues with navigon. plotted home and the watch took me back to my house with no problems
haven't really tried out the full extent of the battery but without using wifi and gps, i was able to use it for 3 days before having the charge. with gps, battery went down to like 50% after riding for an hour or so. not bad in my opinion. overall, quite happy with it and i've now removed the speedo on my bike. no more wires and no more replacing batteries. this watch has now taken over the speed indicator duties for my cycling.
cheers

I got me one of these too, ordered from a Dutch guy who'd better pay back the import taxes caused by him drop-shipping it while pretending he had it in stock, or he'll be getting some negative publicity. Having to wait 3 weeks was bad enough.
I already had a ZGPAX S5 which I damaged, which is why I got this as a replacement. This is almost exactly the same hardware, as evidenced by the ability to restore a complete TWRP backup from the IK8 on my S5 with everything functional except the cell phone system. The IK8 is definitely the better of these two watch phones though: better build quality, no buzzing during calls, better cell signal reception, better clock & launcher system, no dead zone on the touchscreen. Definitely not waterproof with the gaping hole of the microUSB port, but it looks not as vulnerable to a few raindrops as the S5, whose screen doesn't even seem to be glued tight.
For the rest I concur with Robson, very good loudspeaker, the GPS is indeed impressively good and seems better than on the S5, at the condition that one does the usual dance of enabling EPO etc.

Can't login to Google PlayStore
The problem is that the teeny tiny keyboard is just too hard to navigate and when I try to switch the keyboard from alpha to numeric I get an "Android Framework has stopped" error message and the Google setup/sign-in app crashes and reloads.. Arrrggghh..
I tried installing two different Bluetooth keyboards to get around this problem but when you link the keyboards and go into the settings it will say "Use as input device" great, but when you go into "Languages and Input" to set the default to the Bluetooth keyboard the Bluetooth keyboard is NOT shown as an option just the default AOSP keyboard.. Can one of you guys help?? You know what a PIA it is to return anything to China so I just may be stuck with this which sucks because I can't use any of my Google apps (e.g. Gmail) which is why I bought this thing in the first place!
Any and all replies are appreciated!
Chris R.

crodgers79 said:
The problem is that the teeny tiny keyboard is just too hard to navigate and when I try to switch the keyboard from alpha to numeric I get an "Android Framework has stopped" error message and the Google setup/sign-in app crashes and reloads.. Arrrggghh..
I tried installing two different Bluetooth keyboards to get around this problem but when you link the keyboards and go into the settings it will say "Use as input device" great, but when you go into "Languages and Input" to set the default to the Bluetooth keyboard the Bluetooth keyboard is NOT shown as an option just the default AOSP keyboard.. Can one of you guys help?? You know what a PIA it is to return anything to China so I just may be stuck with this which sucks because I can't use any of my Google apps (e.g. Gmail) which is why I bought this thing in the first place!
Any and all replies are appreciated!
Chris R.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried to get Bluetooth keyboards and mice to work with two different phones that use this same chipset and Android version. My conclusion is that it is impossible. The devices pair, but the phone does not react to them. It looks like a fundamental bug in this Android release. If anyone has more success, I would certainly want to hear about it.
Your best option would be to install a half-size keyboard like Slidy Press, that has much bigger keys. Of course, installing the official version would require logging into the Play store first Your only option is to download the APK and install it from the file manager. I have made a customized version of Slidy Press available for download. I would post the link here, but for some reason the forum forbids this, so you will have to Google for this exact phrase between quotes: "I recommend installing Slidy Press" and you'll find the download link.

Unfortunately Google Framework Services has stopped
DrLex said:
I have tried to get Bluetooth keyboards and mice to work with two different phones that use this same chipset and Android version. My conclusion is that it is impossible. The devices pair, but the phone does not react to them. It looks like a fundamental bug in this Android release. If anyone has more success, I would certainly want to hear about it.
Your best option would be to install a half-size keyboard like Slidy Press, that has much bigger keys. Of course, installing the official version would require logging into the Play store first Your only option is to download the APK and install it from the file manager. I have made a customized version of Slidy Press available for download. I would post the link here, but for some reason the forum forbids this, so you will have to Google for this exact phrase between quotes: "I recommend installing Slidy Press" and you'll find the download link.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!!! I installed Slidy but I'm now finding that if I touch any key that appears in the lower left corner I get a "Unfortunately Google Framework Services has stopped" error and the app crashes. Any ideas???
Thanks again!!!
Chris R.

crodgers79 said:
Thanks!!! I installed Slidy but I'm now finding that if I touch any key that appears in the lower left corner I get a "Unfortunately Google Framework Services has stopped" error and the app crashes. Any ideas???
Thanks again!!!
Chris R.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, regardless of the keyboard you're using, it always crashes when you touch the lower left key? That is extremely weird. Do you also get strange things when you touch that location without keyboard? Maybe your screen is defective and you'll have to send it back anyhow…

i concur with lex, i've never had this problem despite installing multiple apps on the watch. in your posts you mentioned that the error message first came up when you tried switching from alpha to numeric. and again the message comes up when you touched a key in the lower left. coincidentally, both areas you touched are on the lower left portion of the screen. there might be something wrong with your device/screen. unless of course another app is somehow causing this issue? though somewhat related, i once installed usb toggle in my note 2. though rooted, it seems that my note didn't like the app and frequently crashed. i had to fix it up it to the point of going to the bootloader to wipe out the cache. in any case, uninstalled it and now my note functions well. the same could be for your watch. again, unless of course there's something wrong with your screen/device...in which case you should have the watch replaced.
at first in setting up my wifi connection, playstore id/password, etc..it was quite a burden. though the keyboard is small, you'll eventually get the hang of it. i still get the occassional mistake of pressing the wrong letter. but i rarely do this anymore since the watch has been set up to what i need it to do (which is mostly for gps).
the one thing i'm looking around for is trying to either deactivate or change the watch face. i noticed that this can be done for the sony smartwatch...i'm still trying to find a way for the ik8. no luck at the moment though...

Returning
Guys,
Thanks.. I've done a Factory Reset and the problem persists. I think the digitizer is faulty in that one spot so I'm sending mine back for another.. Will let you know if the next one acts up! Thanks for all of the replies!
Chris R.

IK8 Review
I wrote a review about the IK8 (I think I should be allowed to post links by now). Because I already had a ZGPAX S5 and the IK8 is very similar, the review mostly focuses on the differences between the two. The general conclusion however is that the IK8 is noticeably better in most aspects.
The review also contains a list of tweaks and hacks, and custom versions of the clock screensaver and launcher. Enjoy!

DrLex said:
I wrote a review about the IK8 (I think I should be allowed to post links by now). Because I already had a ZGPAX S5 and the IK8 is very similar, the review mostly focuses on the differences between the two. The general conclusion however is that the IK8 is noticeably better in most aspects.
The review also contains a list of tweaks and hacks, and custom versions of the clock screensaver and launcher. Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey lex
thanks for sending that link to your review. I rooted the phone to change the watch face lock screen. I think somewhere along the line I sort of did something wrong because now the lock screen watch won't come up....which is a good thing! what I did was installed ADW Launcher and used a live wallpaper for a nice watch face. I kept the home screen free of any widgets. Swiping to the right then brings up a whole bunch of short cuts and widgets which I use.
cheers

crodgers79 said:
Guys,
Thanks.. I've done a Factory Reset and the problem persists. I think the digitizer is faulty in that one spot so I'm sending mine back for another.. Will let you know if the next one acts up! Thanks for all of the replies!
Chris R.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you tried change the launcher and see if that spot keep faulty, my motoactv had a faulty spot on screen related to massive battery discharge, factory reset didnt work, but the problem was zeam i changed to adw, smooth as silk, i think it woth a shot

R-Watch M26s

Hello everyone,
I've placed an order of the R-Watch M26s and all I've found about it is that it's an upgraded version of the R-Watch M26. I've bought it at Gearbest as they were having a coupon for it, and it'll arrive in the coming days. The specs for the watch is the following:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
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"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
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"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
As there's very little info about the watch itself, so I'm interested to know if anyone else have it here and wants to share their experience about the watch?
I'll be posting a full length review once the clock itself arrives, and I'll also post the coupon I used to get it at a lower price if the item is good and worth it's price

The watch came today, and I've just been having a initial look at it. I must say that it's better than I expected, but the thing that keeps the band in place could've been better and the band itself is big. Other than that, it's a good watch for the price. Full review incl. video coming up in the next few days so stay tuned

Review of the watch (Will update with pictures )
I've now used the watch for a week or two, so here's my thoughts about said watch. The watch itself is built out of mostly plastic, that's chromed and slightly dark colored. The plastic feels sorta solid, but I must say that there's one downpart of the watch being made out of plastic and that is it's extremely hard to put the watch strap back on if it falls off or if you remove it.
The screen at the front seem to be covered by glass, as I've not been able to scratch it with keys. With that said, I should add that the watch has a capacitive screen with a LED screen. It's not the sharpest screen I've seen, and there's quite a bit of color change when looking at the screen at angles. However, this is expected for such a cheap product and it's not too bad at all.
The software on the watch is a custom OS by Mediatek, based on Nucleus. It's easy to navigate and there's quite a bit of builtin apps in the watch, but there's some disadvantages with the OS. One of the disadvantages I can see is there's a lack of third party apps. This can be said about most affordable smartwatches so it's not unexpected.
The app for the watch that's supplied (Mediatek Smartdevice) is decent and does the job just fine, it's stable but it's not as good as the Android Wear app but it's decent enough.
The watch have sorta decent battery life, and it lasts around 3-5 days depending on use, and I've only charged it 2 times since I got it.
The main disadvantage with this watch is that it does have a built-in speakers - that's poor and will redirect your phones sound through it and it's far from a ideal solution. I would rather see the watch not having a speaker, as it's far from useful and it's not the best implentation ever.
I bought my watch here with the coupon "GBM26S":
http://www.gearbest.com/smart-watches/pp_149274.html

Hey friends, I have just ordered another watch from this site.
How long it will take to USA?

Sophia Lee said:
Hey friends, I have just ordered another watch from this site.
How long it will take to USA?
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Click to collapse
Hello,
My watch arrived within 2 weeks but that's because I ordered it with NL Post as courier. Usually I would say it takes around a month atleast.

GethPrime said:
Hello,
My watch arrived within 2 weeks but that's because I ordered it with NL Post as courier. Usually I would say it takes around a month atleast.
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Click to collapse
Thank you
How about the watch? You will upload a full review?
Is it used well with Iphone? I have ordered an M26, it is pretty cool, but no iphone~

It doesn't work with iPhone !
I received the watch last week and have been trying to use it with my iPhone 5S (IOS 8.3).
I was able to pair it but it disconnects for some mysterious reason (sometimes after a minut, sometimes after a few minutes) and it does not automatically reconnects. This issue makes the watch useless for me.
The only thing that seems to work is the notifier, so I'm able to see the notifications on the watch.
But no way to receive/answer any calls or even place a call.
I bought it at banggood.com and have contacted them and supplied them all information (a video that shows that it doesn't work).
Now I'm waiting for an answer/solution...

jgeert1 said:
I received the watch last week and have been trying to use it with my iPhone 5S (IOS 8.3).
I was able to pair it but it disconnects for some mysterious reason (sometimes after a minut, sometimes after a few minutes) and it does not automatically reconnects. This issue makes the watch useless for me.
The only thing that seems to work is the notifier, so I'm able to see the notifications on the watch.
But no way to receive/answer any calls or even place a call.
I bought it at banggood.com and have contacted them and supplied them all information (a video that shows that it doesn't work).
Now I'm waiting for an answer/solution...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you installed the app on the phone? I'm sure Banggood.com will provide a solution for you, as I've bought stuff there in the past and have had a great experience there

I got my today, everything works awesome, very easy to setting up with my Nexus 4, phone calls work nice too.

GethPrime said:
Have you installed the app on the phone? I'm sure Banggood.com will provide a solution for you, as I've bought stuff there in the past and have had a great experience there
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Click to collapse
Yes, I did install the app. As the iPhone is already supporting bluethooth v4, no additional apps are needed to use the dialer, phonebook and the call log. The app is only needed for the additional functions (like the notifier and that one works very good).
Personally I think the issue is related to the fact that Apple changed the code in IOS 8.3 to support their own Smartwatches and as a result disabled or changed the protocol to support the "cheaper" (read non-Apple) smartwatches.
Banggood came back to me and is now sending a new (the same model!) smartwatch to me to rule out hardware issues (they think the watch is defective). So I'm waiting on the delivery of it.
To be continued...

SmartBlue
jgeerts said:
Yes, I did install the app. As the iPhone is already supporting bluethooth v4, no additional apps are needed to use the dialer, phonebook and the call log. The app is only needed for the additional functions (like the notifier and that one works very good).
Personally I think the issue is related to the fact that Apple changed the code in IOS 8.3 to support their own Smartwatches and as a result disabled or changed the protocol to support the "cheaper" (read non-Apple) smartwatches.
Banggood came back to me and is now sending a new (the same model!) smartwatch to me to rule out hardware issues (they think the watch is defective). So I'm waiting on the delivery of it.
To be continued...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, iOS devices have to dl "smartblue" to use the push and sync ..
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id948624905
.... but it's iOS

kanzi83 said:
Hi, iOS devices have to dl "smartblue" to use the push and sync ..
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id948624905
.... but it's iOS
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Click to collapse
Yes, I know. That's the app I'm running to be able to receive notifications.
Meanwhile I received a new watch (replacement) and that one works as a charm with my iPhone (all issues are resolved).
The only difference I can see with the previous watch is the version of the firmware. The new one is running V03, the one that doesn't function runs V01.
So it might be a firmware issue (I can't test it as I do not have V03 firmware files to upgrade the watch - So if someone knows where to find it, I would greatly appreciate it).

jgeerts said:
.../...
The only difference I can see with the previous watch is the version of the firmware. The new one is running V03, the one that doesn't function runs V01.
So it might be a firmware issue (I can't test it as I do not have V03 firmware files to upgrade the watch - So if someone knows where to find it, I would greatly appreciate it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and find the way to flash it ...!

Hi, have a couple of questions about this watch. Does it work with Spotify? Can I get notifications from whatsapp and Gmail?
Thanks

I received tha watch yesterday, and I'm not able to have notification.
I can make a call and receive it, but if I want to go to messages it says "failed" and write empty. ...
The firmware is the v004.
Please help....

Can you reply to messages on it or you can only read messages but cant reply. also does whatsapp work on it or just wechat as advertised?
i am starting to feel like the watch is a bit useless if you can only answer calls and the speaker is not great so you probably cant hear a thing and you can only read messages and cant reply. so whats the use?
am considering getting this but is it worth getting? or what would be a better smart watch to get compatible with a samsung.

i got the watch from ebay, my m26 doesn't read Hebrew (other than that i like it). At gearbest.com it says that their watch support Hebrew thou.
i'm guessing they have a newer version than i do or they added it manually.
can enybody check their gearbest m26 for hebrew support and if you have it pleas save your firmware and post it, i know there is a way to save the firmware and flash it to a different device (but i dont know yet how to do that).
there even might be a difference between having a hebrew UI and being able to display hebrew characters (i need the display only, dont care about the ui).

Quick tip for those that are unsatisfied with battery life - do a battery swap. It's cheap and straight forward.
I have M26, not M26s with 200mAh battery which struggled to last a day, even on Energy saving mode. I opened the watch and found out the battery was very small compared to the available space in the compartment (I'll attach an image later). After some research it turned out there are a lots of Li-Po batteries in AliExpress for around 5$ with various sizes and capacity (just type the size you want in the search bar). The original size of the battery was 402030 (4mm height*20mm width*30mm length) and managed to squeeze in 602040 (6mm*20mm*40mm) with 500mAh capacity, however the height was a bit much as now there is a slight gap between the lid and the body on one side. Probably 502040 (5mm height) would be ideal, which typically is 380mAh. The soldering job is pretty straight forward - unsolder the old battery and solder the leads of the new one after trimming them to the appropriate size. Just detach the ribbon cable that is located nearby. Now the watch lasts 2 days connected to the phone, pedometer and no energy saving.
Regards

I have one and I'm quite happy with it. I use it with a Windows Phone 10 (Lumia 950 dual SIM). The disadvantage is that there is no control software like with Android phones, but most functions nevertheless work: only camera and music don't work. Otherwise it works rather well -when you have figured out how to use it, because the user manual is close to useless (it took me some time to figure out how to set the clock).. It doesn't disconnect unless you veer too far from the phone, but reconnects when you come closer.