Let's start with a backstory: I once wrote a review of my Sony Xperia Z1 at the webshop where I bought it, and I was surprised to hear they deemed it the best of that month. Surprise surprise, they offered me a coupon for €100,- which I could spend on any accessories from that webshop. I was wondering what to get... There were bumpers and cases for my phone, and even a dock, but none of that really piqued my interest. I mean, I would've had to buy 10 bumpers just to spend it all. So I went to look for something a little more expensive, which is when I found out they sold a Sony Smartwatch 2 as an accessory. "Oh yesss!" I thought, always having wanted a smartwatch. All my life I've been wearing a watch already, so this would be perfect. And so I bought it, adding in a little money from myself. I loved the device, but I felt like something was missing. It ran some apps, I even made a list of good SW2 apps over on the XDA forums. But still, there was something about this smartwatch that was just wrong. I ended up selling it after half a year, yet missing the 'smart' features when I went back to an ordinary watch. It may have been the rectangular display. It may have been the lack of apps. Maybe it was because of the rumours of Google getting into Android Wear as it's known now. It definitely wasn't the fact that I had to charge it every night though. I really don't care - I charge my phone every night already, so I don't mind spending an extra 5 seconds to put my watch on the charger if that means getting notifications and smart features on my wrist all day.
When the Moto 360 was announced, I got super excited about smartwatches again. This time around it was Google who took initiative, and they even released a round smartwatch! Everything seemed perfect except for battery life. You see, I don't mind charging a smartwatch every night, as long as I don't have to charge it in the middle of the day. It has to last a full day; after that, any extra battery life is just convenient. It was just a little too expensive for me, so I knew I had to wait about a year before I could afford getting one. I don't really have a job currently (oh how I wish I could do something tech-related online for a living) so the money I could spend didn't really come from anything since I'm barely able to save anything. Fast forward to yesterday, and I suddenly noticed that a new Moto 360 was €179 at a respectable store. I was highly doubting getting one until I saw they had a 14-day free return policy, where I could send it back even if I simply didn't like the device. I figured 'what the hell' and I just ordered the damn thing already. Today, it landed on my doorstep!
So shiny, so new..!
My first impressions:
- "Oh wow, you really have to wear this thing in real life to get a feeling for it. Just looking at images online doesn't do justice: having the real thing on your wrist knowing it's yours, now that gives that feeling!"
- "I'm not used to watches getting hot... this screen actually gets warm with use."
- "I like and didn't expect the vibration when covering the Moto 360 with my hand, turning off the display. Awesome!"
- "In my memory, the Sony Smartwatch 2's vibration is more pronounced."
- "SO SHINY, SO NEW"
Would I recommend the Moto 360 to anyone? Now that the price has dropped, I'd say: "if you have money to spare, you like the idea of a smartwatch and you're not worried about the battery life, then go for it. If you don't have much money to spare like me, then you have to be really into technology, and only then consider one that is about a year old or more, so you know it has aged well and the price has dropped significantly. Then, still, consider if you really, truly want it."
These are hard times for me now: the Moto 360 arrived at my doorstep an hour ago, and after setting it up there's a notification for a system update. I can't install it until the battery hits at least 80%. I decided to write this article while waiting for my Moto 360 to charge, and it's driving me insane. It's right there on my desk, but I'm not allowed to touch it with the battery only at 61% currently...
aaaaaargh, I'm going nuts!
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