Display

You get multiple options in terms of

display when it comes to smartwatches.
First off, you can choose between a round
or rectangular display. Second, you have
choices in the display type you can get
an e-ink display (Pebble), monochrome
display (Basis Band), colour LCD (Sony
SW2) or super amoled (Samsung Gear 2).
The display shows incoming calls,
notifications, media as well as steps taken,
distance travelled and heart rate.
Sensors
Apart from an accelerometer and
gyroscope for fitness monitoring,
smartwatches feature additional sensors.
Some come with ambient light sensors to
adjust display brightness, an altimeter,
magnetometer, IR emitter and a few also
have a built-in heart rate monitor.
Battery
Thanks to the touchscreen colour display,
array of sensors and connection with a
smartphone for notifications, the battery
life on the majority of smartwatches
varies between 1 to 3 days. Pebble and
Qualcomms Toq are an
exception both watches
typically have a battery life
of over 5 days.
Other Features
A smartwatch performs a
plethora of additional
functions apart from your
usual fitness tracking. You
can connect with your
phone to view incoming
calls and notifications,
control music playback and
even track your phone at
times. Some smartwatches
can also act as a standalone
music player (with built in
storage), universal remote
and a few have a built-in
microphone and speaker for
voice calls.
When it comes to wrist worn wearables, there are so many new
smartwatches and smartbands around. But, how are they different?
What makes them tick? Do they have different components? And
finally, which one should you buy? Karan Bajaj & Hitesh Raj Bhagat
help you wade through the choices and review Goqii, a unique new
Indian offering
Thinking of Getting a Smart
Band or Watch?
Karan.Bajaj@timesgroup.com
Typically, all the data that fit-
nes bands collect seems to pile
up with no real use. Goqii, an
Indian startup (its available
only in India at the moment)
differentiates itself from the
rest of the competition by offer-
ing a fitness coach to go with it.
Thebanditself isgoodquality
its sweat proof and comfort-
able. The removable core com-
prises a touchscreen OLED
display, 360-degree motion sen-
sor and battery. It measures
steps, distance, calories burnt,
active time and even tracks
sleep. The touchscreen can show
data horizontally or vertically.
Battery life is between 2 4 days
dependingonhowoftenyousync
withyourphone.Datasyncsover
Bluetooth with your Android/
iOS smartphone and Goqii even
offers apps for your Windows/
Maccomputers. Thereisalsothe
option to set a wake-up alarm on
the band the band gently vi-
brates to wake you up.
When you order a Goqii, youre
actually paying for a 6 month
subscription to a Goqii coach.
The coach is a real, certified fit-
nessprofessionalwhohasaccess
to your profile and the data col-
lected by the Goqii band. The
coach analyses your data and
sets goals, suggests changes in
diet, physical activity, sleep, wa-
ter/foodintakeandwilloffertips
to keep you more active. You stay
in touch using daily chat and au-
dio/video calls.
Since a person is monitoring
your activity, it pushes you to
reach goals & keeps you interest-
ed. You do need to manually en-
ter food and water intake on the
app for the coach to advice your
better. This can become tedious.
Goqii also offers a Karma
points system. All the activity
you do on your Goqii band con-
verts into Karma points. These
pointscanbedonatedforvarious
social causes. The Goqii donor
partnersthenprovidecashtothe
socialcauseinexchangeforyour
points. In a way, you can spur
yourself on by telling youself
that its for a good cause.
Donating Karma points is very
easyandcanbedoneviatheweb-
site or the app.
We recommend the Goqii band
if youre on the lookout for a fit-
ness band. The inclusion of a
personal coach makes a big dif-
ference and if for some reason,
you decide not to continue with
the coach after 6 months, you can
still keep the band. If you decide
to renew, you pay `5,999 (6
months) or `10,999 (12 months).
Smartbands
Battery
The battery life of a smartband varies
depending on how often you sync data with
your phone/computer, whether it has a display
and the battery type. Most bands give you a
battery life of 2 to 5 days on average while a
select few have a battery life of 3 to 6
months. The Garmin Vivofit is the
only exception here with a one-
year battery life.
Other Features
With many smartbands, you
get changeable straps to suit
your style. They offer
water/sweat resistance as
standard and most come
with rechargeable
batteries (except Garmin
Vivofit). You also get
companion apps for your
smartphone and PC that
sync wirelessly over
Bluetooth to collect all the
data then show it in an
easy-to-understand
graphical interface.
Smartwatches
Display
You have the option to opt for a smartband
with a display or without a display. For bands
that have a display, you usually get a basic
monochrome touchscreen that shows
information such as time, steps taken, distance
covered and remaining battery life. The bands
that dont have a display typically have LED
indicator lights for battery level and other
notifications.
Sensors
Almost all smartbands use two basic sensors:
an accelerometer and a gyroscope. Using just
these two, the band measures the number of
steps you take, distance as well as monitors
your sleep. Some bands also have a vibrator
built-in for notifications or to act as wake up
alarm. Some bands also come with altimeter
and a light sensor for the display.
Has a colour display
Has a touchscreen
Multiple functions
fitness data & phone
notifications
Has heart rate sensor
Many can work
independently
You can get one with a
camera, IR remote, voice
calling
Expand functionality
using apps
Many offer custom watch
faces
Can be used as music
players
Cheaper, sometimes
also bundled with
phones
Easier to operate
More focused for
tracking activity & sleep
Sturdier, since they
have no displays
Longer battery life
Can work with
different phones
Compatible with
various fitness apps
Easier to swap bands;
use as fashion accessory
Multiple people can
use the same one
9 Reasons to Get a
Smartwatch
9 Reasons to Get a
Smartband
`6,999 (6 months),
`11,999 (12 months)
Tracks steps, distance as well
as sleep, coach helps you get
more active, apps for MAC/
Windows system, you can
keep the band if you stop the
coach service
Average battery life,
smartphone apps are in beta
and have a few glitches, food
and drink input is manual, uses
a proprietary charger
GOQII REVIEW
LAUNCH PAD ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IntexAquaT2: Intex claims that the T2 is the lowest
priced smartphone running Android Kitkat. It has dual
SIM support, has a 3.5-inch (480 x 320 pixels) IPS dis-
play and dual cameras (2MP rear, VGA front). It is pow-
ered by a 1.3Ghz dual core processor, 256MB RAM and
has 512MB internal storage (only 16MB available to
the user). Other features include a microSD slot for ex-
pansion (up to 32GB supported), 1,200mAh battery, 2G
connectivity, WiFi, Bluetooth and FM.
`2,699
`7,999
GoogleAndroidOne: The first set of devices in Google's
Android One range include Micromax Canvas A1, Kar-
bonn Sparkle V and Spice Dream Uno. All of them are
essentially the same with minor cosmetic differences.
They have a 4.5-inch display (854 x 480 pixels), dual
SIM support, 1.3Ghz quad core Mediatek processor, 1GB
RAM, 4GB storage, microSD slot for expansion (up to
32GB) and a 1,700mAh battery. The phones also have
dual cameras (5MP rear, capable of full HD video and
2MP front), 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and FM. They will re-
ceive the latest Android updates directly from Google.
iBall Andi4.5MEnigma: Aimed at users who like to
take a lot of selfies, this new Android smartphone from
iBall features an 8MP, wide-angle front camera. It also
has a touch sensitive area on the back panel: you can
use it to slide through photos or set an app to launch if
you double tap. It has a 4.5-inch display (960 x 540 pix-
els), runs Android 4.4 on a 1.3Ghz quad core processor,
1GB RAM, 8GB storage (expandable) and a 1,500mAh
battery. Other features include 13MP primary camera,
3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC and USB host.
`6,399
`6,499
MicromaxCanvas A1 KarbonnSparkleV
SonyXperiaE3: Sony's new mid-range smartphone
features Android 4.4 and a 4.5-inch display with a reso-
lution of 854 x 480 pixels. It is powered by a 1.2Ghz
quad core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB RAM, 4GB
storage and a 2,330mAh battery. Other features include
dual cameras (5MP rear, VGA front), FM, 3G, WiFi, WiFi
Direct, Bluetooth 4.0 and a microSD slot for expansion
(up to 32GB cards supported). A dual SIM version called
the Xperia E3 Dual is also available, priced at `12,999.
`11,990
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THE ECONOMIC TIMES | MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY | 17 SEPTEMBER 2014
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