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Need help finding a smartwatch! (All help/suggestions welcome!)

Hi guys,
I've recently received my Galaxy S5 and I'm currently looking for a smartwatch to act as a compagnon.
First of all, I am not looking for a smartwatch that acts as "second" phone (stand-alone-phone), I'd like to connect my smartphone to the watch and keep it on the same line, if you know what I mean.
If it happens to be the best smartwatch that does have a simslot, I wouldn't mind, as long as it doesn't have disadvantages.
Now I have the following question: I am looking for a smart watch that offers as much functionality as possible for the lowest price, but with a good price-quality ratio.
I've seen the Following smart watches:
IKWEAR IK8
ZGPAX S5 & S6
K2 W100 (Samsung Gear imitation)
Sony SmartWatch 2
After reading and watching a lot of reviews, I have become increasingly uncertain about my choice. As one reviewer hates the watch, the other has something good to say.
To give you a good impression of what I'll expect of the smartwatch:
Prize: very important. I am willing to pay €125 max. ($160 - £100)
[*]Bluetooth: very important. Since I want to connect my SW to my smartphone.
[*]Quality: important. I do not prefer that the SW will fall apart after some days of usage.
[*]Functionality: important. A device that works well does have my preference. E.g. the touchscreen that works well etc.
[*]GPS: preferred. As I would like to use this watch as my navigator from time to time.
[*]Microphone & speakers: convenient. Handy to have for calls, listening to music, watching videos, etc.
[*](Google) PlayStore: convenient. This would be a good thing to have, but I can root afterall.
[*]Camera: optional. If I can buy a smartwatch doesn't have a camera, but seems to be the best overall, I don't mind not having a camera build in.
[*]Sim Lock & mobile network functionality: not important. Since I want a smartwatch that I will not use as a "second" phone, I do not see this as a necessity.
I might have forgotten to include the other features.
I hope I gave you an impression of what I'm looking for. If you have anymore questions, please let me know!
I wanted to thank you by taking time and reading this!
Cheers,
Jay.

I am in the same shoes, went with K2 W100

First off, your requirements constitute a full fledged sim based SmartWatch. Your not going to get GPS, cams and G-play in most companions.... Unless your comfortable with rooting/flashing ROMs.
After owning, using, testing and writing reviews for the Pebble, Gear, Gear 2, SW1, SW2, Z-Watch, Omate TS, Neptune Pine, and Meta I've seen the best and worst these have to offer.
Overall, each watch has their pluses and minuses. However, one thing sticks out among the myriad of watches I've had... The Samsung devices work best inside their own ecosystem (of course).
From your requirements above, i would go with a Gear. Lately, I've been seeing those go for ~$100-125 on eBay barely used and in like new condition. Since you have an S5, these will be the most headache-free choices
Not sure if you're going to miss things like the GPS and camera... Hard to get and work with these features on a watch.

I agree with the others, go the the Gear Clone or even the Sony SW2 (assuming it works with your Galaxy S5).
The Omate Clones would give you lots of features too, but slightly less battery life and maybe more bugs, the the Z15 comes with Play store, but not sure about the notifications app.

Alright guys, thanks for the replies.
I just got an offer to buy the Gear 2 (used) for only €150. (which is more than my limit, I know)
But I've decided to pick it up this eve. Any reasons not to?
Jay.

Some thoughts about round smartwatches

Hello!
1. Why nobody says that round smart watches -lack the ability to show everything that needed on the round screen.
2. there is a problem of showing whatsapp notifications?
3. A way to integrate between the smart watch heart rate sensor and sport tracker apps?
With such problems-there is a question about buying such watches.
Waiting for your opinions.
Thank

alfi07 said:
Hello!
1. Why nobody says that round smart watches -lack the ability to show everything that needed on the round screen.
2. there is a problem of showing whatsapp notifications?
3. A way to integrate between the smart watch heart rate sensor and sport tracker apps?
With such problems-there is a question about buying such watches.
Waiting for your opinions.
Thank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see your points. I prefer the round design because it more like the traditional watches I wear. Also, there are so many great custom watch faces that look awesome and I don't see as many square faces that are as great. While you can put a round watchface on a square watch, to me it just doesn't look right. As to apps, there has been some great work done on making apps work for the round face. I know there are some problems with some, but I don't find it too bad. The two things that cause me pause with smartwatches in general is: 1) the lack of 3G US bands (1900) and 2) if you have an iPhone like me, there is still a lack of connectivity versus an Android phone. I know that has a lot to do with Apple locking down their operating system and not giving true access because they want you to buy an Apple watch. But knowing this does not change the fact that since I have an iPhone, my connectivity issues or just simple lack of connectivity, it going to make the smartwatch experience less than stellar.

Watch geek, new to smartwatches -HALP!

Loved watches all my life, and want a smartwatch so I can flip through all the different faces. That's all I'm interested in...for now. So, some questions that'll seem dumb to most of you:
1. I want faces like Rolex, Breitling, Omega, etc., so that means a round smartwatch.
2. My phone is an LG V10 running Android 6.0 and stock Verizon ROM.
3. What's the difference between cheap Bluetooth watches in the $50 range on eBay, and a smartwatch? (Or are they the same thing?)
4. Programs in the Google Play store like Watch Faces for Android and Watchmaker seem pretty attractive to me in that they simplify things for guys like me. (I've found a lot of the luxury watch faces I want already in the WF for Android catalog, and installed them on the widget on my phone).
I'm on the fence as to whether I get a black watch or stainless, (so, knowing me, I'll prolly get two!) :laugh: And remember, I'm buying for the sole, express purpose of having numerous choices in watch faces. All the other gadgetry in a smartwatch is, to me, meh. Maybe I'll use it, maybe I'll grow into it, I really don't know.
Help me find a watch that suits me, please?
Thanks, folks!
Donny

Ok, let me put it another way. Which chipset or operating system, (besides Android Wear, which is too expensive), is easiest to add custom watch faces?

sixbennetts said:
Ok, let me put it another way. Which chipset or operating system, (besides Android Wear, which is too expensive), is easiest to add custom watch faces?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By considering only ease of installation and the availability of custom watchfaces, the best choice is on the following "full Android" round smartwatches:
- No.1 D5 or his twin Finow X1
- K9 or Finow X3
- Finow X5
They all share the same watchface engine, easy to use and with an already big number of custom watchfaces available.
You can get an idea by looking at this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/sma...es/clockskin-extracted-1-d5-firmware-t3295297
Or even better, following this G+ community:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/109827242607524552712

if you can buy the D5 the x5 the k9 the i2 the z9 the s99 i would if i could i love watches as you if not more

cyrux75 said:
By considering only ease of installation and the availability of custom watchfaces, the best choice is on the following "full Android" round smartwatches:
- No.1 D5 or his twin Finow X1
- K9 or Finow X3
- Finow X5
They all share the same watchface engine, easy to use and with an already big number of custom watchfaces available.
You can get an idea by looking at this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/sma...es/clockskin-extracted-1-d5-firmware-t3295297
Or even better, following this G+ community:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/109827242607524552712
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This helps immensely, Cyrux. Thanks! Now, when you say they're full Android, you don't mean Android Wear, right? And can you just roughly describe the process, please? Is it like other devices, (phones, tablets, etc), where it's as simple connecting to a PC and drag/dropping files?
Once I've chosen a watch and have it home, I'll obviously do my due diligence and read, read, read! I promise.
And thanks again.

sixbennetts said:
This helps immensely, Cyrux. Thanks! Now, when you say they're full Android, you don't mean Android Wear, right? And can you just roughly describe the process, please? Is it like other devices, (phones, tablets, etc), where it's as simple connecting to a PC and drag/dropping files?
Once I've chosen a watch and have it home, I'll obviously do my due diligence and read, read, read! I promise.
And thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These smartwatches are like wrist smartphone, with an user interface optimized for their mini display and you can do almost everything you can do with an Android smartphone.

Best tethering SmartWatch (any price). (chinese manufacturers)

Hi, as the title says, which do you consider to be the best tethering smartwatch on the market today?
I recon there is no full android, tethering smartwatch yet, please correct me if I'm wrong.
Could you please also let me (us) know what seems to be the best brands of tethering smartwatches? The most reliable ones, the ones that the product doesn't break down after a few weeks
Also, I'm asking for chinese manufacturers. None of those Moto, Samsung, Huawey etc...(even if some of those might be chinese), you know what I mean I'm asking for tethering watches that you may find on gearbest, for example.
Thanks! :good:

I think they are all really about the same. They're are a few minor differences in software but overall, the few I've tried are about the same. First one I ever bought was the GV18. The screen resolution was wanting but then again it was just a $20 watch and I feel like that's what you really gotta keep in mind when you buy these. I will say watches do what they say they will and they are fun little gadgets but your not getting support or an app store and only recently have I started seeing developers create watch faces for these, considering you buy a watch that uses VXP clock faces. If you want high performance and an app store I would even steer clear of the Chinese Android OS watches. The concept is appealing having full Android in a watch but battery life is terrible unless you turn everything off like Bluetooth, WiFi, screen brightness should be in low, etc. The cheap tethering watches have good battery life and you get all your notifications but your sacrificing the fancy app store and definitely don't count on the watches from China being even water resistant. All in all, they're cheap so if you break it or it stops working you're not out much and I think that's really the selling point to these Chinese tethering watches.

Smartwatch recommendation

Hi everyone,
Nowadays I am looking for a new smartwatch, because I have an Amazit Pace from 5 years ago and it's starting to have some problems. I am basically looking for a smartwatch with GPS and connection with Strava, that allows you to stock your music in order to go running without mobile phone, that allows you to see phone calls and notifications (it is not necessary to answer them) and with a decent battery (I don't want to be charging the watch every 2-3 days). My budget is around 150-200€, and at the moment I have found the following options:
-Amazfit GTR 2: It's my favourite at the moment. It has everything I want and I like the design very much. The only inconvenient is that I've read that the GPS is not very precise. If it weren't for that, it would be my definitive option.
-Huawei GT 2: I like this watch very much as my first alternative, but it doesn't have connection with Strava so discarded.
-Samsung Galaxy Watch: Maybe a little more expensive (and a little bigger for me) but it has everything I want adding some little thing like the capacity of paying with the watch. The main problem I've seen is that its battery is quite short (2-3 days at the very long) and I don't like that.
-Samsung Galaxy Active 2: Exactly the same that with the Galaxy Watch.
¿Do you have some extra recommendations or opinions of these smartwatches? Thank you very much!!
PD: Sorry for my english, i'm Spanish so it's no my main language

Hi, here's a similar thread discussion that may assist you with your research.
What smart watch to buy?
I never bought a smart watch in the past but am interested in doing so now. What's the best bang-for-the-buck smart watch I can buy? I use a Samsung Galaxy Android phone so I'm guessing an Apple Watch is off the list. I would prefer one that has...
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