SmartPhone And Smartwatch GPS Application

Reports I have read in the past few weeks have stated something on the line of "If your thinking of a smart watch - don't. At least not yet." The reports state the functionality is limited and the transferring of data between the two devices often leaves a lot to be desired.

IMHO displaying GPS data will deplete both batteries at an accelerated rate due to the constant data transfer between not only the two devices, but possibly the Internet as well.

I have Garmin's original Fenix GPS watch. It does not have the ability to sync with a smartphone so I don't have any experience with that functionality but I can comment on map readability. The unit has a built in basemap with no ability to add more. The map is rather crude compared to Garmin's handheld models and as you suspect, is quite difficult to read. I do find the trackback feature handy when hiking and biking without my handheld though.

Garmin's newer Fenix 2, D2 and Tactix watch models have the ability to sync with a smartphone and receive text, email and alerts. It seems to me text readability wouldn't be much better than the map.

Since the watch Must be within 30 feet or so to pair with a smartphone, you would certainly be close enough to hear the alert tones from the phone. That, combined with the cumbersome watch interface, would cause me to just grab the phone.

I suppose there are situations where you would want to be covert like in movie theaters, business meetings etc.. In that case, you could turn off the phone alert tones, leave it in your pocket and use the vibrate feature on the watch.

I'm considering an upgrade to the Fenix 2 in the future mainly for it's improved features. If so, I may have more useful comments on the smartphone sync feature.

This is correct. I am in the business of the Interent of Things (IoT) and smartwatches and I can tell you that anything you buy today is limited in functionality and buggy. Don't expect good quality wearables until mid-2015. Before then, nothing is worth buying.

I've been wearing a Pebble for a year and a half and love it for what it does. Use it with my JB iPhone. I love that I can turn off the ringer on my phone and still get notified on the Pebble in a theatre or restaurant that I have a call coming in. I love that if I choose to answer I can do it with the Pebble. I do have to then pull the phone out to use it but it's still something I like. Same for text messages and mail. I can "screen" the calls or texts on the Pebble and decide without taking my iPhone out if I'm interested to do so.

Great for when you're somewhere where a ringing phone would bother other people.

I use it in the car to control the music I'm playing through my car radio that's coming from the iPhone. Volume, next track etc.

I can close my garage door with it. Turn lights on or off or dim or brighten using apps on the Pebble that connect by bluetooth with the iPhone.

I can initiate phone calls on the Pebble to a select group which is faster and easier than doing so on the iPhone.

I check the weather reports. Check my stocks.

My nephew is a lineman and I showed him my Pebble and he got one just because as he says, If I'm at the top of a utility pole and he feels his phone vibrate or ring in his pocket, he doesn't know if it's something he needs to address right away, so now he can check the Pebble then decide.

And as the OP asked, yes you can get limited GPS information on the Pebble.

I have seen them for sale but didn't know what they did. Thanks for all this information.

Here's a link to a thread on one of the Pebble forums. You may be surprised what the Pebble community is doing for a young girl that had a stroke.

http://forums.getpebble.com/discussion/15583/could-the-pebbl...

Has anyone had any experience with any of the Garmin smartwatches?

My next trinket I want is a smartwatch , but I do want to research it to see what would be the best.

The Garmin Vivoactive looks nice but don't know if it would fit a woman.

I have Apple watch. If I start navigation on iphone using apple maps, all the navigation instructions with map start showing up on my Apple watch as well.

Isn't that just lovely?

Navigon does that too.

Yes, it is a nice feature. It can be handy..

So, for those of you that have researched this and/or own a smartwatch, which one(s) would you recommend for someone who uses an Android smartphone?

I have been wanting to know what one would be good with Android. Hope you get several answers.

You need to realize you will be working with a tiny screen and that is a significant content limitation.

I have the original Garmin fenix, and it is a remarkable wearable. It CAN be hacked to add maps with more detail, I have done so. It has very little memory, so I have to custom tailor the installed mapping to the area I will be visiting. It does do Bluetooth with an iPhone to notify incoming messaging. I often find myself wishing the fenix and iPhone did more together, like the Apple Watch does with the iPhone. My daughter has the Apple Watch and loves it. I see an Apple Watch in my future.

Apple Watch is definitely the way to go ... at least right now ... and for iPhone users.

This might be a future option for Android users.
http://betanews.com/2015/09/28/you-can-have-apple-watch-ill-...

This is probably a stupid smartwatch question but my Googling hasn't helped and I bet some of you here know the answer.

I'm wondering if software updates for the watch or the installation of apps can be done with wifi rather than having the watch use the smartphone's data. Since I have no monthly data allotment on my smartphone and pay for each MB of data used, I always do the phone's app installations/updates via wifi. With the phone on wifi and not data, will smartwatch downloads be doable? If it matters, this question relates to the newer smartwatches that also can connect to wifi. Thanks.

My first smart watch was Pebble and now I have Apple watch. Both watches received their updates via wifi. My apple watch also gets updates on wifi but to display any information it relies on iPhone and same was the case with Pebble.

Any information displayed on your smart watch is retrieved from your phone. If your phone is not in internet (via wifi or cellular network)it will not have latest data. So to get the latest info on your watch your smartphone needs to be connected to internet. I hope I answered your question?

... is search of demand.

Wants versus needs...

Of course I almost forgot the main reason....MARKETING...

aka selling what does not do what you NEED it to do.

Or how to create a market for a product that doesn't do ... anything that is needed.

The Apple Watch will use whatever data connection your connected phone has... If that's wifi, that's what it uses.