This watch is old hat these days. It has been out for quite awhile and has been superseded by later models with more features, which is why it doesn't cost much. But I think these guys are on the right track. What we have here is a watch, an actual watch, with hands, that simply has a few sensible features added. This isn't wrist-size phone with some tiny screen that you can watch movies on.
As a watch, it's nothing special. It's not particularly exciting to look at, nor especially rugged, and it's not made of exotic materials. It's fine. Just a watch... It has a black metal body and a rubber strap. It's a little large for my taste but most people would be fine with the size. It's comfortable and readable.
The quartz movement is completely independent of the smart watch features. The ordinary crown on the left side snaps out to set the time and has no other function. The separate watch battery is said to last two years.
Merged into this watch is a blue-tooth device that pairs with your smart phone. It plugs into USB (it requires it's cable, the jack is non-standard) to take a charge on a separate battery, which seems to last 2 to 3 days. On the face is a small text display and a very bright multi-color LED. Various functions are controlled by two buttons on the right side.
I have a Oneplus One Android phone. Downloading the app and setting up the watch was no trouble at all, and it all works. The watch can light the LED and vibrate on any selected notification from the phone. It worked with every app, every app that creates notifications, that I tried. The vibration pattern is configurable, the LED color is not. And that's it. When I get an email or text, the watch buzzes quietly and the LED lights. A quick glance at the scrolling text display tells me what the notification is. Nothing more to it! It's simple, it's a watch, and it adds quite useful functionality.
One or two other interesting feature are tossed in to. For example, the watch can trigger the camera on the phone. This even works when the phone is locked. It can also cause the phone to make a sound if you can't find it, and buzz when it gets out of blue tooth range of the device, if for example the phone has been left behind.
I don't know if I'll be using this watch for the long haul, but I think I will use it now and then. I have had it for several days now and I have to say that it's more than worth the price. It does what it does and doesn't try to replace my phone, which can now spend more time put away in my pocket. If you've been curious about wearable devices, but don't want to spend much to play with one, the Martin Notifier is just the thing. Pick one up, the price is right!
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