Smartwatch: How do you use yours?
- Sep 27, 2015
- 2 min read
Smartwatches have now been with us for a little while now as one of the many pieces of wearable tech that are now becoming part of our every day lives. I was given a Moto 360 as a present last christmas and when friends have asked me are they worth it I have not really been able to provide an affirmative yes! A colleague of mine has the Apple iWatch and again he feels exactly the same. The updates provided by Android recently seem to have me using my watch more but is this really the upgrade or is it because I am becoming better at using it?
Listed below are the functions / apps I use most and the benefits this brings me:
Use it as a Watch: This may sound pretty obvious but I do like being able to change my watch faces. I am a real watch fan and the fact I can easily change the face and also change to faces that provide me with instant information I am interested in (i.e. the weather, the number of steps I have done) is a real benefit for me.
Never Miss Notifications: Typically I always have my phone on silent or at best on vibrate. As a result I was constantly missing calls and text message. With the Moto 360 I always get a notification when any call or text has been received. I also have it set-up to notify of emails coming in and updates to my social networks. This to me has been a real plus.
Text without Typing: This is a bit geeky (and I still feel a bit stupid doing it) but you can actually talk to your watch and get it to send a text message. Practically I like this as I am really poor at typing on a phone (pudgy fingers) so this makes it much quicker and alot less frustrating for me. I also use this with ToDoist to set reminders for myself which then integrates with the app on mobile and desktop.
As a fitness device: The watch easily tracks heart activity and steps. I aim to walk 10,000 steps every day so having the watch track this for me is great. I previously used a fitbit so being able to consolidate into one device is great. Your phone will also do this but the fact your watch is typically on you constantly from the morning when you put it on to the evening when you goto bed ensure none of those steps are missed. I also used it with Strava this weekend when cycling which again was great as the watch provided me with up-to-date information during my ride.
Google Now: The watch displays infromation from Google Now direct to my wrist. It shows me how far I am from home/work and what the traffic situation is like. It also provides me all the information I have set up in my cards which again helps remind me of important events that may have slipped my mind.
Regardless of which versions of smartwatch you have I would love to hear about how you use your smartphone, be it Android or Apple.
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