Will you sell the watchX in your shop?

[___]

Hi @EvilDragon
I was looking for some sort of DIY smartwatch like device that could possibly be paired with a pyra and let me code my own interface for notifications etc.

Recently I was pointed to the watchX (http://watchx.io), which seems to be a reimplementation of the N|watch that they have already mass produced. Sadly it's only available through a turkish maker shop and they only accept credit card as payment.

I thought since the project is fully arduino compatible, supports scratch programs and some other nice OSS features, it might be perfect for the DragonBox shop.

If we can come up with some decent code for notifications, volume control etc., we might be able to use it as a pyra accessory very easily in the future and since it's arduino compatible, code will be reusable for similar applications with other arduino gadgets and projects.

How about it? Would you be willing to sell these in your shop? I have no idea on availability of that thing though

 

[klapse]

Does it have a low-power, always-on display?

 

[___]

@klapse I don't really know if always on is a viable option yet. It has an OLED screen and the different firmwares that are out seem to support powersaving modes where only the rtc is drawing current, so you can always quickly check the time and the battery will last for months. I couldn't find out how long it lasts if the screen is always on, but I'll be sure to check and report when I receive it. They already sent me a tracking number but haven't dispatched the parcel yet.

 

[PowerGod]

Seems cool, but maybe a little too naked for a normal use case... I could destroy it in many ways before even realizing that it's broken...

 

[kuru]

Seems cool, but maybe a little too naked for a normal use case... I could destroy it in many ways before even realizing that it's broken...

life hacks

Spoiler

 

[___]

Seems cool, but maybe a little too naked for a normal use case... I could destroy it in many ways before even realizing that it's broken...

yeah I don't think it's that easy to break. A watch on your arm is somethinig you need to protect anyway. But you are supposed to print your own case for the watchX and use it as a basis for projects... that's the tradeoff, it's not an apple watch, but you get to solder stuff to it and program it without bigbrother.

 

[Binky]

A watch on your arm is somethinig you need to protect anyway.

See, that's why you put your watch in your pocket, on the end of an ornamental chain.

Kids these days...

 

[___]

okay I have printed a case for the watchx and have been wearing it for a while. The battery time is shite but better than other smartwatches, simply because there is no bluetooth connection to my phone right now and I am running a firmware that only shows time and some sensor statistics, sleeping when screen is off and waking up the watchx on button press. that makes the battery last about 30hrs as far as I could gather from my tests.

I think there is a bunch more power management optimizations that can be done, but apparently there is no way to cut power of the bluetooth module which kind of sucks as that will drain power even when you are not using it at all. they are planning for another hardware revision. that is also something I didn't expect so early on. maybe the next revision will allow for better powermanagement and some other nice-to-have features that the watchx community can think of. there is a very small number of users that actively contribute right now.

they are releasing a couple of accessories for the watchx soon which look kind of cool. One will be a sort of barebones gamepad that you can mount the watch on to turn it into an arduboy platform, they have already ported arduboy to the watchx.

 

[pmprog]

that makes the battery last about 30hrs as far as I could gather from my tests

I keep looking for a replacement for my Garmin Vivoactive, but everything I see makes me think what I've got is pretty amazing. It'll last over a month if you literally just wear it as a watch; do a few short GPS tracked runs a week, and it'll still last a couple of weeks. Oh, and it's waterproof (enough for a triathlon)

 

[___]

@pmprog yeah that sounds like decent batterytime for a watch. I don't like the idea of another device that tracks my data, tethered to some app though. that is the reason why I was looking for something hackable. and of course to fiddle with it and try some arduino code.

 

[pmprog]

@pmprog yeah that sounds like decent batterytime for a watch. I don't like the idea of another device that tracks my data, tethered to some app though. that is the reason why I was looking for something hackable. and of course to fiddle with it and try some arduino code.

All the "trackable data" is purely optional. Mine is not tethered to my phone, and to be honest, I don't even hook it up to the PC any more (though I didn't mind uploading my runs). So you don't technically need to connect to Garmins' services.
You can even develop for it using MonkeyC, which is okay, but one time Garmin released a software update that wiped my watch; and since then I've never bothered picking up dev again for it.

So arguably, it's programmable (though not strictly hackable), optionally-tracking, waterproof, gps enabled watch with a damn good battery life. It's not perfect, but I've yet to see anything close