Database Users

[Review]My Adam Review

Finally my day off!
This has been a busy week at work and a lot of changes happening so quickly I haven’t had a proper chance to use my Adam as I wanted, but now I can give you a proper review of my experience so far.
First of all I want to share some information about me just so you don’t think im a biased person or working for Notion Ink.
My name is Bruno Alexandre, im 27 years old and im from Portugal, I work in a ISP and in a daily base I deal with equipments of every kind and all kind of applications.
I’m a gadget lover, I simply adore every details that a manufacturer places on a equipment and im very picky about build quality and software design, I prefer a practical design to something with a “bling” effect.
I started following the Adam back on CES 2010, Rohan ideas and vision attracted me, his way of thinking was just what I was looking for, a project that isn’t thought to the “elites” and accessible to everyone, the concept he had back then of the Adam was simple but practical and the way he just showed Slashgear a working concept, instead of just a video or something has we've seen recently on others, shown me he wasn’t there to fool anyone and he believed in it and so did I and that’s how I started to follow Notion Ink. Every update afterwards and the open communication he had with the community was something I have never seen before and I always hoped for from other companies, the project started to get even better with the first sketches of the Adam and continuous information he kept revealing about the hardware and the design behind, to a point I could not stand any more not having it and offered to pay ahead for my Adam, even before the Pre-order was known to public. I think when a project has a future, even coming from a company we never heard before is worth investing it is worth to support, and help in anyway possible.
Hardware & Design
As you have all seen the Adam hardware is no big news, every person that likes gadgets have heard of Tegra 2, Pixel Qi and all the other features, the Adam doesn’t bring nothing new in terms of technological innovation but it does bring a innovation in design.
The way it was built is just great, it was thought to be used on a daily base in any situation imaginable, the golden ratio does make a difference! The past 2 days I have used the Adam as a console, media player, work support and as a organizer, it fulfilled every expectation I had, it felt great in any handling position, feels strong being handled in any situation I came to face during my work, there's no crackling sound or protection caps coming off easily, the fingerprints are as bad as in a smartphone, you even cant feel the real weight it has and balances perfectly even by holding with just one hand while typing with the other! Have you ever tried to use the IPAD like that ? It just wobbles on your hand unless you have a case.
My colleagues at work also tried it and they were astonished how a small company from India was able to produce such equipment, they never even heard of Notion Ink or Adam, and they just loved to work with it. One of the biggest praises was the responsiveness of the touch screen and how smooth it was on Canvas to draw a line compared with a smartphone, the processing power and the speed of opening apps, video playback and specially the sniffer, many of them were Android users and they loved it.
Everything looks too perfect doesn’t it, well now its time for the bad parts, the screen protector first of all was awful, as bad as HTC screen protectors for smart-phones all the glare and reflections plus washed out colours made me rage, so I took it off and it felt much better.
The viewing angles of Adam are not very good either, not when compared with my Asus 1005HA LED Backlit screen or the Ipad, but it wasn’t meant to be looked from the side but head-on to be able to read so I take this as a small drawback.
The screen calibration in terms of brightness to contrast ratio is very bad, you notice it more when using at dark environment like the video shows below, but this is something that I think it could be easily fixed if we had the proper tools to mess with it like a normal desktop monitor OSD. (if there’s such tool please tell me since im a android newbie)
Pixel Qi, well this really does feel great, even tho sun is lacking here in Portugal this past days, ive used the Adam on the outside a lot and I love how the pixel qi works, it feels amazing being able to read everything without any problems, unique experience. Indoors even with low light conditions for example in bed with the night stand lamp it was readable or ( you will lol ) in the toilet !
​
Sound quality was just .. man it was awesome, its louder than the Asus 1005HA and the bass is much better, connected to a sound system is just gives enough juice to make it worth, lacks some equalizer but I think there’s apps out there to do the job.
Camera is one of those things there’s not much to talk about, it's a 3.2 camera like many phones have, the swivel does make it good because you can just point it to what you want, using Google Goggles with it is very cool, the design here helps again, with one hand you can easily stabilize the Adam while the responsiveness of the screen helps out the shooting.
The battery when tested at work was empty after 8 hours of people messing with it, playing watching videos, testing VPN connections, downloading and navigating using the canvas, it was madness the number of fingerprints on the Adam, but it was still very readable. You could only notice the fingerprints on the borders.
​
Software
Well the software is another issue, the idea behind Eden is good and I love the leaves, but not every application seem to have gone under proper testing or QA, they don’t fit well with each other and don’t respond properly sometimes to the commands you give to it, one of the examples is facebook tool, the cramped look of it and the minimized information makes it really annoying to work with.
The lack of Android Market to be able to get some of the Google Apps made the experience even worst, if Genesis isn’t ready yet then the Android Market should still exist in the meanwhile.
Mail app is very good, I enjoy the UI and how simple it looks while having every feature you need, its also very useful in a job like mine where im constantly receiving emails.
QuickOffice is also great, I work a lot with excel, acrobat, word and having the Adam around is a excellent working tool, I can give support to my colleagues in real time without having to go from one side to the other getting the information they need and taking time which is essential in my job.
The browser, I was kinda of disappointed with the UI from the browser, it felt.. wrong.. hard to explain, but once I got to work with the tabs I just loved how it felt, the idea of placing them like that helps a lot when you are consulting online or trying to get updated with the latest news in the gadget world, it was a fast experience with flash always loading in the websites quickly and with no issues.
The Video Player, had some issues, as you may have noticed on the video above, the sound and video were de-sync, I was using .wmv tried also .mkv and other formats, thought it was a issue with the internal SD Card, used my external one Class 6 and had the same issue, must be codec wise.
In the end I just preferred on having the LauncherPRO as my main screen since I could customize with every widget I wanted, with no limitations whatsoever as you can see on the video below, at least until NI can deliver a better interface or Honeycomb is out.
​
Conclusion
I'm not an expert reviewer, nor I have experience in reviewing equipments, some of you may not agree with me on some aspects but in the end this was my experience, and I just wanted to share with you all. I enjoy every day with the Adam I have, and it will be my main support at home and works to organize my life.
Do I regret buying the Adam ? No I do not, the Adam is a great tablet.
Would I prefer the Xoom over the Adam ? I wont pay $700 for a barometer, but … I wouldn’t mind having the quality of its screen. Also I had Motorola equipments before and my experience was bad.. not with 1 but more than 4..
Hope you enjoyed.

Thanks for your review bro. I have been looking for a down to earth review for a while. I am probably waiting for the Asus transformer but I would love to try out an Adam and see if it would change my mind. I guess in the end the question is, will it get Honeycomb?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

jorny32 said:
Thanks for your review bro. I have been looking for a down to earth review for a while. I am probably waiting for the Asus transformer but I would love to try out an Adam and see if it would change my mind. I guess in the end the question is, will it get Honeycomb?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rohan mentioned that they are working on honeycomb. If NI doesn;t bring it, the adam is pretty close to ASOP android, so I'm sure that the developers here will port it to the adam.

Thats what i hope also.

hmm..intresting review. Friend can you post some more of your experiences with Adam in detail. I would like to see how different application like
1) Rockplayer (for MKV,avi)
2) Laputa ebook reader
3) Google earth
and some good HD Games with motion sensors.

Video Playback
Do you think the video playback de-sync is because of the player?
Meaning that with another player this would not happen?

Good Review

zabaknilesh said:
hmm..intresting review. Friend can you post some more of your experiences with Adam in detail. I would like to see how different application like
1) Rockplayer (for MKV,avi)
2) Laputa ebook reader
3) Google earth
and some good HD Games with motion sensors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure ill post tomorrow probably.

Thanks for this review man. Appreciated. Looking forward to updates on your ongoing use.

Very nice and honest review. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Have you already rooted and installed market with NIH/XDA root packs? Or just using the update released by NI?

Thanks for the review.
I have been using Eden UI on G-Tab for a few days now, and I agree that it takes a little getting used to...and some of the Apps like Mail'd are good. Browser is so-so...and the keyboard could have used "Autoprompts" for words.

Thanks LeviathanPT for the review. I'll wait to pre-order my NI 3G+Pixel QI for the "general public".
Its good to read e-books and Comics?
Thanks

@ zabaknilesh
1) Rockplayer (for MKV,avi) - Still has the same desync issue even with rockplayer
2) Laputa ebook reader - Very cool app, i like the flipping pages transition and its very smooth and accurate, the books can be read very well. Also the thick part of the adam is excelent to grab and makes the reading experience much higher.
3) Google earth - Doesnt launch just crashes
4) Some good HD Games with motion sensors. - Is there any free games i could try ?
@tokyobreeze
Yes i have rooted using NIH since genesis isnt out and i dont want a limited (by software) equipment .
@SimonCt
Yeah reading e-books is awsome, comics is something i havent tried as a appbut ive been at some comic websites and its very cool.

Try jjComics Viewer if you can, The main use for me is read e-books and comics....
For ebooks im using Aldiko, that can be conected with Calibre

Thanks for your review. Very informative!

thanks
Thanks for this usefull review!

Very good review!
Did you try to re-load google earth and still crash?
Edit:
I see they got it working on the Viewsonic over here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=10100271&highlight=google+earth#post10100271

Thanks for the comments guys, the google earth seems not to be compatible using the web android market and that guy doesnt supply the files needed :|

Flash
Have you been able to use a browser as the Skyfire with flash on it??

Hey guys I have made a review from my new adam with pixel qi! I also added a lot of pictures and two videos (showing eden, hardware, pixel qi outside, also made a comparison from screens of galaxy s and macbook pro, ... pictures and videos are on the second page) The review is in german, but pictures and videos can say more than 1000 words
Adam Tablet PC review with pictures and videos
please click on "gefällt mir" or I like button in the facebook fan box
Thanks!

Touchless Smartphones - Do you see the SGS2

Its on the BBC page...
Why Post here you ask ? - Well I saw the guy with an SGS2 cleverly hiding the samsung logo.. I guess I SGS2 will be a definite keeper and better things to come
A tiny Israeli start-up company called XTR3D - soon you'll be able to flick through channels and adjust the volume using only... your hand.
You'll just have to turn your palm towards the screen, and zap away without ever getting off the couch.
And no need for under-the-skin electronics or fancy microchips.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15970019
Although the Israeli firm follows in the footsteps of Microsoft's Kinect, the multi-directional gesture control gaming console that was launched last year and has since been selling like hot cakes despite the average $200 price tag, its technology is quite different.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
Our target is to penetrate the market, so it will be something for everyone to try out”
Dor Givon
XTR3D
The Kinect has depth sensors, multi-array microphones and RGB cameras that provide the software with the information it needs to track both voice and gestures.
XTR3D, on the other hand, uses ordinary 2D cameras - such as a webcam of a computer or the one in your smartphone - to extract 3D out of a 2D image.
This creates the same three-dimensional effect as on the Kinect.

this is an interesting technology. hope wil come to s2

This looks awesome, imagine the possibilities!

Can't see the point on a phone myself, pull your **** out, wave it at the front face camera on your smart phone & Dolphin HD loads red tube for ya!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

I don't see a GS2 anywhere on that page. There are two photos with phones, and neither looks anything like a GS2 - in fact I'm 90% certain the picture of the guy driving a car is a computer generated mockup.

alferret said:
Can't see the point on a phone myself, pull your **** out, wave it at the front face camera on your smart phone & Dolphin HD loads red tube for ya!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haaahahhahahahahha! Lmaoooooo
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

Anyone tried smart watches? What are your thoughts?

Thinking about getting a smart watch. Has anyone tried these? haven't seem much discussion. Looking at this one:
http://outgrow.me/product/cookoo-watch/

seanvree said:
Thinking about getting a smart watch. Has anyone tried these? haven't seem much discussion. Looking at this one:
http://outgrow.me/product/cookoo-watch/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I kickstarted (is that a verb now? that makes it sound like I started it though...) the pebble watch. Still a couple months from actually getting it though. Not a whole lot of them out there.

I have a WIMM 1 and I really like it. It's actually an android device in a watch. It has blue tooth and wi-fi.
The screen is color and is a 4 position touch screen.
Battery life is just one day for the most part if you use blue tooth or wi-fi.
But they include a charging paddle so its easy just to set it down in the paddle at night for charging.
It's not a sports watch (no gps I think) but there are some basic programs for walking etc I think they use the accelerometer
If you go their web site you can see they have some pretty cool options.
I also still have an InPulse watch (they are making the pebble now). I don't like this watch nearly as much. And not much
hope of updates to make it better since all they are doing is workign on the pebble now.

Yaotl said:
I kickstarted (is that a verb now? that makes it sound like I started it though...) the pebble watch. Still a couple months from actually getting it though. Not a whole lot of them out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in the same boat waiting on my pebble

the cookoo watch looks way nicer aesthetically than the pebble, but looks like the pebble has more backers and has been in the business a bit longer than the cookoo

Why do you need a smartwatch when you already have a smartphone? Sorry to me just doesn't make sense. It just makes everyone that much more lazy.

babymatteo said:
Why do you need a smartwatch when you already have a smartphone? Sorry to me just doesn't make sense. It just makes everyone that much more lazy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you guys see the one from sony,they had a smartwatch too,but its kinda ugly lool.the most look a like,i think is the cookoo watch,and its kinda cheep i think,but if you had two phone i guess you must have 2 watches lol.

babymatteo said:
Why do you need a smartwatch when you already have a smartphone? Sorry to me just doesn't make sense. It just makes everyone that much more lazy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree.. I know it's not cheap technology but geez, $129.99? I'd wait a few years until the price drops dramatically
---> Brought to you in part by my T999 / T-Mobile Galaxy SIII

I had the Sony smartwatch for a day. The build quality was horrible. It also felt awkward to use it for anything other than checking the time.
I too am waiting for the pebble. E-ink is the way to go for a watch IMO.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

bork.it.consulting said:
I had the Sony smartwatch for a day. The build quality was horrible. It also felt awkward to use it for anything other than checking the time.
I too am waiting for the pebble. E-ink is the way to go for a watch IMO.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so i'm the few people that like more the cookoo watch then the pebble lol.

I have a new WIMM I would sell if a reasonable offer were made to me...

babymatteo said:
Why do you need a smartwatch when you already have a smartphone? Sorry to me just doesn't make sense. It just makes everyone that much more lazy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I won't buy this until they make a blue tooth ear piece that can notify when my cookoo watch notifies me that my phone has a notification....
Sent from my unlocked GTab 2 running CM10

I got a Metawatch Frame a few weeks ago while waiting for my Pebble to arrive. Well, I got the Pebble today, and I really dig it.
Between the two, I kinda like the Metawatch Frame better for the appearance - it's a metal case with a leather band. It just looks better than Pebble. The screen is pretty nice, although being very reflective can be tricky to read.
But I like the Pebble more for the more reliable functionality. See, the Metawatch's software support is still spotty. The official app doesn't do much at all yet. They're supposed to be releasing an update to the Market any day now. In the meantime I've used the Community Edition, which works much better. It still has major issues. Notifications only pop up as "Mail received on [mail account]", or "SMS message received", but no subject or sender information. Then with both the MWMCE and Noah editions, the watch resets itself after receiving the alert.
With Pebble, I connected it to my Galaxy Nexus and tested a few things. The only thing that didn't seem to work was SMS messages. I had found the Pebble Notifier plugin for Tasker, and played with it, and it worked pretty well. Then I noticed the developer set up Pebble Notifier as a standalone application. You can select apps from a list of your apps, and any notification that shows up in your phone's notification tray will be sent to Pebble. It works well, and Pebble doesn't reset every time, either! In fact, after testing many notifications I have not seen the Pebble disconnect or reset.
I'll probably end up selling the Metawatch Frame. I would list it here, but it seems the for sale forum has been closed. Guess I'll have to fall back on Egay.

mshifai tou
The COOKOO watch case dimensions are 44mm x 16.3mm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a huge wrist-killer watch.

Talking smart watches as anyone heard of this one
VEA Buddy Bluetooth watch its on indiegogo
was thinking of joining in on it with a pledge just not sure yet plus i am waiting on getting the pebble did,nt get to back that though just got one on order so its gonna be a long long wait for that
Sent from my KFTT using xda premium

I got the Pebble Smartwatch and it is pretty slick. I think they will really become popular after Apple releases their own version.

dkouzou said:
That's a huge wrist-killer watch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The watch is not that bad.. my watch is 50mm x 15mm.. No biggie...
Still waiting for the android app.. till then, I will be holding off buying it..

well it looks cool. problem is you have to charge often... not ideal specialy if your the type who's always in an adventure...

Smartwatches
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2152256
I posted my thoughts on the Sony Smartwatch at the above link. I tried the Sony and the Pebble and I prefer the Sony. For those who wonder why the need for a watch when you already have the phone, I think it'll change your mind once you have a smartwatch. It's very liberating not having to pull the phone (in my case, the big Note II) out of your pocket as often. All of my notifications, weather, facebook, twitter, e-mails, sms... can be glanced quickly with the watch, especially when I'm driving or in a meeting.

With the new smartphones shouting out connectivity and innovation all it does is tieing up a soul to the internet. Facebook, Twitter, notification here, notification there, your whole life is becoming a bleep.
Kind regards,
Thomas
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Premium XDA-developers app

Lapdock Concept Successor? NexPhone

http://www.nexcrea.com/
Looks interesting, especially since they plan on implementing Ubuntu for Android on their phone, though I wouldn't get my hopes up, since Canonical hasn't mentioned them at all, so far.
Still, if this isn't Vapourware or some scam to phish money from some poor geek, there's my next phone, gentlemen.

seem like Atrix 4G....

The problem is that this is coming from an industrial designer who has no experience with making phones. He has the concept which isn't much. Plus, that is a very specific connection that only the one phone would have and you would have to always stay with that phone if you wanted to use your accessories (which probably cost a lot). What those accessories need is a universal connection that can work with any phone and then software that can be integrated into any phone. While they're nice renderings I'm not holding my breath for this even becoming a reality. Their donation site doesn't even offer the product for high donors which leaves little incentive to donate.
Sorry for being a Debbie Downer. If it comes out I'd love to see how it works

Imo the Asus Padphone is the real lapdock successor.
You can transform it into a tablet and a notebook with working touchscreen .
Sent from my MB860 using xda app-developers app

The tablet design is quite horrible.

For something like this to fly, it will need to be non proprietary. Also, physical connectors need to go, NFC or some version that is high speed enough for video is needed.
Cheers!

Yeah, I agree this sounds fishy, especially since Canonical hasn't said a word so far, and I'd think they would be spreading the word to the four corners of the earth if they had finally managed to get some traction on the smartphone market.
Personally, I'd much rather have physical connectors, though. Most things wireless chew through battery and tend to go haywire at the time you most need them. An option to go wireless or wired would cover all bases, though.

Fishing for investment funds is my guess.
I would love to see the concept play out, but expect it to happen as natural evolution from the couple products we already have.

41. said:
Personally, I'd much rather have physical connectors, though. Most things wireless chew through battery and tend to go haywire at the time you most need them. An option to go wireless or wired would cover all bases, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was referring to docking the phone as opposed to streaming video over wifi over distance, I say use NFC for communications including video/sound and induced recharging ala powermat all at the same time. Technically challenging perhaps but not science fiction.
Cheers!

Induction charging is horribly inefficient, no good for a mobile device.
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium

Confused on choice sony smartwatch.. motoactv.. i'm watch?

Hi everyone
I am considering a smart watch for multiple reasons but mainly so i know when somebody calls me at work.. must say though I LOVE customizations like everyone else on XDA
I have researched up on the following three watches
sony smartwatch
motorola motoactv
i'm watch
all three of these watches are nice and have their ups and downs.
i loved the motoactv because of its customizations however after reading up on the size of the actual thing i was a little more sceptical about it!
my wrist is not the biggest at about 47mm.. the motoactv is 46mm and quite bulky from the images and wanted to know what people think about its size. the i'm watch is a little bigger than the motoactv and bulkier however it is curved.. what do you guys think of that? the sony smartwatch would seem to be the best option thanks to its slick design and size however its functionality makes it more of a half smartwatch.
what do you guys think would suite my needs and wrist size? what are your opinions on the watches and what do you have and why did you pick it?
Just to say the pebble watch does not interest me because it lacks rich functionality.. i use whatsapp.. phone.. sms.. calendar.. music as my core apps and i would expect most of these on the watch (understand if whatsapp is not useable as long as there is notification)

Motoactv is my choice.
Yeah, it's kind of big, and my wrist is tiny, like girls wrist tiny. I personally don't give a crap about the looks, and it never feels in the way or like it's weighing me down, in fact I forget I'm wearing it sometimes.
The very few people that actually do make a comment or a little joke about the size have always eaten their words when I either show them or tell them what it does. And I work at a building supply store, so if anyone would think it was dorky it would be them. Yet they still always leave blown away, or asking where to get one.
I mean sure, sometimes I wished it was curved slightly to fit my wrist a little better, but out of all the smart watches out there currently this one is definitely the most capable.

Yeah I get where you're coming from.. functionality wise you don't have to take your phone out of your pocket! The only reason I am considering the sony smartwatch is because it is a size my wrist can cope with.. is there something out there like the motoactv but more ergonomic and a tad smaller or landscape?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

aadil7 said:
Yeah I get where you're coming from.. functionality wise you don't have to take your phone out of your pocket! The only reason I am considering the sony smartwatch is because it is a size my wrist can cope with.. is there something out there like the motoactv but more ergonomic and a tad smaller or landscape?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, at least not one as functional. All the smaller ones don't do anything by themselves but tell time. Out of the 4 you can get that run full fledged Android and as such can perform as independent Android devices, the Motoactv beats them all for me.
The other three being:
WIMM One - developmentally dead, uglier than the motoctv, lower res screen, and was never able to be modified to use as a full android device. Good CPU and RAM though, and always-on screen is nice
I'm Watch - Looks nice but lacks wifi, slow CPU and little RAM, no hardware buttons and Android 1.6 limit app compatibility
Z1 Smartwatch - A fully functioning watch Smart phone with cell radio, but MASSIVE, way bigger than the Motoactv, also very slow CPU and little RAM

Hmm I see thanks for that.. being able to use android on your wrist is an amazin pheat however I am still contemplating my uses for the device.. its a real shame I cannot see these in person.. that would greatly help!
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

I honestly dont think this market has been struck with THE device of all devices just yet.. in the neptune pine I see the future
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

aadil7 said:
Hmm I see thanks for that.. being able to use android on your wrist is an amazin pheat however I am still contemplating my uses for the device.. its a real shame I cannot see these in person.. that would greatly help!
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I like about it, customization. I can change SO many things on my Motoactv to make it mine. I mean, a plethora of clock widgets, wallpapers (static or live), custom lock screen with apps like widget locker, calender widgets (DAMN handy on a watch), and apps. Oh man apps. I've installed a notepad with widget support, awesome for reminders or other things. Also a calculator (reminds me of the old casio watches), Poweramp for an amazing music player with custom equalizer, Gameboy emulator for simple RPG games, MXPlayer for videos...I can make my watch essentially what I want it to be, thanks to the nature of Android.
I've got videos of it on Youtube if you're interested. Just search my username, it's the same as on here.

My smartwatch comparison
Feel free to check out all the stats there. MotoACTV for my vote of course.

imho... at $18 with free shipping on ebay, the sony liveview mn800 (NOT THE SMARTWATCH)
is badass! it's tiny, sips power, can run all day, runs standard CHIBIOS RTOS on oled screen.
There's a custom firmware/rom functioning and under active development; an OPEN source app manager for the phone; an official app from Sony still being updated... tons of support and devs. Over 50 plugin apps available at the moment. AND liveview takes standard micro usb power so no proprietary cables and chargers.... use your phone charger if you must.
I agree it's not anywhere near the power of the motoactv (which is my second favorite but good luck finding motoactv below $160ish !almost 10 times as much!) and while it does have a degree of independence and I LOVE that it runs fullblown android... it's wifi/bt only ... so for most things you are still tethered to phone anyway. And it's mini usb... so plan on carrying around an additional adapter or charger.
Liveview is tiny, extensible, and dirt cheap and universal.
imho that's hard to beat!
if motoactv comes down to $80 I'll reassess.
---------- Post added at 03:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:00 PM ----------
I want the motoactv... I lust after it.
BUT. It's discontinued. Before sinking close to $200 and then more on the accessories in to something... I'd wonder how many more charge/discharge cycles the battery statistically has? MTBF type stuff.
Is the battery replaceable? Can you get a suitable replacement battery at a reasonable price?
If the screen breaks... can you get replacement screen or digitizer? Is the device easy enough to tear apart and operate on?
Is there an Open motoactv client app for phone? Will moto/google release this to allow extensibility? Will it remain compatible with future android versions/apis? What kind of a power drain will you get maintaining a connection btw phone and motoactv?
But if you have cash to burn - go for it It looks awesome.
Otherwise. $18 on ebay for the liveview lets you wade into the water slowly and if it breaks... **** order two!!! This thing is awesome!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-Ericss...er_Cell_Phone_Accessories&hash=item589938963b
I'm in the process of trying to build a solar watchstrap for it with this guy:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thin-Film-L...675?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a8132e5db
and this guy:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-DC-DC-...420?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cd02d1204
if this works... battery should run forever!!!
---------- Post added at 03:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:13 PM ----------
But the biggest feature for me is that at $18 with free 2 day shipping from NYC... this thing is cheap enough with enough functionality that people will impulse buy it and then want more features... so the DEV community is set to grow exponentially as the price continues to fall.
As we've seen time and again - there are no feats the XDA community is unable to traverse. With an exponentially growing DEV and lay community... this thing is going to continue to become sicker and sicker.
PS if you google liveview, don't be turned off by negative reviews... Imho they are older, by unsophisticated users on older android versions and older firmware and app versions. In my experiences across the evo 4g, evo 3d, and note 2, this watch is solid. The connection and battery issues have largely been obviated by the new firmwares, new phone companion apps, and 3rd party app solutions. I love this little watch. I've bought 4 of them and donated to the local hackerspace until my primary breaks - but it's been several years already and she's still ticking.

I've got both, they're both microusb and both use my regular sgs3 charger.
I like my liveview, just not nearly as much. Can't play music on it or do anything standalone really. Can't even keep time without being tethered.
Hell, I can play angry birds on my actv lol.
Sent using XDA-funded carrier pigeons

ClearD said:
I've got both, they're both microusb and both use my regular sgs3 charger.
I like my liveview, just not nearly as much. Can't play music on it or do anything standalone really. Can't even keep time without being tethered.
Hell, I can play angry birds on my actv lol.
Sent using XDA-funded carrier pigeons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
New Sony firmware or the open firmware allows to keep time even without connection to phone.
Motoactv is MICRO? same connector as liveview? man, apologies. my search, though cursory, showed mini. Good save. thanks.
I agree Motoactv is awesome; especially if you are will be in wifi areas.
But at $200ish vs. $20ish...
If you don't like it... makes a great gift to a geek when/if you want to upgrade.
Any advice on where to get a cheap motoactv?

EBay, for sure. I've seen them there for under $150, but they're still in high demand after they discontinued them, sadly.
Sent using XDA-funded carrier pigeons

Damn I never knew someone would rate the tiny sony watch so highly I may have to look into it.. maybe even buy it to try it n see what all the fuss is about!
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

willfck4beer said:
so for most things you are still tethered to phone anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel the exact opposite. The connection to the phone feels much more like an extension than a reliance. In fact there was a period i hadn't connected it to my phone for months. This was due to Android 4.2.2 having bluetooth issues on the GNex. I've since downgraded to 4.1.2 to get my text messages and caller ID function back, because it's damn handy at work. Otherwise, everything else runs right on it. For what I use it for mostly I don't need an internet connection most of the time.
willfck4beer said:
I'd wonder how many more charge/discharge cycles the battery statistically has? MTBF type stuff.
Is the battery replaceable? Can you get a suitable replacement battery at a reasonable price?
If the screen breaks... can you get replacement screen or digitizer? Is the device easy enough to tear apart and operate on?
Is there an Open motoactv client app for phone? Will moto/google release this to allow extensibility? Will it remain compatible with future android versions/apis? What kind of a power drain will you get maintaining a connection btw phone and motoactv?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery is replaceable, and available last time I checked. Screen/digitizer will be hard to find. Lots of people have opened this thing up and worked on it. There are tutorials online even. No open client, but people have found ways to communicate with it despite this. It uses Bluetooth 4.0, which is only just now being introduced to Android. The only thing that could stop it in the somewhat near future is companion app compatibility, and that's only if a new Android version breaks it. It wouldn't be hard for motorola to update the app with a simple compatibility update either.
I had my motoactv connected to my phone for 8 hours while I was at work today. It's been on for a total of 12 hours from when I unplugged it this morning, and I have 77% left right now.

Happen to have an extra Moto actv laying around?

willfck4beer said:
Happen to have an extra Moto actv laying around?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, I almost want one as a backup...then again by the time this thing is kaput there might be something better out

Oh fxuck sony just opened up dev on smartwatches. Loving them fir the first time since the nineties right now! Smartwatch 1 and 2 just became much more attractive! OP, buy smartwatch2 when it hits $70ish for full touchscreen... buy smartwatch1 mn800 live view if you can only afford $20ish ... but no multi touchscreen imho. Anyone else know the added features delta betwixt the two smartwatches?