2015 seems to be the year of rebirth for Alcatel Onetouch. After the lucky Idol 3 from 4.7 “and 5.5″ that we have already reviewed, the time has come to give our opinion on another product of the house Franco-Chinese is simply called Watch and has earned our attention thanks to some interesting solutions in hardware and software.
Package Alcatel Onetouch Watch
The packaging is essential, it contains a single USB extension-USB given that the connector for charging is already embedded in the strap. Simple but well thought out, in the classic style of a clock.
Hardware & ergonomics Alcatel Onetouch Watch
Alcatel Onetouch Watch is one smartwatch round built with durable materials of good quality. The brushed steel case is a pleasure to wear and see, as well as the rubber strap with red interior. Ergonomics at the top given also the size is not too abundant and practical system for regulating the wrist. With a diameter of 41,8mm and a weight of only 60 grams you’ll be fine to forget about it on the wrist, the strap also with grooves on the inside avoids the annoying sweat in summer. In short, the balanced look that goes well with casual situations as well as the formal moments, the featherweight and noble materials make this product one of the most pleasing wearable around, to see and wear. The strap has an NFC chip for easy association with the smartphone, but especially the USB output. The back is made of plastic and accommodates the heartbeat sensor, while the front of the display is not completely circular but has a cut at the bottom that acts as a back button. Within the body there accelerometer, gyroscope and compass, as well as a small but powerful vibration motor. The clock is then guaranteed the resistance to water and dust with IP67 certification.
Display Alcatel Onetouch Watch
The TFT LCD display has a resolution 240 × 240 pixel 262k color, you see well enough in the light of the sun but in the wearable display device OLEDs have so far shown little more. Often it is annoying to the cut in the lower part because it goes to interrupt the circular shape of the watch face designed for a circular screen. Similarly quadrants with digital clock little to match the outer edge because of the temples and of the numbers drawn on the protective glass. The brightness is not automatic but placing it at 50% will have a display visible under the sun and not annoying in the dark.
Battery & autonomy Alcatel Onetouch Watch
Do not be fooled by only 210 mAh battery inserted into smartwatch. Compared to competitors with Android Wear autonomy it is higher. It stands at about 2 days of continuous use (even at night) up to 4 if you wear it just to get out or not you keep it synchronized with your smartphone. The highlight of the autonomy of Alcatel Watch, however, is not the battery itself, but the brilliant idea of integrating the USB output for charging directly into the strap. Now a USB socket is everywhere: offices, bars, PC, power bank, digital islands, cars. In short, it will be difficult to take advantage of some source of energy to recharge the watch (because it takes less than an hour to reach 100%)
Software Alcatel Onetouch Watch
Managing Notifications
In a wearable software it is what makes the difference, in this case, Alcatel has had great graphics and some functionality is lost just in appearance but more importantly, that the management of notifications. We start immediately with the painful notes: we have a chance to interact with notifications on the wrist, we can simply read the text messages of Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Gmail, Hangouts and SMS and we will be notified of any missed calls. The only active part is linked to the incoming calls that you can stop it with a swipe. For the rest we cannot delete notifications or respond in any way. The alarm clock is set, finally, will be independent of the set on the smartphone coupled. Far too little for a wearable device 2015.
Sportwatch
Beyond the management of notifications, however, Alcatel Watch know to appreciate to the usual care graphic and functional and fits into its device. The sphere linked to sport is in line with the Android Wear but I found a good accuracy in estimating the steps taken, from which it derives a reasonable accuracy in measuring the distance traveled. Of course, the lack of GPS is a big handicap and you can rely on this device only if you run on the flat and at a steady pace. The measurement of the heart rate is almost useless because it is dynamic and automatic during exercise, contrary forces you to stand still for about 15 seconds and has a margin of error is directly proportional to the actual number of beats. This means that when you are at rest could be wrong of 3-4 bpm, while around 150 real might missed the 10-15 bpm. The mini app on the clock for the ride is well done, although I found the screen a bit ‘too full of information to be read on the go. In short, it is a smartwatch valid to estimate performance in Sunday outings, is certainly not a substitute for one SportWatch even low-end.
Fitness tracking and sleep
The fitness tracker rely accelerometer to capture the data, but what makes the difference is the ability of the software to interpret the data, Alcatel Watch does it well. Onetouch Move on, download the app on your smartphone you will have all the information summarized with a nice graphics and clear; you will learn about the steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, time of walking and running, and finally, the quality of sleep. It ‘very difficult to determine how accurate these indications but compared to other terminals tested, this returns results plausible. A note on the sleep monitoring, unfortunately I have not found a wearable height of MiBand on this area. It is not possible to set an alarm intelligent and you every time manually start the night mode, sin.
Customization
Watch here plays all his cards. We can customize the dials choosing between digital, analog or analog simple. The best part, however, is in the background, passing Ontouch Move the app on your smartphone, you will have plenty of quality wallpapers, a lot of solid colors pastel and wanting you can set a picture from the gallery, or take a picture on the spot. We could not ask for more!
Conclusions Alcatel Onetouch Watch
Alcatel Onetouch Watch is certainly an original product with support for iOS and Android (because you always forget all Windows?!). It has some goodies such as USB output in the strap, water resistance and the aluminum case. And ‘suitable for all contexts and it will be the value added for a sporty or elegant. Passed with flying colors from the construction point of view and aesthetic, delayed on the software, due to a sector virtually useless notifications. Wear with Android would be a best buy ever, even for 50 euro more. The reality is different, 150 euro (price still aligned) is a wearable niche within the niche of wearable, not geek as a G Watch R or Apple Watch, it is not trivial as a fitness tracker from 70 € . It’s up to you to decide whether it is a fair means or if the compromise is of no concern to the market.