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  #1240366 16-Feb-2015 20:26
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Yep, got Mini Launcher - it is much better for jumping around into different apps. Plus the settings page is quite useful for putting your phone into silent mode etc. Was using the Yatse app just before to control my Crowd Goes Wild viewing. Really cool to have a remote control on your wrist!



Blanch
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  #1240399 16-Feb-2015 20:54
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SumnerBoy: Yep, got Mini Launcher - it is much better for jumping around into different apps. Plus the settings page is quite useful for putting your phone into silent mode etc. Was using the Yatse app just before to control my Crowd Goes Wild viewing. Really cool to have a remote control on your wrist!


Yep, also using the Yatse app and find it great, watch maker is also fun.

SpookyAwol

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  #1240411 16-Feb-2015 21:04
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With watchmaker, I dont see a lot of digital faces - it seems most go for analogue. It is easy to make, just harder to be creative :)




Blanch
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  #1240429 16-Feb-2015 21:31
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SpookyAwol: With watchmaker, I dont see a lot of digital faces - it seems most go for analogue. It is easy to make, just harder to be creative :)



Did you checkout facerepo.com

  #1240470 16-Feb-2015 22:17
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I can see me using the reminders on this thing a lot. So easy to add a new one, and the voice recognition for Google Now is very impressive.

Hopefully Tasker support gets better, having to say 'Start task 1' to open the garage door isn't quite as impressive as it should be for those watching ;).

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  #1240475 16-Feb-2015 22:30
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Most of the posts so far apply to all android wear watches. People with the moto 360, the gear live, the g watch and the smartwatch 3 will benefit from recommendations for apps.

Others I have downloaded ( besides those mentioned previously) are Tasker Now, wearable widgets, wear volume, wear calendar.
Wearable widgets is like an offshoot of Zooper widgets but is a huge battery hog.
Wear Tasker I use all the time to set my phone and watch to different modes depending on location.
Tasker Now I've had on both watches but am yet to get round to expending with it.

Updating to Android 5W had a positive effect on battery life. I was regularly getting close to 3 days from my SW3 so I will be disappointed if I can't get at least 2 days from my GWR. It is supposed to have the largest battery of all the gear watches and the amoled display should just sip power with a dark face selected. We shall see. My son already is making noise about getting the watch that falls out of favour with me.




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  #1240522 17-Feb-2015 07:59
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LG have just revealed a fashion version of the GWR called the 'Urbane'. Same innards, just a shiny metal exterior without the timing bezel. I thought the GWR may have been discounted to make way for the rumored GWR2.




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  #1240523 17-Feb-2015 08:02
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Dingbatt: LG have just revealed a fashion version of the GWR called the 'Urbane'. Same innards, just a shiny metal exterior without the timing bezel. I thought the GWR may have been discounted to make way for the rumored GWR2.


So which one do you find better? I am leaning towards the sony at the moment.  The screen is better on the LG R but it does not seem as fast as the sony, plus the band on the sony is a lot better.

I would think that LG did a rebate deal with WHS to sell them at the $130 price level.






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  #1240535 17-Feb-2015 08:41
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How do you find the android wear app? I found it buggy on note3 + pebble.

I have sold my pebble and replaced it with galaxy neo. I am surprised how good it is at syncing.

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  #1240546 17-Feb-2015 08:47
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mrtoken:
Dingbatt: LG have just revealed a fashion version of the GWR called the 'Urbane'. Same innards, just a shiny metal exterior without the timing bezel. I thought the GWR may have been discounted to make way for the rumored GWR2.


So which one do you find better? I am leaning towards the sony at the moment.  The screen is better on the LG R but it does not seem as fast as the sony, plus the band on the sony is a lot better.

I would think that LG did a rebate deal with WHS to sell them at the $130 price level.







I've only had the GWR for a day, whereas I've been using the SW3 daily since December.
The GWR looks more like a watch and therefore suits the myriad of custom watch faces available. However due to power consumption and burn in concerns what is shown on the ambient display is necessarily minimal. I am considering setting up a Tasker profile to change the watch face periodically to help prevent burn in, although I have 4 profiles (home, work, out and car) that, amongst other things, change the face throughout the day anyway. I have been looking for a face that does what the inbuilt 'World Clock' face does by correctly displaying UTC and other time zones but with extra bits. Access to the time variable for use in Watchmaker would be great as the one in WM currently doesn't do the offsets very well. Additionally, after a notification the face returns and asks if you want to edit a city. However, I digress.

The SW3 has a more comfortable strap ( but it is proprietary). There is no word if the, just released, metal strap version is available for retrofit to existing SW3s. Even if it is, I imagine it will be about $100. Contrast that with being able to get a metal strap for about $30 for the GWR. The SW3 appears slimmer on your wrist but is definitely more a wrist borne computer display than a fashion statement. The trans reflective display is definitely less vibrant in active mode but performs better in sunlight, particularly with sunglasses on, than the p-amoled does. Even with sunlight mode selected. Balancing that the SW3 is unreadable in ambient mode without some sort of ambient light source so it has to be activated to read in the dark. I pretty much gave up trying to make the face on the SW3 look like a watch and went for utility and readability, particularly without having to don reading glasses.

Have to go to work. More thoughts later.




“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996


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  #1240556 17-Feb-2015 09:10
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Bugger- shame I missed this deal as I would have loved to replace my Gear 1




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  #1240688 17-Feb-2015 11:18
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I wonder if an anyone around here bought more than 1 unit and willing to onsell for a small profit of course??




GZMCC. Lenovo Yoga C640. 8 gb Ram and 256Gb SSD, Cam Am Spyder 2016 F3 LTD.  GoPro 5 Black, Samsung S22 Ultra, Huawei Watch D. Samsung S6 Lite Tablet, Amateur Radio Callsign ZL1CJH


markl
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  #1240704 17-Feb-2015 11:37
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psychrn: I wonder if an anyone around here bought more than 1 unit and willing to onsell for a small profit of course??


Haha I asked the same thing over on the "Friday 13th" thread....got nothing but a stone, cold silence lol

Trademe is your best bet, and to be fair, they're going really cheaply over there...or at least, well below regular retail price...there's one with a buynow of $275, and many (most?) seem to be sitting around the $250 mark bid-wise...

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  #1240830 17-Feb-2015 13:34
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To continue what I started earlier.
The heart monitor on the GWR is kinda cool but since I'm not the exercise bunny type it is no more than a curiosity. I would have liked it to have the NFC capability like the SW3. The SW3 also has Wi-Fi, GPS and stand alone music storage onboard, but none of these are particularly well utilized by apps at the moment.
I like the magnetic charging puck of the GWR because it is easy to use but its not that portable. The micro USB port in the back of the SW3 makes it awkward to charge but has the bonus of only needing the same charger as my phone. A second charger for the GWR is a distinct possibility.
Since I paid $300 for the SW3 I think I would be quite disappointed by the GWR if I had paid the RRP of $480. However I can't grumble because the WHS deal was outstanding. For what it can do I believe the GWR should retail for around $300-350 not nearly $500.

As for Android Wear, I don't believe it is quite there yet. Just little things like notifications that don't quite fit on a circular screen , the intrusion of Google Now and the inability to have resident widgets (one of android's strengths). In fact I see there are moves from the likes of HTC and ASUS to produce their own watch OS to provide better battery life, but also I believe to make their wearables compatible with iOS as well as android.




“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996


reven
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  #1240832 17-Feb-2015 13:36
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went for a run today, tried to start run keeper, the counter wouldnt start, I figured it must be thinking or something.  but no, run keeper needs your phone to be with you.  so lame, trying to find a app that just uses the pedometer in the watch (I dont need it to be super accurate, used a fitbit force before).

and google fit, thinks I ran 17km in 27mins :D

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