Martian Notifier Smartwatch Review

Just decision it the anti -Galaxy Gear. Whereas expensive smartwatches from Samsung, Sony and rock provide dozens of custom apps and, in some cases, cameras and microphones, Martian Watch's Martian Notifier could be a watch initial, and sensible device second. The measuring instrument keeps things straightforward by vibratory and showing alerts on a 12-character scrolling-text show that sits quietly beneath its analog face and hands. At $129, the Martian Notifier is considerably less costly than its competitors, and with a close to resolved concentrate on alerts, it is also easier to use. however is a smaller amount extremely a lot of once you are getting a smartwatch?

Design

Like its massive brother, the Martian Voice Command watch, the Notifier pairs AN old school analog face with alittle, scrolling, monochrome OLED show at its bottom and an indicator light-weight. the sunshine turns blue after you receive an alert, inexperienced it's once charging and red once it's running low on power. out there in white, black or red, the watch sounds like a standard watch with physical hour and minute hands, beside line markers for the hours.

The Martian Notifier's conservative aesthetic reminded us of a Timex or national watch, which can appear a bit plain to some users. Our black version of the watch came with a sedate, silicone, black band, however Martian can sell 22mm replacement bands in a very style of colours, together with sunny yellow, quasi-stellar radio source blue, Venus pink, cosmic orange and, our favourite, astro teal. The $20 "Quick Change" bands square measure presupposed to get in and out while not the utilization of tools, however we have a tendency to failed to get to check this.

The $129 COOKOO watch, that is additionally an analog smartwatch, incorporates a a lot of fashion-forward, Swatch-like aesthetic with colourful hands and hour markings, beside a tasteful used.

At 1.7 x 1.7 x 0.5 inches and simply one.8 ounces, the Martian Notifier is sort of slightly lighter than the Samsung Gear two (1.4 x 0.4 x 2.3 inches, 2.4 ounces), however the Sony Smartwatch two (1.6 x 1.6 x 0.35 inches, 1.7 ounces) and rock (2 x one.2 x 0.4, 1.3 ounces) square measure even a lot of compact. The COOKOO watch could be a bit bulkier, at 2.65 ounces and 0.65 inches thick, however it's constant one.7-inch diameter.

Two buttons sit on the Martian Notifier's left side: a bottom button that activates the menu, and a high button that launches your phone's voice assistant or selects a menu item once you are within the menu. the proper aspect homes a typical crown dial for dynamic the time and, behind a compartment, a microUSB port for charging. sadly, the Notifier needs a special USB connective that is simply a bit longer than a typical microUSB. which means if you lose the wire that comes with it, you will need to induce a $12 replacement from Martian Watch.

Setup and Apps

Setting up the Martian Notifier was a quick and easy method. once putting in the Martian Notifier app from the Google Play store (there's additionally a version for iOS), we have a tendency to enabled pairing mode on the watch by sound very cheap button one or two of times to induce to its setup menu then the highest button once to visualize "Android." we have a tendency to then tapped the "Start up connection" button within the app and were prompted to scan for the watch and try it, that we have a tendency to did with success.

The Martian Notifier app incorporates a straightforward interface with six totally different tabs: Home, Setup, Repeater, Alarms, Alerts and facilitate. the house tab permits you to try the watch, set the vibration intensity or enter don't Disturb mode. The Setup tab permits you to opt for a language, set a date format and management the scroll delay for the watch's OLED panel. The show tab provides choices for displaying this weather and also the time on the watch.

The Repeater tab permits you to produce a vibration alarm that runs each hour throughout specific times of the day. as an example, you'll be reminded to induce up from your table and exercise, take medication or do alternative periodic tasks. the assistance tab provides documentation for the watch.

Alarms

The Notifier app's Alarms tab permits you to line silent alarms, that cause the watch to vibrate at selected times. Martian says this feature is right for couples: If one partner should awaken before the opposite, you'll set the watch thus it buzzes the wearer's articulatio radiocarpea while not creating noise. The Notifier app additionally permits you to designate an alarm as "dismiss from phone," that keeps logy users from simply touching a button on their watches and going back to sleep.

In our tests, the Martian Notifier's silent alarm worked cleanly, vibratory on schedule in a very means that was simply annoying enough to form it not possible to ignore. tho' we won't imagine sporting a watch to bed, others can notice this feature useful for arousal. we have a tendency to may see ourselves exploitation this watch to form positive we have a tendency to perform a task or attend a rendezvous throughout the day.

Alerts

The Martian Notifier's main feature is its ability to vibrate and show transient notifications from your favorite apps. in contrast to the other smartwatch we have seen, the Notifier permits custom vibration patterns supported apps. you'll established to four totally different vibrations per app, with every vibration as a protracted vibration, short vibration or pause.

The Notifier app's Alerts tab has entries for many common apps (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Gmail, Calls, SMS messages), with a button that permits you to see an entire list of each app you have put in and assign vibration patterns to them. we have a tendency to set Gmail to alert us with 2 short vibrations whereas our work email shopper notified us with 2 long buzzes.

We found that the various buzz patterns created it simple to inform which kind of service was notifying us, however we have a tendency to would like the alerts themselves had slightly a lot of detail. The watch's OLED show shows simply the sender and subject line for emails and a equally restricted quantity of knowledge for Facebook and Twitter.

To be fair, the Martian Notifier app is just relaying constant text that each one of those services show within the humanoid notification drawer. However, the rock and Sony Smartwatch two show the text of email messages or social media updates, creating it easier to make a decision whether or not you would like to succeed in for your phone and respond. The COOKOO watch provides even less detail than the Notifier. That watch's standing lights (e.g., an envelope for email) light after you get messages however do not show any content the least bit.

Notifications scroll across the Notifier’s 12-character junction rectifier screen like stock costs on a ticker. The scrolling speed appeared simply excellent for reading, neither too fast nor annoyingly slow. The notifications do not seem till two seconds once your articulatio radiocarpea buzzes, that gave us over enough time to rotate our articulatio radiocarpea and obtain able to browse. If that delay is simply too long or short, you'll tack it within the Martian Notifier app.

If you miss a notification, you'll double faucet on the glass face to repeat it — one thing we have a tendency to found ourselves doing on many occasions after we were too busy to appear at our articulatio radiocarpea. you'll additionally see and navigate through the ten most up-to-date alerts by touching each watch buttons quickly then scrolling up or down by touching the highest or bottom one. whereas we have a tendency to found this feature useful, we have a tendency to had to be terribly deliberate in our double button press. many times, we have a tendency to concluded up turning off the watch by chance, as long-pressing very cheap button on its own powers down the watch. Martian same that this downside occurred as a result of we have a tendency to were testing a preproduction unit which final versions are a lot of conscious of the double button press.

Voice Command Activation

Pressing the highest button on the Martian Notifier launches your phone's voice assistant app. If you've got an iPhone, that assistant is Siri, and with humanoid phones, it's Google currently. Martian's alternative Voice Command watch uses its constitutional speaker and mike to move along with your phone, however the Notifier depends on your phone's own speaker and mike. fortuitously, the mic on our Galaxy Note three was sturdy enough to listen to our voice accurately whereas the phone was in our pocket, and that we were ready to hear it absolutely. However, if the solution to our question was a group of search results, instead of a text-to-speech reply, we have a tendency to clearly had to appear at the phone.

Phone locater and alternative options

Like most smartwatches, the Martian Notifier will assist you notice your phone or warn you after you walk too secluded from it. The notice My Phone feature, that we have a tendency to activated from the watch's menu, worked cleanly, inflicting our phone to play many musical notes, that helped us notice it in our couch cushions.

We additionally found the watch was fast to alert us after we strayed too removed from our phone. once walking over twenty feet faraway from our Galaxy Note three, the watch alerted us at intervals four seconds that it had lost its association. That leash feature can be valuable if your phone slips out of your pocket. However, if you drop it in a very cab or bus, the vehicle might have already force away before the watch gets disconnected.

The Martian Notifier additionally sports a torch feature that causes its junction rectifier indicator to show white and keep lit till you switch it off. whereas not as bright as a phone screen, this little light-weight is intense enough to examine little objects like a hole within the dark. The don't Disturb mode permits you to quickly stop all notifications on the watch. If you have designed weather or a world put down the app, that data is on the market on the watch menu (launched with very cheap button).

There's additionally a camera mode, which is able to shoot a photograph on your phone with a press of the button on the watch. The camera on our Galaxy Note three was extremely responsive in our tests; this feature can be extraordinarily helpful for taking selfies if you've got a way for supporting your phone somewhere.

Battery Life

Unlike most alternative smartwatches, that cannot even tell the time once they run out of power, the Martian Notifier can keep ticking for up to 2 years, even once it does not have enough juice to induce notifications. The watch a part of the Notifier has its own atomic number 3 battery that operates severally of the ability supply for the OLED show, Bluetooth radio and alternative smartwatch elements. Martian claims that the smartwatch portion can last four to 5 days on a charge. supported our tests, this estimate looks correct. The watch lasted over four days for us, tho' for a few of that point, it had been in don't Disturb mode.

Verdict

If you are looking for a smartwatch with its own set of apps, a constitutional camera, a mike or a full-color display, the Martian Notifier isn't the device for you. The $299 Samsung Gear two incorporates a mike and camera, and also the $149 rock incorporates a made scheme of apps. Martian's $299 Voice Command watch is additionally a a lot of strong choice, because it sports a strong speaker and mic. However, if you wish a sublime and cheap articulatio radiocarpea companion that is a watch initial and alert center second, the $129 Martian Notifier could be a good selection.