smartwatch News - Page 10 of 13 - CNX Software

December 17, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

How to Upgrade SMA-Q Smartwatch Firmware

I’ve started testing SMA-Q smartwatch, and so far I’ve had lots of issues with Bluetooth connectivity. The watch can rarely pair with my Android smartphone, and I was unable to enable features like Anti-lost and Sedendary alerts as the app would always report there was no connection. The company has sent me instructions to upgrade the firmware, and it seems to have improved things a little. So first you need to install SMA Services app by scanning the QR code on the user’s manual, or download the apk by following this link. Once this is done you can register, or skip registration. Now go to Setting, and select Connect watch. You should see a circle as on the left side above reading Searching watch, then Bluetooth Connecting, before seeing a message the connection was successful. You’ll probably them want to tap on Upgrade app, before tapping on Firmware upgrade (local […]

December 16, 2015December 18, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

SMA-Q e-Paper Smartwatch Unboxing and Details

When I first discovered SMA-Q smartwatch, I really found it interesting with its always-on color e-Paper display, Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, heart rate monitor, and promise of 30-day battery life (standby) for just $56. GearBest send me one sample so that I can have a close look at this interesting smartwatch and fitness tracker. I’ll start by unboxing the watch, and checkout some details that were unclear in the specifications. I received it in a retail package that calls it SMA WATCH-Q instead of SMA-Q watch with a link to the official website. On one side we’ll get the specifications, all in Chinese, but even if you can read, it’s clear the watch supports Bluetooth 4.0 and Android 4.4+ IOS7.0+ as announced in the specs, and we also learned a 150mAh battery is included, and it’s compliant with IP65 ingrees protectin ratings meaning it’s “protected from total dust ingress and low […]

December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Omate Rise is a $199 3G and WiFi Smartwatch Powered by Mediatek MT2601 SoC (Crowdfunding)

Most smartwatches sold on the western markets are designed to be smartphone’s companions, and only come with Bluetooth LE connectivity, while we’ve seen many smartwatches (aka watchphones) with SIM card slot originating from China in the past, including the lower end No.1 D3 smartwatch which I reviewed recently. But this may be changing, as Omate is going to launch a new smartwatch called Omate Rise that will include 3G connectivity via a micro SIM card slot, as well as WiFi, Bluetooth Smart, and GPS. Omate Rise specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT2601 dual core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.2GHz with ARM Mali-400 MP GPU System Memory – 512MB RAM Storage – 4GB flash Display – 1.3″ round muti-touch color display with 360×360 resolution (Innolux) Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.1 LE (A2DP profile), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS Cellular Connectivity – 3.5G HSDPA (2100/1900 MHz), GPRS / EDGE /GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz); micro SIM card […]

December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Thunderboard Wear is a $75 Smartwatch Development Board by Silicon Labs

A few days ago I watched an ARMDevices.net’s video about an ARM’s smartwatch reference design running mbed OS 3.0, powered by a Silicon Labs EFM32 Giant Gecko Cortex M3 MCU, and promising up to 2 months battery life on a 160 mAh battery. While I could not find the full details about the reference design, I noticed Silicon Labs also launched a development board called Thunderboard Wear, based on the same platform, just quite bigger, and still wearable… (Sort of) Thunderboard Wear specifications: MCU – Silicon Labs EFM32GG995F1024 ARM Cortex-M3 MCU up to 48 MHz with 128 kB RAM,1 MB Flash External Memory – 256 kB external SRAM External Storage – micro SD card slot Display – 128×128 pixel Memory LCD from Sharp Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.1 smart module (Silicon Labs BGM111), upgradeable to Bluetooth 4.2 Sensors Ambient Light Sensing (ALS) and Proximity/Gesture via Silicon Labs Si1141. Optical hear-rate monitoring […]

November 24, 2015November 25, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

No.1 D3 Smartwatch (Mediatek MT6261) Review

Since I’ve listed the specs and torn down No.1 D3 smartwatch, I’ve spent several days wearing the smartwatch / watchphone, and trying most of its features, so it’s time for a review. I’ll go through all screens of the user interface, include a video review, before providing a conclusion to this review Charging the watch take between 15 to 30 minutes, and you can turn it on by pressing the only button on the side of the watch for a few seconds. The first menu you are likely to see if the one with the phone functions including the Dialer, messaging, phonebook and call logs. You can use these in two ways: with a micro SIM card inserted into the watch, or/and via your smartphone connected over Bluetooth. I mostly used the watch connected to my smartphone, but both methods worked for me. When you receive a call, it’s not […]

November 19, 2015November 20, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

NO.1 D3 Smartwatch Specs, Unboxing and Teardown

There are now many wearables, including fitness bands and smartwatches, on the market, but to me many fail on battery life, visibility, and price. The one that would match my requirements the best would be SMA-Q smartwatch, but in the meantime, I’m also interested in testing some more wearables at different price points. Tinydeal sent me NO.1 D3 smartwatch that sells for just $22.99 shipped. I’ll go first through the specifications, before checking of the watch more closely, and in a few days writing a review of the device. NO.1 D3 Smartwatch Specifications You should not expect much for this price, but the watch is surprisingly feature-packed (as taken from tinydeal website): SoC – Mediatek MT6261 processor with 32Mbit RAM, 32Mbit Flash Storage – Internal micro SD slot up to 16GB Display – 1.22″ capacitive touchscreen IPS display with 128×128 resolution Connectivity – Bluetooth 3.0 Cellular – 1x micro SIM […]

October 22, 2015December 3, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

SMA-Q Bluetooth Smartwatch Features a Color E-Paper Display, an Heart Rate Monitor… for $56 and Up

My Vidonn X5 activity tracker died on me a few weeks ago about over a year of service. While it was useful to keep me active thanks to its “steps” counter, I realized I was not a big fan of OLED displays as they aren’t turned on all the time in order to save power, and are hard to read when there’s a strong sunlight, the battery did not last that long (about 2 days), and using motion sensors to evaluate activity is not that accurate. So I’m interested in wearables with always-on displays, readable in sunlight, that don’t suck too much battery (e.g one charge per week), and with a strapless heart rate monitor. The first three are normally only achievable with E-Ink or E-Paper displays and the latter have become much more common thanks to electro-optical heart rate monitors. I’m also a budget conscious guy, so I’d like […]

October 21, 2015December 2, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Bluboo Xwatch is an Android Wear Smartwatch Powered by Mediatek MT2601 SoC

So far, we’ve only seen Android Wear devices by large companies such as Motorola, LG, or Huawei, simply because you have to sign an agreement with Google in order to be allowed to load Android Wear on your device. Last year, a startup launched their own “Android Wear” watch on Indiegogo, but when Google found out the campaign got pull out since it was not going to happen. But the situation may have changed since then, as I’ve been contacted by Bluboo, which should be brand from Shenzhen Huihua Exploit Technology Co., Ltd, about their upcoming Bluboo Xwatch sports smartwatch running Android Wear, and the company confirmed they were “working with a third-party company to help them get this agreement”. I’m guessing/hoping the third party company might be Mediatek themselves. Bluboo Xwatch preliminary specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT2601 dual core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.2GHz with ARM Mali-400 MP GPU […]