Is this the crappest 'smart' watch yet?

[mikeselectricstuff]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/203572986/vachen-smartwatch?ref=category

Big clunky case, backlit TFT display - 48Hr battery life 
Not to mention the awful video....

[tom66]

I could probably live with a 7 day battery life if I got a lot of extra features from a smart watch.
But a 2 day battery? 

[HackedFridgeMagnet]

Looks like a grandfather clock strapped to your wrist.

[firewalker]

Maybe they want to imitate the old spring loaded mechanical clocks. The ones you should wind every day or two. That why the 48 hours battery life. It's a feature! 

Alexander.

[andyturk]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/203572986/vachen-smartwatch?ref=category

Big clunky case, backlit TFT display - 48Hr battery life 
Not to mention the awful video....

I bet that display looks familiar... 48hr battery life with an FPGA is actually pretty good!

 

[xrunner]

First, we had to solve the battery life issue. We designed the first generation Smartwatch to hold a battery with a life of 400mAh, boosted this up to 700mAh during mass production, and consistently reduced its electricity consumption, enabling it to be powered on over two to four days.

So they solved it? 

Must be meant just to wear out for an evening or two to impress your date. 

[EEVblog]

OMG that video!

[Hydrawerk]

Well, that wristwatch is OK, but I still use an old watch, that my grandma gave me in 1998. It's a cheap watch from Hong Kong but it's pretty accurate though...

[xrunner]

OMG that video!

Well I had to watch it after that comment. That guy is a dork.

To optimize battery life, VACHEN Smartwatch is not always turned on. The Intelligent Backlight On feature has been adopted to automatically turn on the VACHEN Smartwatch when necessary.

So it only lasts for two days with battery saver technology? 

[c4757p]

Well, that wristwatch is OK, but I still use an old watch, that my grandma gave me in 1998.

And how many times have you had to change the battery?

48Hr battery life 

 

What an ugly old turd, too...

[BravoV]

- 48Hr battery life 

Hmm ... in reality after the battery was used for quite sometimes, means < 24 hrs. 

[tom66]

Lastly, we centered a stainless steel heat sink panel at the heart of the Smartwatch to cool things down. This heat sink panel runs across the entire width of the Smart movement, and via its conductive casing, allows heat to disperse safely in all directions.

I have a general rule, which works for most cases. If you have to add a heatsink, then you will not have a long battery life! If you are doing so in a mobile phone or "smartwatch"... you are doing it wrong!

[c4757p]

A HEATSINK? On a freaking wristwatch??



That might just be a little excessive.

[Hydrawerk]

And how many times have you had to change the battery?

I don't know. Maybe once in three years? Once i crashed the glass so i had it replaced.

[smashedProton]

OMG I will buy this!  I always want to change my watch face 10 times a day, but it is cumbersome to change watches. 

[WattSekunde]

Yes, that could be the winner of the crappest. Every detail is strange on this watch. Why they make so much money with every gimmick called "smartwatch"? Is it because they show convincingly that they really have something?

They all set up an rumor that Apple developing a "smartwatch". Unbelievable!

[grumpydoc]

Is this the crappest 'smart' watch yet?

Smart enough - they hit their funding target.

As to the watch? I'd rather get one of the wrist straps for an ipod nano.

[chickenHeadKnob]

A HEATSINK? On a freaking wristwatch??


That might just be a little excessive.

It needs Android-gingerbread just to tell you the time, and you complain about the heatsink? no watch for you!

[mikeselectricstuff]

I didn't even notice the  stuff about heatsinking - if you need a heatsink you're definitely doing it wrong.
And if it's made of stainless you might as well not bother.

[airiclenz]

It seems like this "SMART" watch is bought by enough people for reaching the funding goal. interesting  48h battery life time is ridiculous... There are better options out there - like an iPod nano.

[Rasz]

You are all missing the point. Its not a watch. Its a fashion statement.
This thing is the size of my phone and WTF is with this bigass BGA???

[BravoV]

I didn't even notice the  stuff about heatsinking - if you need a heatsink you're definitely doing it wrong.

Nope, you're dead wrong and totally missing the point, that heatsink is for increasing the effectiveness of the wrist warmer if you wear it in pairs.  So order two instead of one.

[amyk]

DealExtreme has been selling cheap smart watches for a while, they are much smarter than this one in that they're often complete media players (+recorders) or GSM phones too. They don't have much better battery life, but then again they do a lot more than just tell you the time.

(I personally use a mechanical self-winding watch. Never needs batteries nor winding.)

[JVR]

Holy shit, a full blown Android chipset @ 1Ghz to keep the time? So.Much.Fail.

[digsys]

I kinda like it ... I've emailed him to see if there's a car  / solar charger kit. I'd FINALLY be the snappiest dude in town !!

[mikeselectricstuff]

Holy shit, a full blown Android chipset @ 1Ghz to keep the time? So.Much.Fail.

Mabwe they couldn't figure out how to drive that display with anything cheaper 

[deephaven]

Holy shit, a full blown Android chipset @ 1Ghz to keep the time? So.Much.Fail.

Mabwe they couldn't figure out how to drive that display with anything cheaper 

Now's your big chance Mike 

[mikeselectricstuff]

Holy shit, a full blown Android chipset @ 1Ghz to keep the time? So.Much.Fail.

Mabwe they couldn't figure out how to drive that display with anything cheaper 

Now's your big chance Mike 

No point  - an always-backlit display is just stupid for a watch.

[dr.diesel]

I'd like to see a low powered, wireless charged, open source, bluetooth/wireless programmed, charging mat, pocket watch.  Specifically be able to tailor the watch face, 24-hour with the 24-hour mark at the bottom.

Wireless everything, no bulky charging/programming ports.  2-4 day charge life, I can just lay it on the charging mat at night to charge type of thing.

[Nermash]

Few hairy arms and legs, CAD drawings made on C64

[Corporate666]

I just read the description - it has a 700mAH battery?!?!?  And that gets you 2 days battery life?   

[FrankBuss]

I like the idea of Wi-Fi in a watch, makes internet connections easier, but 1 GHz and a heat sink doesn't make sense for a wrist watch. Next on Kickstarter: The Java toaster: http://kcbx.net/~tellswor/bettoast.htm

[tom66]

 

The Java toaster is brilliant Bob, but don't you think the Pentium is obsolete? We're upgrading to the Pentium II -- and don't you think you can get Windows 95 running on it instead? CE is so outdated.

[MacAttak]

Well, at least they don't seem to be making terribly outlandish performance claims about their product. This ain't no mu optics product.

[CanadianAvenger]

they also have a working prototype that they demonstrate. I backed it, not because I like the way it looks, but because it  looks like something fun to hack on.

[Rasz]

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/738042242/Factory_Price_GSM_Digital_CellPhone_Watch.html
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/860680716/2013_New_Design_Watch_Phone_MQ668.html?s=p

[Dave]

Even the name sounds retarded as f*ck. It's basically like 'watch', but they made it sound a bit German/Swiss (-ish).
They wanted it to sound prestigious, but it ended up just being really f*cking stupid.

Also, who the hell would want a brick strapped to their wrist?

[tom66]

Did I read that right? A 1.54" screen with 800x480 resolution? That's pretty incredible for a $58 smartwatch. That makes it ~600ppi.

And I thought the 1920x1080 5.0" Sharp LCD I had recently seen was impressive, given that they have just hit 443ppi.

Bull...crap..

[Anquietas]

Smart enough - they hit their funding target.

How is this possible, though? Is this a consequence of the Internet and hence the sheer number of financial supporters or do people actually believe that this is a great product and worth financing?

[Deagle]

I'm curious as to why there is a hammer in the picture of the guys assembling the watch halfway down the page..?

[SeanB]

I'm curious as to why there is a hammer in the picture of the guys assembling the watch halfway down the page..?

When my dad was young ( mid 1950's) he worked in a copper mine in the Copper Belt. There they had a full workshop to repair and build, and trained the apprentices for the mine. There was a steam hammer operator my dad was testing, as he was part of the engineering crew. He placed his fob watch on the anvil, and the hammer operator had to operate the hammer and close the opened cover, as part of the test for fine control, without damaging the watch and without pausing while doing so. Dad took his watch, which held terrible time, and placed it on the anvil, and the operator took the hammer to the top, then promptly brought it down on the watch at full power, in front of the entire mine management, and turned it into a brass smear on the anvil ( 100 ton anvil, 100 tons of hammer operated by live steam) with a single stroke that reverberated through the entire workshop. Then dad calmly ticked the test form as "Passed" and congratulated him on passing. This had been prearranged, as they knew the top managers would be there that day, and Dad really hated that watch. He loved the look on the faces of the managers as they had watched this.

I think the hammer is there for a similar purpose as QC.

[rougeaux]

"My old grandmother used to say, anything mechanical, give it a good bash."  -Cpt. Colin Maud, in The Longest Day.

[FrankBuss]

"My old grandmother used to say, anything mechanical, give it a good bash."  -Cpt. Colin Maud, in The Longest Day.

Works for electronics sometimes, too. I remember when I was a kid, we had an old monochrome CRT TV. Sometimes it was not locking to the vsync and the image moved vertically. A good bash on the top fixed this (for a while)

[daveshah]

Did I read that right? A 1.54" screen with 800x480 resolution? That's pretty incredible for a $58 smartwatch. That makes it ~600ppi.

And I thought the 1920x1080 5.0" Sharp LCD I had recently seen was impressive, given that they have just hit 443ppi.

Bull...crap..

It's 1.54" at 240x240 - so only 220ppi

[HackedFridgeMagnet]

We have a crt TV at home and often the sound cuts out, my son loves bashing it on the side to make the sound come back.
The bashing method works very reliably.

[lemmegraphdat]

We had a machine where I worked once that would operate fine for months and then just stop. One of the guys would give it a bash and the thing would start up and run for a long time with no trouble. Finally the boss told me to go look what's the matter. I ran the thing ok. Took the control panel off and turned it on. Knocked around on it and it kept on running. Fiddled with the motor control board wiring and it stopped. Aha. Unplugged wire and plugged back in. Started right up. Put panel back on and it died. Took panel back off and flicked every wire as it ran. Kept running. Flicked fuse and POP. Aha. Crappy fuse holder with loose fitting clips.

[lemmegraphdat]

We have a crt TV at home and often the sound cuts out, my son loves bashing it on the side to make the sound come back.
The bashing method works very reliably.

Percussive Maintenance.

[Stonent]

Good thing they broke out the Commodore 64 to do a little CAD work...



I also like the Samsgung Galaxy S sound effects they added.

And the damned thing doesn't even have a keyboard!

Smart watch? You think reading e-mail is smart?
Why would someone buy something like that, when they could get a sexy Man-Watch like this?
How about logarithms? Now that's smart!

[tom66]

Did I read that right? A 1.54" screen with 800x480 resolution? That's pretty incredible for a $58 smartwatch. That makes it ~600ppi.

And I thought the 1920x1080 5.0" Sharp LCD I had recently seen was impressive, given that they have just hit 443ppi.

Bull...crap..

It's 1.54" at 240x240 - so only 220ppi

I was looking at the Alibaba page.
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/860680716/2013_New_Design_Watch_Phone_MQ668.html?s=p

Screen resolution 800x480

[Rasz]

Did I read that right? A 1.54" screen with 800x480 resolution? That's pretty incredible for a $58 smartwatch. That makes it ~600ppi.

And I thought the 1920x1080 5.0" Sharp LCD I had recently seen was impressive, given that they have just hit 443ppi.

Bull...crap..

It's 1.54" at 240x240 - so only 220ppi

I was looking at the Alibaba page.
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/860680716/2013_New_Design_Watch_Phone_MQ668.html?s=p

Screen resolution 800x480

its chinese description = lie

Screen Type:  1.54" TFT display screen, resolution ratio: 240*240       

[CanadianAvenger]

In one place they say 240x240 in another 800x600. My guess is to "keep it legal" it's a 240x240 window into an 800x600 framebuffer

[Stonent]

The watch face looked awfully grainy for 800x600 at that size.
I smell.....