Database Users

My Review/Test of the XiaoMI MI2 (edited January 11)

If you like my review, and want to help me make other high quality review, feel free to make a donation (to help me buy accessories or other materiel i may review)
If you wish to help me, but can't do a donation and if you are going to buy on the same site as I, you can ask me per PM a referal link. When registering through that link, you help me get coupon codes on that site, so i can order accessories and complete this review )
1. Introduction
Since Google announced the Nexus4 (LG), the entire worlds speak and write about that Phone.
Unfortunately, the Nexus4 is a rare phone.
It may be in stock in some countries, but in my country (France) it is impossible to get it for a cheap Price.
During that time other “Chinese” devices make their apparition.
These devices may be even cheaper and more powerful than the Nexus4.
At the beginning, I was thinking to replace my Galaxy Nexus with a Nexus 4, but one post on Google+, that complains about the poor camera quality and the constant out of stock status for the French play store made me change my mind.
So I turn to the xiaomi MI2, a smartphone with nearby the same characteristics as the Nexus4, witch runs into MIUI.
For these not knowing what here are the main specs :
- 2GB of RAM
- a quad core CPU at 1.5Ghz
- a 2000mAh removable battery
- a powerful 3D chip capable of running all latest android games
- a 4.3” display, with even more PPI than the iPhone5 !
- no sd slot
- Normal simcard slot
This Chinese phone, made by xiaomi ( the same that created the MIUI Rom) is sold in China for 1999 Yuans (about 245€ )
Unfortunately, xiaomi does not sell worldwide, so you need to buy this phone at other place, where it will naturally cost a little more.
We can find the 16GB version for 300€.
Other website who make even more money with this device propose it for 350-400€.
I bought this device on one of the cheapest website I found: ibuygou
If you wish to buy it there, the best advise I can give you, is to buy it using PayPal.
First the euro change is better, and second, well PayPal is secure, you have 45 days to make a complaint (for example if it was lost or damage during the order, or if you don't get the product you ordered)
I bought the 32GB version, it cost me 369€ with DHL delivery (so the same price as a 16GB Nexus 4)
One interesting thing to know: the package is very resistant, you can also find videos where two people are standing on it, without breaking it content! I tried it (without the phone in ^^) and indeed the package did not break. So the phone is ready for a long transport, nothing can happen ^^.
Because this is an import, on some country you may need to pay Taxes (it was the case in France). This cost me 14€.
Warning: it may cost a lot more, if the customs checks the content of the package.
Indeed a lot of Chinese Website declares less than the real price. This way YOU pay less taxes, and the delivery man is not attempt to lost the package for his own business ^^
In some countries, if the package is a gift, the customs may not make you pay (I never saw this for my orders, but well I may be possible ^^ )
In France, even a gift with a love message on it, needs to pay taxes. At least at DHL ^^
When I saw the package I thought: holly crap, they scam me with style :/
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But no, they didn’t, I really received an original MI2 with two gifts: a back cover and an OTG cable (that was really nice ^^ )
As you can see on the package, it is a 32GB Version (yes the phones says that too ^^ )
The phone is really protected, there is even a transparent paper with some Chinese advices on it. I guess it is for telling what the buttons does… well even without knowing Chinese I find this out ^^
Here are the charger (US/Chinese) and the USB Cable (also very well pack)
The free OTG cable gift
And here the blue back cover. I prefer the white one, but it is glossy, so you will see the fingerprints on it, and I hate that.. So in use the blue one
Here you see what it looks like from the side
The orange 2000mAh battery (you can choose the colour of replacement battery, but I don’t know why… you never see the battery of a phone ^^ )
One thing that surprised me: charging the phone, when it was turned off shows the battery percentage level. That’s cool
Don’t take care of the dust, it was only visible because of the flash from my camera. I never saw Dust on it with my eyes ^^
2 Possible weakness or strengths
a) good performances
The first owners of this phone made a lot of benchmarks. And MI2 is much better than the top selling android phone: the galaxy S3.
For info, I made a simple Antutu test, without any customisation, tweaks or overclocking. And I get more than 21 000 points
At normal use, it react really fast, there is no slowness
B) an amazing screen for a really simple usage
Some people may say that a 4.3” display is too small, I think it is the best size to be used with one hand, without needing giant hand or to do finger gymnastic
On my galaxy nexus, I could do everything with one hand, but in some cases I needed to change the phone position do everything with my thumb and in this other position, the phone is not firmly in hand, so this could be dangerous if you don’t stay focused
For the difference between 4.3 and 4.65” it is really MINIMAL. Indeed, the MI2 has all its content on 4.3”, whereas the Nexus has the soft keys in the 4.65”.
Until some rarely apps that run full screen, every app on the nexus will run on a 4.37” surface. So the Nexus has only a really small advantage of 0.07”.
Yet, the MI2 fit better in the hand, because it has less borders than the Nexus.
I went from a phone measuring 135.5x67mm to a phone that measure 125x63mm.
The MI2 is 1 cm less height and almost a half cm less wide. So some actions became easier.
The screen is also a lot better, because of the PPI value. The same image looks a lot sharper on the MI2.
C) a phone not so thin as other rivals
Another possible weakness is the thickness. Indeed the MI2 is not the thinnest of all phones. I was a bit afraid that it might be too big (it is almost as big as the bottom part of the galaxy nexus).
In the end this does not disturb me, the phone fit in the hand, and it does not looks like a BIG FAT phone. Sure with 1 or 2 mm less it would looks even more amazing, but this would be at the cost of a lower battery . Indeed the more a phone is thin, the less place is left for the battery. Less place for battery => less battery capacity.
D) MIUI
This phone is running Android, but not stock Android! It is running MIUI (a graphical change that may look a little more like iOS)
It has also a dual Boot (you need to choose it in the recovery)… So if you break you first boot, you can use the second one. I tried it, but it seams that I have some kind of conflict (maybe because system one is up to date French and system two is the default Chinese rom… maybe they both need to have the same language or version)
I admit that a always installed MIUI on my phones, so having one that came out with it was a good point for me. This phone is like a Nexus for MIUI ^^
But this is like everything, you like it or not… I can’t choose for you
Some people will say: MIUI = iOS on android, that is not true..
MIUI is a graphical evolution, with some nice features.
If you look at Android 4.2, you may noticed that Google introduced some icons in the notification bar for setting Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and so on… Most ROMS increase the ability to toggle on click or go to the settings on long click… this kind of feature exists on MIUI since android 2.3 !
3 : Testing some stuffs
On internet there are a lot of review or test for the MI2, but most of them only test the performance and nothing else . So I’ll test some useful points :
The audio
The GPS
The Camera
I’m not a specialist in these domains, but I had a few android phones (every time high end models) and I must admit, that I was never 100% happy with them
If there is ONE phone that was a real peace of crap, it was the HTC Desire HD!
The audio level is like a buzzer. The music was awful. I had a lot of trouble hearing what my contacts told me, this was even worse if you were in your car or a noisy environment.
The GPS was REALLY the worse I ever had, the precision was bad, it jumps from street to street and needed a lot time for the fix. Telling me to turn left 30 meters AFTER I should turn…
Having a high end smartphone, that is not good in these 3 points, is really not a high end one!
A) The audio
I replaced my HTC Desire HD with a Galaxy Nexus, it was better, but yet not was I was searching for.
On Galaxy Nexus you need to install a mod or software to boost the volume because it is too low by default.
The MI2 is doing A LOT better at this point. You can play a movie with volume max and the full room will hear it The GPS vocal navigation is clearly audible even in a noisy car.
There are still phones that does even better (like the Sony Ericson neo my wife uses, but this one is really too loud ^^ )
The Dolby equaliser of the MI2 has nice effects and you direct hear the difference.
Calling sound is also super clear. Even with noise you hear your contact well.
The only little weakness could be the vibrate level. I think it is a little too low.
B) the Camera
The software part surprised me, (ok I was used of the stock camera, so it was not difficult to do something that looks better). Here everything is clear and on the right place, there are a lot of settings also.
The photo and video quality on low light is a lot better than my galaxy nexus. Indeed; the
Galaxy Nexus does good pictures, but only by daylight. If it is a little dark, or if the light is artificial, the quality decreases fast.
Here are two picture of my dog (click on picture to see the full size picture)
In normal mode:
In HDR mode:
Unfortunately it is raining so I can’t test good daylight picture. I May add them later if the sun will shine again ^^
The video is also excellent. You can save 1080p videos and you can also set 90images per seconds (useful when you film something that moves)
C) the GPS
As most of the latest high-end devices, the MI2 is also compatible with Glanoss (the Russian GPS). This should help having faster and better GPS performance (indeed the more sat your phone sees, the better it can know where you are)
Testing a GPS in a house is … useless
A GPS should find it position (the fix) but also guide you right (not too early and not too late), it should not jump from one street to the other or position you in the middle of nowhere.
People saying that a GPS is amazing because it fix in less than 10 seconds in there room are noobs ! (Yes a lot of people said that the Desire HD had an amazing GPS … whereas a blind could guide you better than this phone! )
So I did a quick ride with my car to test it
I went in my car, turned the GPS and run Cygic (my software)
Fix in less than 2 seconds (my nexus needed more than 1 min, sometimes I also needed to open the window and hand it out to boost the fix time)
But as said fix alone is useless, so I told my GPS to bring me to the nearest town.
It guided me well, not a single error, every order was given on the correct time (not too early or too late).
Then I run GPS Status and GPS Test to know the signal quality and the amount of satellites.
Unfortunately, I did not succeed to do a screenshot for GPS Test ( I was still in my car needing to drive when the fire turn green )
But it find me about 10 green sat that had values between 37 and 42.
For GPS Status I succeeded doing a screenshot: we see directly that it uses a LOT of satellites (so it uses both GPS and Glanoss)
It finds about 21 sats and used between 13-15 of them.
The error precision is 3-5m, whereas my Nexus had 5-10m
If the weather change, I may test it in the forest, but I don’t like going in the forest when it is wet…
D) the OTG Cable
For every tests here, I needed to connect the USB device to the OTG cable first, and then the OTG Cable to the smartphone, other way it did not works :/
Here are some tests I did :
- FAT32 USB stick => works (I may test NTFS and Ext4 in future)
- 2.5” self powered hard drive => did not works, the phone does not give enough power
- Nikon Coolpix S3300 Camera => did not work, maybe the same issue
- USB PS3 controller => it works (the game needs to be compatible)
- USB Keyboard => it works and you can configure the keyboard layout in the menu
- USB Mice => It works a cursor appears on screen
edit from January 11 :
The 6 januray i asked ibuygou if they can make this kind of test (Xperia) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=F92CvRflk18
The support answered me than i can do this test, and if it break they will send me a new MI2.
Unfortunatly i declined the offer, i did not wish to wait for a new phone ore pay more taxes.
But to MY SURPRISE, ibuygou did this video (they also said my name in it ^^)
here is the video (warning : at the begining there is a screen protection on the phone so don't be afraid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=84z_BIrLlp4
So I hope you find these review useful.
If there is something specific you wish me to test, just ask me
ps: sorry if there are some errors in the text, i'm French and i tried my best to do an English review as good as i could. (if corrections are needed please feel free to pm me the correction so i'll edit this post)

i really like your review.
im hoping to receive my order next week.
can you share more information about battery life, built quality of the phone
Do you use any bumper/case? Its not even gorilla glass, so i kinda afraid about that point.
also, where you order the accessories from?
I want the dark blue panel, and external batt + charger.
the only option is alibaba. but i was looking for something geographically closer so it will arrive faster
and just last mark, to make sure, it uses regular sim card, correct? like in galaxy s2, not s3 (microsim) ?
edit: I just saw you wrote this as one of the points at the start of the post. thank you for clarifying

Testing the battery is something complicated, indeed you need a given procedure that you do on more than one device, so you can compare it.
If i told you i stay 2 days you'll be happy but i may not told you, that during these two days, i didn't use the phone, so only saying that the device stay X hours/days alone without any further information is useless.
the quality is amazing, people that saw the phone (by far) will think it is an iphone5 ^^ (same formfactor)
i'm not using any case or bumper (i may plan to buy one to be sure the phone is well protected)
I don't know if it is gorilla glass or not and i really don't wish to test it, i hope it is... to be sure i may buy a screen protector, but unfortunately, i did not found something cheap right now
the accessories i have, are gift i received from the site i bought it (i gave a link on first post)
the cover was included in their december deal. The OTG cable was a surprise gift
Yes the phone use regular sim (no micro or mini sim)

you're correct about battery life,
my intention was just if it rally feels as 2000mah, comparing to your galaxy nexus, for example
but nevermind
about screen protector, look for nillkin products, i heard they're good and they have both matte and clear screen protectors.
they also have lite & full version, wheres the full has also protection for camera lens
I like the blue cover. its some sort of matte feeling?

nice review
alain57 said:
Testing the battery is something complicated, indeed you need a given procedure that you do on more than one device, so you can compare it.
If i told you i stay 2 days you'll be happy but i may not told you, that during these two days, i didn't use the phone, so only saying that the device stay X hours/days alone without any further information is useless.
the quality is amazing, people that saw the phone (by far) will think it is an iphone5 ^^ (same formfactor)
i'm not using any case or bumper (i may plan to buy one to be sure the phone is well protected)
I don't know if it is gorilla glass or not and i really don't wish to test it, i hope it is... to be sure i may buy a screen protector, but unfortunately, i did not found something cheap right now
the accessories i have, are gift i received from the site i bought it (i gave a link on first post)
the cover was included in their december deal. The OTG cable was a surprise gift
Yes the phone use regular sim (no micro or mini sim)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i like your review a lot

in fact i don't know if a screen protector is needed
on chinese xiaomi forum ( http://bbs.xiaomi.cn/thread-4506805-1-1.html ) they said that the MI2 has dragontrail glass (something like gorilla glass, maybe even better)
and when you see how this guy tested his Xperia : http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=F92CvRflk18
unfortunately, i'm not going to do this kind of test on my phone ^^
but if someone send me a MI2, i would be happy to do this test

Thanks for the review alain.
Im going to get a Xiaomi MI-2 32GB from the same site. Hopefully they wont take too long to dispatch it.

so why does xiaomi doesnt say it in the specs?
is it for real?

a lot of company does not say it for gorilla glass too
i don't understand that, for me this is a kind of information, that is as important as the CPU spec
but maybe they don't say it, to prevent people beeing mad if they get a scratch ... after all, its a protection, but it does not protect against everything ...

Bilhouse said:
Thanks for the review alain.
Im going to get a Xiaomi MI-2 32GB from the same site. Hopefully they wont take too long to dispatch it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you order it through my referal link that is in my review, i can get some cashback. i'll use this cashback to buy other material like a 3100mAh, screen protector, hdmi cable or what ever (if they had it on stock).
Each material i get with the cashback, will be reviewed and tested like i did for this phone ^^. So if you guys order phones with my link, i'll get stuff for less price and i promise to make a review of each material I get that way.

Kudos again, just an excellent review. Thanks once more for sharing!
Swyped from my Android/iPhone Killer

I also find there are lots of xiaomi M2 from an english Taobao
I also find there are lots of xiaomi M2 from an english taobao: BuyChina.com as follow link:
w*w.buychina.com/products?keyword=xiaomi+m2&cid=

alain57 said:
if you order it through my referal link that is in my review, i can get some cashback. i'll use this cashback to buy other material like a 3100mAh, screen protector, hdmi cable or what ever (if they had it on stock).
Each material i get with the cashback, will be reviewed and tested like i did for this phone ^^. So if you guys order phones with my link, i'll get stuff for less price and i promise to make a review of each material I get that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The referal link was removed. This is not the place to place links to make money.

Good job~

Sadly the MI2 does not have gorilla glass. I found out the hard way - dropped mine and now have a couple of small scratches on the screen
The good news is the screen protector film made them invisible

Watch out where to order from third party Chinese online stores. Many fake MI-2's are sold.

rattlelv said:
Sadly the MI2 does not have gorilla glass. I found out the hard way - dropped mine and now have a couple of small scratches on the screen
The good news is the screen protector film made them invisible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Methinks Gorilla Glass would not have been impervious to the drop either. Supposedly the Mi2 uses Dragontail which is as good or better than Gorilla, and as evidenced by a youtube video circulating around demonstrating Dragontail on a Sony (Ericsson?) phone, I'd have to agree.

zelendel said:
The referal link was removed. This is not the place to place links to make money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it was not to make money, but to receive coupon codes to order MI2 accessories that would be in other review late :/
i don't get sites, that remove the link on real review... on spaming post i could unsterstand it, but on high quality reviews....
but well its true, its in the forum rules, so my mistake sorry for it
its funny that a lot of donation link are allowed, but not this kind of stuff ...

viviandress said:
I also find there are lots of xiaomi M2 from an english taobao: BuyChina.com as follow link:
w*w.buychina.com/products?keyword=xiaomi+m2&cid=
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so few messages, but still nearly all of them for this site ... kind of strange for me...
on these kind of site, they are a lot fake phones sold... some people had the same problem with aliexpress ....
so people be aware
ps: xiaomi sells it 16GB phone 1999yuans thats 320$, so if people sells it less.... there is a HUGE chance that they are fakes !

rattlelv said:
Sadly the MI2 does not have gorilla glass. I found out the hard way - dropped mine and now have a couple of small scratches on the screen
The good news is the screen protector film made them invisible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because it breaks does NOT mean it does not have a protection !
All galaxy S series have gorilla glass ( http://www.corninggorillaglass.com/products-with-gorilla/samsung ) and my girlfriend dropped her galaxy S and it was totaly broken..... no way to make it invisible ...

MIMI W3 Smartwatch

Hi all,
Found this smartwatch and it looks pretty nice: *cant post links!* website is mimi-hk. The watch is the MI W3 smartwatch.
This is an update of a watch I can't find much info on, the MI-W2 watch, or the Podoor PW305 (which was updated also to the PW305 II) so if anyone has used them please rate!
It is not Android based, but that doesn't bother me. Android smartwatches run out of power too quickly and obviously I'm going cheap here. It seems it can be used for at least a good few days. The watch face is listed as translucent stays on all the time, which is key for me as I don't see the point in having a smart WATCH that is so smart it doesn't show me the time! Amongst the features, it also has things like: Backlight when you lift your wrist. Apparently IP67 waterproof. Answer calls. Reject calls. Read messages. Send messages (though this is pointless on a small screen). Metal body. Leather strap. It's actually a watch.
I have contacted mimi-hk and they will sell the W3 for £63.48, $102 ($90 + $12 delivery).
Everbuying sell the watch for $88.27 delivered, (£56.87) Has anyone used everbuying before? Would anyone recommend them, or recommend staying away!?
I think this watch looks decent, has all the features I'd need on a companion watch and is a decent price. Does anyone see why I shouldn't go for it?
Thanks!

Its bluetooth is 3.0 nor 4.0... This bluetooth is not energy eficient so battery life has not to be so good

Link Here
StuDB said:
Hi all,
Found this smartwatch and it looks pretty nice: *cant post links!*
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Stu,
I have seen this watch but also could not find any info on it! For info, link is here: www.everbuying.com/product609837.html
Looks like a good watch, if the battery can hold up!

Oh sweet, thanks for posting the link. Yeah battery life is a concern, but are there any cheap watches that have 4.0? I'm not really interested in spending more.
Also, Negriton, do you have any alternatives you might suggest, with Bluetooth 4.0?

I have purchased twice from Everbuying and it was a bad experience both times.
The last time I had to file a claim with Paypal and it took 6 weeks to get a refund.
They offered a " partial" refund... yea right.... Paypal agreed with me and I eventualy got a forced refund. AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS.
StuDB said:
Hi all,
Found this smartwatch and it looks pretty nice: *cant post links!* website is mimi-hk. The watch is the MI W3 smartwatch.
This is an update of a watch I can't find much info on, the MI-W2 watch, or the Podoor PW305 (which was updated also to the PW305 II) so if anyone has used them please rate!
It is not Android based, but that doesn't bother me. Android smartwatches run out of power too quickly and obviously I'm going cheap here. It seems it can be used for at least a good few days. The watch face is listed as translucent stays on all the time, which is key for me as I don't see the point in having a smart WATCH that is so smart it doesn't show me the time! Amongst the features, it also has things like: Backlight when you lift your wrist. Apparently IP67 waterproof. Answer calls. Reject calls. Read messages. Send messages (though this is pointless on a small screen). Metal body. Leather strap. It's actually a watch.
I have contacted mimi-hk and they will sell the W3 for £63.48, $102 ($90 + $12 delivery).
Everbuying sell the watch for $88.27 delivered, (£56.87) Has anyone used everbuying before? Would anyone recommend them, or recommend staying away!?
I think this watch looks decent, has all the features I'd need on a companion watch and is a decent price. Does anyone see why I shouldn't go for it?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

standef said:
I have purchased twice from Everbuying and it was a bad experience both times.
The last time I had to file a claim with Paypal and it took 6 weeks to get a refund.
They offered a " partial" refund... yea right.... Paypal agreed with me and I eventualy got a forced refund. AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Not what I wanted to hear as there is also 8% off at everbuying at the moment, but the right info none the less :good:
Guess if I do go for it, I'll spend the extra £15 and get it from the manufacturer!

StuDB said:
Thanks! Not what I wanted to hear as there is also 8% off at everbuying at the moment, but the right info none the less :good:
Guess if I do go for it, I'll spend the extra £15 and get it from the manufacturer!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to get the W3 soon (ordered from the manufacture) when I do I will post a full review.

s7yler said:
I'm going to get the W3 soon (ordered from the manufacture) when I do I will post a full review.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome stuff! I almost bought the Star Kingleton watch from your review, saw a note on the PW305 then a string of research followed, leading to the W3!
I also found the W2 on a website called Joe's Tech Review, he's supposed to be getting it and doing a review soon too.
I'm mostly interested to find out what this 'translucent' screen is all about.
At £63 it's almost worth the risk (not got heaps of cash here) and I'm getting impatient, good to know people will be reviewing soon!

StuDB said:
Awesome stuff! I almost bought the Star Kingleton watch from your review, saw a note on the PW305 then a string of research followed, leading to the W3!
I also found the W2 on a website called Joe's Tech Review, he's supposed to be getting it and doing a review soon too.
I'm mostly interested to find out what this 'translucent' screen is all about.
At £63 it's almost worth the risk (not got heaps of cash here) and I'm getting impatient, good to know people will be reviewing soon!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here my UNBOXING of the MI-W3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcKetu-JIws
Specs can be found on my blog, link is on the description of the video on Youtube.

Hi,
Where did you buy it? I tried to contact Anna at mimi-hk but she told me the shipment fee was 100$.

MI W3 review By JTR1NING
I'm Happy to say that the Mi W3 from MIMI-HK.com has complied with all of its hype. Right out of the box I had a Premium detachable/interchangeable leather band and a alloyed/plastic waterproof smartwatch body. The design isn't as streamlined as the MI W2.It has more of a unisexed square digital look . In the boxes second compartment is the dual USB adaptor and Cable. Then at the very bottom of the box is the users manual that has been created with very detailed photos...even in the chinese writing a person can understand the directions. The Mi w2 feels a little heavier due to the thicker alloy on the front. The MiW3's Front alloy plate is thinner because it serves a Medical apparatus purpose...it, with the assistance of the metal plate on the rear, READS AND MONITORS THE USERS HEART RATE. This was a factor for the new smartwatches to implement. Most of the functions and layout is almost identical to MIW2. The added icons to the menu scroll is the Heart Rate Icon and the (APP) Icon. The gesture protocols are different. The way it is implemented on the MIW3 is as follows.... Goto, then press the Application (app) icon . Locate the Gesture Bright Screen menu..there you will see a new format of adjustable scrolling numbers... (01 to 23) on the left and (1 to 23) on the right. This is the 24hr/military time format. Setting this will make your watch go in total black screen until you shake/wake it up. This new feature along with the new TRANSPARENT screen display helps with battery life. The Transparency of the screen is a very good add on. Many smartwatch/ watch phone users have complained about pressing the button to see the time. With the implement of the gesture protocol, and now the translucency of the screen...always on top time view, the direction is forward not backward. The screen ,when in sleepmode will not respond to touch until activated by button press...THe Gesture Bright control is MOre useful when there is no Ambient light to see the watch screen...thus tilting the watch and the screen comes alive in pitch blackness. SPEAKERS/MICROPHONE : Without dismantling the MIW3 I can say that a different brand of Speaker has been used. The clarity and the distance the user can hear the information/caller from is much better than MOst of the watchphones I've used in the past.The microphone is highly sensitive and the feeling to hold the watch to the mouth is minimum. Removable wristbands are GENUINE LEATHER and standard. If you wanted a different look, just switch/change the wrist strap and your look will be Eye catching.....READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW AT MY SITE joe's tech review on the ning network

Any reliable way to buy this watch?
I do not find any option to buy on their website (mimi-hk). Also a couple of other vendors (everbuying, dealmachine etc.) do not have a very great review online. Any pointer will be highly appreciated.

s7yler - on your blog you didn't mention it has a mic?
I wonder if it is running the Nucleus OS?
It would be good if it can give 4 days battery life.

simple1i said:
s7yler - on your blog you didn't mention it has a mic?
I wonder if it is running the Nucleus OS?
It would be good if it can give 4 days battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No info on OS that I can find, but OS is very similar to all other budget watches (nucleus style). I'm told by Anna that nromal usage battery is 60 hours. Standby is naturally much longer.. though I want to see the full review to knwo for sure!
You can buy using Paypal from Anna by contacting (I'm waiting for full review to purchase atm) - email address is [email protected]
I also want to by elsewhere as it's cheaper but also am put off by the reviews. Everbuying has 8% off until the end of October, but I have heard to stay away from them!
Hopefully S7yler will release the full review soon.

Any experience with Aliexpress?
I got this link from Anna, but the price is way higher than other portals:
<Can't post links>

MI-W2 Smart watch
I just receivced my smart watch (after 3 weeks) and purchased on the gearbest site for only $56.00 + $17.00 S/H from Hong Kong.
I've only had it for a few days but I really like it.
MI-W2 version z2.8
MI-W2 Versatile Smart Bluetooth Watch with Dialer SMS Capabilities Remote Camera Shutter Functions.MI-W2 Versatile
Pros: .
Full cahrge in less than 1 hour
Haven't discharge in over 18 hours
Allows me to receive incoming call, text, email, and calendar notifications on the watch
Can make outgoing calls and send outgoing text messages.
Can add and deleted calendar events (syncs to my gmail account calendar)
Cons:
Unable to understand how to adjust call volume on the watch. I was able to access the engineer mode by pressing *20# to get to the menus and even found the audio section to choose my level. Somehow it gives 6 levels of volume but there is no way change the volume on the watch while in a call

Resource for smartwatch makers

THIS IS A RESOURCE FOR SMARTWATCH MAKERS
Northern English pronoun & adverb for nothing is 'Nowt'. The Nowt smartWatch by XDA members.
The corporations won't make a good smartwatch due to greed, smaller firms can't, due to lack resources and software access/rights (more greed by corporations). Crowd funding has repeatedly failed, see Omate TS. Time for a simple revolution ... can XDA members (or the people in general) build a good smartwatch?
Software is one of the biggest issue, but can't a 1000+ committed, devs, electronic engineers, analyst, passionate horologists and very ... very tenacious dreamers attempt it? Starting with finding solutions to the most common issues faced by those who 'have already been there and not quite made it'? If there's one place where the right people are, its here on XDA.
Lots of debates about the issues have been made and forgotten, see the Omate TrueSmart threads and some blogs.
Here's one: http://www.smartwatchgroup.com/overview-smartwatch-industry/
http://www.xda-developers.com/smartwatches-had-no-year-again/ - another one, see @Lokifish Marz comments. Other comments below to start the discussion off . . . .
______________________________________________________________________________
@Lokifish Marz said:
General rules with Chinese Android smartwatches
Broken firmware
Major security holes
Little to no official support (this includes the phone side app)
English (or any other language other than Chinese) for the phone app is very rare
Incomplete source code (when you can even get it) that is a generic build pulled from a phone
Inconsistent battery life due to broken firmware
IP67 is more like IP54 if lucky
Poor build quality and QC by western standards
Not Lokifish supported (I've walked away from the industry as a whole until they get their collective heads out of their butts)
kuronosan's time is limited so fixes may be slow
Depending on your needs and goals. Talk to Ingenic. The HW is a little slow on the Newton (SmartQ Z uses it), not sure about the Newton 2. Either way they have source (Linux, Android, etc). The package is small enough that you could design and build a smartwatch that's about the same size as a real watch, but the display will need a new "crystal" to pull it off nicely. Find a compatible round display, and you should be able to use off the shelf watch cases with minor modifications giving you a 200m diver's smartwatch if you do it right.
*Side note
Even with a 1/2 million buy in for 3000 units we designed ourselves, Umeox still would not have provided source code, and little to no support. That's what the Chinese ODM's are like. kuronosan can verify this.
______________________________________________
@Lokifish Marz said:
JZ4775 supports;
Linux (image and source available from Ingenic)
Android (image and source available from Ingenic)
Wear (Com 1's prototype was running Wear before Google strong armed Com 1 and pretty much killed the company)
_________________________________________
simple1I said:
I've come to the conclusion that the only way to build a decent smartwatch is by 500 (or more) xda members coming together on a project:
- committing our own money.
- Electing a group of experts.
- HARDWARE - building from scratch,
- SOFTWARE - take what's out there and amend it.
- trawling thru members ideas.
- People powered, no management, no profits. Not even kickstarter.
The advantage over all other watches would be the 'no profits', so a good quality long lasting watch could be crafted.
I'll leave it for someone else to post the disadvantages...
____________________________________________________
@Lokifish Marz said:
- You would still need some sort of hierarchy.
- 15-20% net profit cap would still be much lower than the industry and allow for growth.
- HW is not the big issue. SW, case design and source are
- ODMs deal in +1000 unit lots so the "buy in" is very expensive
Let's just say this comes from a been there, tried that perspective minus the xda member support. XDA members were not approached, neither was the public, due to one main reason. Corporations with far more purchasing power and capitol are known for "borrowing". Especially in China.
This is of course off topic so back to Mars I go.
____________________________________________
So . . . the software and stealing ideas and people is an issue, how can we overcome these?

If this goes anywhere I'll contribute, and also see if I can get Watch U Seek involved.
Maybe a WUS/XDA collaborative work smartwatch? If that happened, that alone would have a lot of pull in both the traditional and smartwatch communities.

XDA/WUS watch project
Lokifish Marz said:
If this goes anywhere I'll contribute, and also see if I can get Watch U Seek involved.
Maybe a WUS/XDA collaborative work smartwatch? If that happened, that alone would have a lot of pull in both the traditional and smartwatch communities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For those that dont know WatchuSeek is the largest watch forum, @Lokifish Marz - would you like to post a thread on WUS or shall I, its just that you'll receive more attention or I can start it and you can add your support?
CEO of OnePlus, Pete Lau's excellent interview, one former hardware employee of Oppo that made a successfull product in 1.5 years with only five employees. How did they start? With lots & lots of community ideas, we (the XDA community) to a certain extent already have loads of ideas and feedback already, we have learned a lot of the Omate Truesmart watch failure and Lokifish Marz has (i'm sure others too) have already attempted the first iteration, this is all feedback and ideas to base the new watch on.
@E:V:A - you mentioned - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=52695562&postcount=28 -
There are plenty of HW/SW experts who'd have been willing to contribute for free (including myself) to an awesome product, but in hindsight, Omate's primary purpose was clearly to become rich quickly, and not to create or build.
The most important success indicators are:
1) How you handle customer issues
2) How you keep your product's marketing promises
3) How fast you can deliver the product
4) How you get and keep an expert team
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you say?

Get as many core points covered as possible (devs and the like), then approach WUS members. I'm still pretty much unknown there (most of my stuff is in the Russian section) but have no issue posting on WUS once HW/SW folks are on board. I suggest this route because traditional watch lovers are a very hard sell and the more flashed out it is, the greater chance of getting folks on board.
Like I've said elsewhere, my ideas at this point are up for grabs so here's a partial list off the top of my head;
PCB and battery same size as display or smaller
Design it as if it's a dial and movement, allowing for greater case variation
1-2mm border between edge of display and case max
Dress = 1 crown, no pushers
Sports = 1 crown, 2 pushers
Diver = same as sports but sealable mic port and functional bezel
42mm or smaller (the big watch thing is starting to go out of style anyways)
Square designs based in iconic square watches
I also personally suggest Acrylic "crystals" on certain models. The may be easier to scratch but near impossible to shatter, and most scratches can be buffed out.
I also suggest playing with the concept of lume in the display itself on certain models. It has some technical hurdles but has a number of advantages. One being that as long as you have a light source (flashlight, etc) you can "recharge" the "secondary passive backlight" (lume) and get a couple hours of night adjusted eyesight visibility without the use of a backlight. The battery savings is obvious.
In response to your list;
Set standards, warranty terms and procedures early and stick to them. Back it up with people that care and know the product first hand
Don't approach the market until a fully functional prototype with all the features exists.
Don't offer it til in a position where all you need to do is send the money to the ODM for production of the final product.
Not sure about the get part but, the team needs to be seen as being a part of the device itself. I even had the idea of using microdots or micro engraving the teams names into the inside of every watch. The physiological reasons are obvious. If there is a pay thing, that's what business planners and accountants are there for.

@Lokifish Marz - I see this will take a lot of planning, I haven't forgotten, I'm thinking things thru.
The most important question is, will this project be for a stand-alone or a notifier? This will determined what support we'll get form the community.

Greetings,
I am a senior Electrical Engineer with 9 year experience and I do PCB design for a living. I am interested in helping this project. To start with, we need a list of what we want / need in the design, a wish list. From there we can put together a plan for building the circuit board, the specifications document. Let me know if you can use me. I do have access to PCB layout and design tools, and experience using them.

As long as you dont mind MIPS android, you could use the M200, from igenic. They provide Android or linux based sources, and the newton2 dev chip is cheap, $100.
Edit: I forgot to add: 1.2 gHz plus a low power core, along with active voice recognition.

If you get this off the ground, I will help with UI, concept, and clock design and offer any other assistance I can provide.

I know we don't have enough support at the moment, but can we start with some ideas based on past experiences.
Standalone like the InWatch Z or a notifier like the Qualcomm Toq? Both of these examples are best thing we have to a decent attempt at a smartwatch.
Should we build a notifier or a Standalone? Or like the LG Urbane both.
One idea I've been thinking about, would a color screen like the new Pebble Time work with Android? I don't think it would handle video, the battery life would be an advantage.

I don't think a standalone device is really practical as a first try. I believe there are regulations in the EU and US, regarding basebands and IMEIs, that the small Chinese companies just ignore. Also, if you are thinking of using off-the-shelf cases then getting decent reception for phone antenna becomes a big problem and using a special strap for it, as some manufacturers do, would not be an option.
As someone who has been wearing a Mimi mi-w3 for the last few months I would never again consider a watch that doesn't have an always on, sunlight readable screen and I suspect that may well be true for many other people. Perhaps you could put together some kind of poll or survey?

Pseud O'Nym said:
I don't think a standalone device is really practical as a first try. I believe there are regulations in the EU and US, regarding basebands and IMEIs, that the small Chinese companies just ignore. Also, if you are thinking of using off-the-shelf cases then getting decent reception for phone antenna becomes a big problem and using a special strap for it, as some manufacturers do, would not be an option.
As someone who has been wearing a Mimi mi-w3 for the last few months I would never again consider a watch that doesn't have an always on, sunlight readable screen and I suspect that may well be true for many other people. Perhaps you could put together some kind of poll or survey?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're 100% right about the W3. It would really be hard to go back to a watch that was unreadable out doors.

chainsol said:
As long as you dont mind MIPS android, you could use the M200, from igenic. They provide Android or linux based sources, and the newton2 dev chip is cheap, $100.
Edit: I forgot to add: 1.2 gHz plus a low power core, along with active voice recognition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ingenic has been at the top of my list for some time for those very reasons.
simple1i said:
Should we build a notifier or a Standalone? Or like the LG Urbane both.
One idea I've been thinking about, would a color screen like the new Pebble Time work with Android? I don't think it would handle video, the battery life would be an advantage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Companion should be first. The display is a preference thing. I don't like E-Ink due to it's low ppi, poor refresh rates and ghosting. A smooth UI will require something else. I still think transflectives are the way to go for a number of reasons, and a black transflective (Sony SW2) is better than silver (inWatch). I still have yet to play with the secondary backlight but will as soon as I figure out what smartwatch to sacrifice to test it.
I saw your post about a case in another thread. The problem with most smartwatch cases is they are not designed to the same standards as a traditional case. There are also far more watch case manufacturers than smartwatch case manufacturers due to smartwatches being completely in-house. That allows for more base variations and most likely lower costs.
Off topic- Latest watch project. Original on the left, finished mod on the right.

Standalone
Remember for standalone: we'd have to go through all of the certifications for connections in the us, and for Android in general, to have google apps, we'd have to pay for inspection: 25 to 75k.

chainsol said:
Remember for standalone: we'd have to go through all of the certifications for connections in the us, and for Android in general, to have google apps, we'd have to pay for inspection: 25 to 75k.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Straight Android = No official certification, ever.
Wear = Google partners only.
Linux = No limitations, but it has to be a truly complete package.

Lokifish Marz said:
Straight Android = No official certification, ever.
Wear = Google partners only.
Linux = No limitations, but it has to be a truly complete package.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha, I misread an article slightly, we'd be using a pretty standard version of Android, with no competition to Google, so you are absolutely right.

Watch size and case design
Case sizing
Something often ignored in the smartwatch world is proper case sizes. It's almost as if they are betting that the recent (past 5-10 years) over sized watch fad continues so they can ignore what is considered proper watch sizing. Speak with any watchmaker or jeweler with a reputation for quality and you will get some very simple rules.
A proper fitting watch should never be wider than your wrist. The strap should also never droop over the wrist. Apparently smartwatch makers never got that 100 year old memo;
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Now there is a simple guide to proper sizing that many in the watch community agree on. It's called the the "Golden Ratio". The golden ratio is probably one of the most common seen ratios seen in the world. Architects, painters, car designers, and even nature uses it.
Now there cannot be a one size fits all of course, but you can get close. First one has to take into account certain commonalities in wrist sizes. The average man's wrist is about 7.5 inches in diameter, and the average woman's wrist is around 6 inches. A 40mm case diameter it puts you in between too large for women with small wrists, and too small for men with larger wrists. Additionally, if you look at the entire Rolex large unisex collection, it averages out to about 40mm. Other quality/luxury brands are also about the same.
At 40mm diameter it puts the near ideal display size at 31-33mm in diameter, or 1.2-1.3in . This allows for a Sports and Diver's model with functional bezel while giving enough leeway for a slightly smaller "dress" watch. Another factor in case design is the case/bezel to crystal ratio.
Bezel to display ratio
Dress/Formal
On most dress/formal watches they have a case/bezel to crystal ratio of about 1:0.937. This means the display diameter is 93% that of the case/bezel diameter. This allows for two things. Larger display or smaller case. Traditionally, dress/formal watches are smaller in size so I suggest a smaller case for this group.
Sports/Diver's
Here that average ratio is 1:0.8, or 80%. This gives a bezel that is not too fat or too thin while retaining enough width for markings.
Display resolution
240x240 and 320x320 are a little short on ppi. 400x400 is slowly coming available which puts a 1.2-1.3in display over the 300ppi mark should a source for such a size be found. This also puts the display at Nexus 4/iPhone 5 level of detail.
Square vs Round
Square smartwatches are often referred to as "not a watch" by the uninitiated. This is of course very far from the truth. Some of the generally agreed upon iconic watches are square. Part of the issue with smartwatches is an attractive square design is difficult. A perfect square is unpleasant to the eye but the wasted space around square displays is equally unpleasant. There is also the issue of orientation of rectangular displays. Most are horizontal which leads to a "fat watch" look. If square displays are to be used then a taper at the top and bottom should be used or a minimalist design. Here's some examples;
Tapered (tapered poses an issue with overall length being too great unless smaller displays are used)
Minimalist (even with lugs this can be a very attractive design)
(This is all based on a ton of research, informed smartwatch users complaints, and traditional watch users complaints, with a dash of personal opinion for flavor.)
EDIT:
Something to investigate. If a more suitable size can be found with a decent capacity or even custom size.

It's easier to go companion and add features than standalone and add companion.

In terms of open-source smartwatch,there is an important development going on here!
Check the github repo, it's almost ready!

First a watch...
So as long as we don't have huge opposition (which is unlikely) it's agreed then, we'll build a companion watch.
But like most 'everyday watch' it needs lots of functions that make it a good watch first, that can also do excellent notifications. My backup & most trusted watch is a Casio Protek, it just works all the time . . . can't really afford a Rolex, which also 'always works' too with greater style & class. But I must say as classless as a Casio may be to some, its like a Toyota, not much to look at, but reliable. No offence to anyone, I have both.
By a good watch, I mean stylish, durable with enough functions that it can be used/worn without a phone, as a time peice, as a sports aid with lots of sensors to make it alive. So in a matter of speaking it needs to be a like a standalone minus the SIM.
Still lots of discussion about the hardware is needed, but we really need to also start a serious and challenging discussion about the software/OS, here's where most smartwatch' fail, however we have a huge pool of talent on XDA. I intentionally haven't posted any announcement on the other (Sony, Samsung, Pebble) forums, because we need to get some general idea for the software first then get others to help develop those ideas, else we'll might be flooded with too many suggestions.
So software?
Web OS, no or no? [emoji51]
Wear is a no & can't
Linux was mentioned...?

Linux for the Ingenic is available and GPL compliance should not be an issue. Would be a foundation and up build which is more difficult, but could be tailored specifically to our needs unlike Android or Wear.
WebOS has a lot of potential and is open source as well but HW specific source may not be available for Ingenic. That requires somebody very familiar with WebOS to work with Ingenic on building it. Again, compliance should not be an issue.
NucleusOS may be an option but not sure if they have an Ingenic build and full GPL compliance may be an issue.
Anybody here familiar with what going on the BSD side of things? I ask because GPLv2 and GPLv3 are not compatible with each other and allows for proprietary code to be withheld. BSD licenses are more a "as long as you give me credit" type setup and is far more open/flexible than GPL.
If I missed anything let me know.

No.1 Watch S3 - New circular Smartwatch by No.1

I recently found a new smartwatch on the NO.1 website which I did not see listed on any shop yet, it's called simply No.1 Watch. It pretty much looks like the No.1 Sun S2 in a more subtle body, but without the heart rate sensor. Additionaly they added a SIM slot and MicroSD slot to it instead. Here's a little overview:
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(Source: http://en.001phone.cn/product-no-1-watch-102.html)
According to a NO.1 employee the watch should be released middle of this month already. Curious if they can hold up to their plans.

The watch is now listed as No.1 T3 in some shops for a price at 60$ for the end of august.

KloNom said:
The watch is now listed as No.1 T3 in some shops for a price at 60$ for the end of august.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This watch case is produced by another Chinese company which is also working for multiple vendors. Looks like they are also producing OEMs products from this ID

Here are some first motion pictures of the watch:

KloNom, whether the size of the display is the same as No1 Sun 2?

Monipeev said:
KloNom, whether the size of the display is the same as No1 Sun 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not know anything for sure, but from the pictures and the video it very much seems like that No.1 is using the same display in the S3 as in the Sun S2.

NO.1 S3 Scratchproof Bluetooth Smart Watch
$63 on pre-order on EverBuying.net
But Bluetooth 3 only?
...and one Gearbest and DealsMachine. But it'll be the same old story ...again.

After seeing that backplate setup, water resistance is out.

Lokifish Marz said:
After seeing that backplate setup, water resistance is out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it not support watch resistance

Seems that S3 change to mt2502 cpu, so it can connect both android and IOS system, that will be great

We have adopted a similar solution, also our Android/Linux watch can connect to Android, iOS and Windows 10. In order to achieve that we had to modify the Bluetooth module so the watch is visible with two different channels, one to act as a Bluetooth headphone and one to act as a Bluetooth device. This is because iOS does not allow any Bluetooth device to connect automatically so some workarounds are required on the hardware profile.

NO.1 S3 MT6260 Capacitive Touch Screen Bluetooth 3.0 Smart Watch Review：

Yes but they are way behind the current technologies. They still have Bluetooth 3.0, what's the point considering that Bluetooth 4.0 has been released a year ago or even more?

I have seen this watch also on an other store, there it is called No.1 T3, but it is the same thing.

By the way, if you are looking for a round smartwatch maybe this one is worth a look:
http://www.gearbest.com/smart-watches/pp_203003.html
It has a heart rate sensor, and infrared remote controller. It is waterproof and quite thin for a smartwatch and costs below 50$. Sadly it has no slots for sim and TF card so it can't be used as standalone device.

raffaeu said:
Yes but they are way behind the current technologies. They still have Bluetooth 3.0, what's the point considering that Bluetooth 4.0 has been released a year ago or even more?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It already become bluetooth 4.0, due to them use mt2502 cpu now, you can check official website, http://en.001phone.cn/product-no-1-watch-102.html change yesterday

Current market trends:
1. There's the Chinese poor quality manufacturers - cheap price and quality. With the Chinese rubbish you know where you stand, you pay less and then after a short time you buy another cheap product and there's no support at all, they copy others people's hard work.
2. The bigger companies (Samsung, Apple, sony.. Etc) that will actually spend more money and time in R&D to intentionally design products so it won't last long, Planned obsolescence (Wikipedia). So that they make more money as a policy. Also massive marketing campaigns that makes you feel yo need the next version, every year. With the large corporations, they very are sneaky by what they say and what they actually do, because it's all about profits.
3. Good quality manufacturers, like some Swiss, very good quality, but expensive.
In these modern era of entrepreneurs, Open Source (3D printers to help with concept designs), online collaboration ...etc there's a middle way, that's the route we should hold on too. The dreamers with a vision, with a lot of hard work. OXY smartwatch seems like those dreamers with potential, there's others too, I wish them all success, as all seem to want to build a genuine solid product, but finance is always an issue, but its doable.
It's tempting to buy the cheapest stuff because it fulfills a short goal to have a nice looking watch that will impress for a while, there will always be a market for these cheap products and for the uninformed that want the 'latest iProducts' who will overpay as long as they have the latest famous brands.
As ethical humans I think it's important not to support the unethical companies mentioned above and give the entrepreneurial who are taking massive (calculated) risks with their wealth, time/life our full support as long as they hold true to the ethical values. ... So nice to have a watch that just works, one that I can pass down to my kids if only for sentimental reasons.

simple1i said:
Current market trends:
1. There's the Chinese poor quality manufacturers - cheap price and quality. With the Chinese rubbish you know where you stand, you pay less and then after a short time you buy another cheap product and there's no support at all, they copy others people's hard work.
2. The bigger companies (Samsung, Apple, sony.. Etc) that will actually spend more money and time in R&D to intentionally design products so it won't last long, Planned obsolescence (Wikipedia). So that they make more money as a policy. Also massive marketing campaigns that makes you feel yo need the next version, every year. With the large corporations, they very are sneaky by what they say and what they actually do, because it's all about profits.
3. Good quality manufacturers, like some Swiss, very good quality, but expensive.
In these modern era of entrepreneurs, Open Source (3D printers to help with concept designs), online collaboration ...etc there's a middle way, that's the route we should hold on too. The dreamers with a vision, with a lot of hard work. OXY smartwatch seems like those dreamers with potential, there's others too, I wish them all success, as all seem to want to build a genuine solid product, but finance is always an issue, but its doable.
It's tempting to buy the cheapest stuff because it fulfills a short goal to have a nice looking watch that will impress for a while, there will always be a market for these cheap products and for the uninformed that want the 'latest iProducts' who will overpay as long as they have the latest famous brands.
As ethical humans I think it's important not to support the unethical companies mentioned above and give the entrepreneurial who are taking massive (calculated) risks with their wealth, time/life our full support as long as they hold true to the ethical values. ... So nice to have a watch that just works, one that I can pass down to my kids if only for sentimental reasons.
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Hello!
Of course I get your point and I truly respect your 'buy quality or nothing'-opinion.
I think this thread is made by (and meant for) users who can not (or want not) spend 300$ or more for an original Samsung/Apple smartwatch. We know of course, that we don't get everlasting high quality products, but anyway we also like to have nice gadets and we can get happy with the cheaper stuff, too. Some of the chinese products also have functions and abilities that the original and expensive devices don't have, like slots for SIM or TF cards or full android system sometimes.
Talking about technology: smartphones, tablets or smartwatches are replaced after a few years by most users, because they simply want something new or better, although their old devices still work. We don't even wait for the 'planned obsolescence'. I think my kids will not be overwhelming happy, if I pass them my old Galaxy S3 smartphone or my old not-flatscreen-TV from the 90s in about 10 or 15 years :laugh:
But again, I know what you mean and I respect your point. It is just economic and responsible long-range-thinking against trends and wishes for something smart and new.

Being entrepreneur in the field of IT hardware nowadays can be easy, that's true, but it is also an high risk and investment. We started with a Nordic Semiconductor PCB more than 1 year ago and we end up with the PCB of Ingenic Newton2 after 12 months of R&D which drained my personal investment, and I have a wife and a baby boy. Of course with 3D printing you can achieve a barely acceptable prototype and we have one like that but do you have any idea of how complex it can be from there to achieve a full watch case in Stainless Steel including an OS like Android? It take times, resources, communications and a lot of passion and perseverance. If one of these factors lack, your project will die within few weeks. Trust me.
Plus hardware is manufactured only in Shenzhen and Taiwan, that's it, and trust you have to fly there, meet people, speak, give them a try and that takes really a lot of time. For me almost 5 months.
Many times I decided to quit, to give up cause no VC is interested in an Open Source platform and no VC is interested in selling a Smartwatch for 200$ when the production cost is over 50$. But for us, our margin is more than enough to keep running our company and our vision and of course pay out the bills and the salaries.
The dream is to simply give an open platform. Buy our product (Smartwatch, Smartphone or Tablet), which run an open source version of Android. Download the source code if you want or simply download the free apps available on the market. That's it. That's what should be technology in my own opinion . We saw the Ingenic Open Platform and we are one of the first manufacturers in adopting it and I personally believe that is a good platform that can easily compete with WEAR or Tizen.
We also want to deliver quality. Our Round Display amoled costs us 40$ per piece, so as you can imagine we are not giving to customers cheap crappy chinese hardware that last 2 months. I am wearing OXY Square for more than a month now and every day I am more impressed about durability and battery life. But of course we still have so much to do before sitting down and watching our e-commerce getting orders
Of course we will run a Crowdfund in November, but not because we are not ready for mass production but because we need cash. To produce 20,000 pieces Ingenic wants cash and the best way to find 20,000 buyers within 30 days is to launch your Smartwatch on IndieGogo or Kickstarter. It's risky, because the exposure can be massive, but this is what we want. We have a system which is now stable, we have an SDK, two manufacturers and a marketing campaign. If we will succeed I don't know but we are doing our best to break the massive market of fidelity and show to the world that a quality product can be released and does not have to cost a fortune.
If OXY Watch will be a success, next year we will release OXY Phone, a quad-core phone 4G enabled for a very competitive price.
As I said before, I have a mission and hopefully I will find people passionate like me that want to join my train and ride it with me.

meh...
...this is called 'viral marketing' I suppose...
Why don't you OXY-guys make your own thread? Give specs of your watch there and put a price tag on it and then see who cares. Maybe you can tell some fantasy stories there about your struggle and fight against the evil chinese companies and your sacrifice of women and children just to built a smartwatch.
My opinion.

NO.1 D6 Android 5.1 Rectangular Display

I received today some photos of a new smartwach.
The well know chinese maker NO.1 is releasing a new smartwatch called NO.1 D6.
It will run Android 5.1, has a rectangular display and a leather strap.
I also think NO.1 will have some IP certification on this new model, but i can´t confirm nothing yet.
I still dont know much about it yet, but i couldn´t resist to show you some photos of this new device.
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Great watch

MOD EDIT: Removal of personal promotional material
NO1. D6 is coming with a full version of Android 5.1 Lollipop wich allow you to install virtually any application available on the Play Store, or at least those that can be used on a small screen.
MOD EDIT: Removal of personal promotional material
NO.1 D6 has a rectangular display with a good resolution, 320 x 320 pixels and features the three capacitive keys that we find on many smartphones. Inside the smartwatch we find an impressive technical equipment for one device of this type.
MOD EDIT: Removal of personal promotional material
NO.1 also ran an Antutu test on this new D6 and this device got a very good result: 18610.
They also released a video where they test all functions of this smartwatch:
Here is the full specifications table of the smartwatch NO.1 D6:
Model NO.1 D6
Product modeling Android Smartwatch
System Android 5.1
Cpu MTK6580
Screen Resolution 1.63 inch 320 * 320
RAM 1GB
ROM 8GB
Wifi Support
Google Play Support
Features
Make calls Support
See text messages Support
Contacts Support
Heart Rate Support
Pedometer Support
Bluetooth BT2.1 + BLE4.0
Browser Support
Barometer Support
Voice Search Support
Alarm Support
Weather Support
Health Data Synchronization Support
Change Clock Face Support
Instill App Support
Hardware
Speaker Support
Memory card Support TF Card 32GB MAX
Battery capacity 450mAH
Vibration motor Support
Antenna Support
Side buttons Support
Chargers Support
USB Support
G-SENSOR Support
sources:
MOD EDIT: Removal of personal service link
http://en.001phone.cn/product-no-1-d6-smart-watch-122.html

Just ordered this one as presale for 88€ including delivery to EU. Looks very promising. Not clear if HR monitor works all the time or on demand?

MOD EDIT: Removal of personal promotional material
According to NO.1, their new smartwatch NO.1 D6 will be at HALF PRICE during 6 and 7 of June.
MOD EDIT: Removal of personal promotional material
Of course this type of activity has some limittions and this one has the limit of 110 units.
So if you are interested in smartwatch NO.1 D6 just visit one of the stores of this list and get yours.
http://en.001phone.cn/product-no-1-d6-smart-watch-122.html
My source also told me that this smartwatch running Android 5.1 will be upgraded to run Android 6.0.

Here You can order extra charger for No1 D6
hxxp://www.buyswonder.com/no-1-d6-android-smart-watch-charger-sale-online.html

blogmaster2003 said:
MOD EDIT: Removal of personal promotional material
According to NO.1, their new smartwatch NO.1 D6 will be at HALF PRICE during 6 and 7 of June.
MOD EDIT: Removal of personal promotional material
Of course this type of activity has some limittions and this one has the limit of 110 units.
So if you are interested in smartwatch NO.1 D6 just visit one of the stores of this list and get yours.
http://en.001phone.cn/product-no-1-d6-smart-watch-122.html
My source also told me that this smartwatch running Android 5.1 will be upgraded to run Android 6.0.
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The deal looks great, 50% off, however, the sites where you can buy all have a less than stellar reputation. I am concerned that they will let you complete the sale even when stock is gone and you will be waiting forever with your money tied up and no watch for days. It seems to be a normal practice among these sites.

THREAD CLEANED - Please REFRAIN from using XDA Forums to promote personal services. XDA RULES (Rule 11)

jaxplanner1989 said:
The deal looks great, 50% off, however, the sites where you can buy all have a less than stellar reputation. I am concerned that they will let you complete the sale even when stock is gone and you will be waiting forever with your money tied up and no watch for days. It seems to be a normal practice among these sites.
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yeah when i saw where i can buy i've decided to pass.

blogmaster2003 said:
According to NO.1, their new smartwatch NO.1 D6 will be at HALF PRICE during 6 and 7 of June.
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Click to collapse
Interesting does that mean, that sales will start at 00:00 Bejing time?

nixuspix said:
Interesting does that mean, that sales will start at 00:00 Bejing time?
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Who knows when this "sale", and I use the term loosely since it doesn't appear to exist, is supposed to start. I was there at 00:00 Beijing time and it never happened. I even ask a representative at Gearbest whether it started at Beijing time and she said yes. I checked alternate sites, no sale price. I think this is just a marketing ploy to hype the product.

jaxplanner1989 said:
Who knows when this "sale", and I use the term loosely since it doesn't appear to exist, is supposed to start. I was there at 00:00 Beijing time and it never happened. I even ask a representative at Gearbest whether it started at Beijing time and she said yes. I checked alternate sites, no sale price. I think this is just a marketing ploy to hype the product.
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Tried snagging one on Gear Best for half price. There were only 15 at this price today. I got in and got the half price, then their site glitched and bombed out on the check out. When I went back to checkout, the coupon code was gone and when I re-entered, they were already used up.

I know what you mean, when I tried to reload the site, I got an even higher price than before something like $112

Splen said:
I know what you mean, when I tried to reload the site, I got an even higher price than before something like $112
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Not to mention I had to wake up at 4:00 am my time to get in on the deal. Such a mockery of a sham....

i am very disappointed with this attitude as well

those site i'll never buy from them even if they have good prices of all i've read in many thread about them.

NO.1 S6 Smart Watch?
WTF? NO.1 S6 Smart Watch
en.001phone.cn product-no-1-s6-smart-watch-123.html
Those balls only in profile...

pjweber said:
WTF? NO.1 S6 Smart Watch
en.001phone.cn product-no-1-s6-smart-watch-123.html
Those balls only in profile...
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it seems that watch does'nt have 3g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nejpkb_CaS8
who ever does'nt mind buying from Gearbest it seems it gives you a coupon for half price.

soniasophie9697 said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nejpkb_CaS8
who ever does'nt mind buying from Gearbest it seems it gives you a coupon for half price.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, but only to the first 15 people who use it. Tiny Deal had 100 units for $6.95 on a seckill. However, their site was so glitchy and it kept giving bad gateway errors I gave up. I think this half price sale is more gimmick than reality. After getting up at 4:00 am two nights in a row to try to get one at half price, I have given up. The sites are too unstable to handle the load of attempts. It is just too frustrating and unreliable to be the real deal. More hype than help.