[General Accessories] denNorske:
Haier Iron v1 Smartwatch

Introduction

I bet that you know what a smartwatch is, if you're reading this. They come in all sorts of colors, shapes and sizes, and their function is to make the phone-life even easier and better. The most known smartwatches out there are made by big brands such as Samsung, LG and Sony for instance. They are well know because they have succeeded in the phone market by producing good phones and accessories - but have you heard about Haier?

Haier Group is a Chinese multinational consumer electronics and home appliances company that sells everything from refrigerators to phone accessories. And they've made a smartwatch which they named "Haier Iron v1 Smartwatch". With promising specifications and a nicely sized screen, this seemed to look promising to test out and use on my own. Please note that I have never been using a smartwatch before, so this would in many ways be my first experiences using one.

Before we start, you can also read more about the watch, and buy it here: http://bit.ly/1pJQoKL

Also check out my video review (Sorry, new on this – I take constructive feedbacks):

[YOUTUBE]youtube.com/watch?v=Nxp5_HGWl8Q[/YOUTUBE]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxp5_HGWl8Q

Specifications

According to Haier themselves, these are the specifications on the Haier Iron v1

MTK 2502C chipset

380 mAh battery

Precise heart rate monitor

Bluetooth 4.0

Vibration

64 MB Ram

128 MB local storage

No SD support

No SIM-card support

Built in speaker and microphone

0.2 Megapixel camera

IPS screen protected with Gorilla glass

Stainless steel frame

Silicone wristband

Black

Product weight: 0.11 kg

The dial diameter: 4.0 x 4.7 x 1.0 cm / 1.57 x 1.85 x 0.39 inches

Build material

Mainly you’ll find silicone and plastic that has been made to look like steel – which the brand claim it is. However, the finish (the paint) makes it feel a bit premium, and last but not least – lighter. I once had this watch that were made out of a lot of metal, and I remember being quite dissatisfied with it because it was a bit too heavy – which I’m afraid this watch would be with stainless steel (as claimed) – perhaps only the mechanism to lock it to the holes are. The silicone wristband sits very well on my arm, it’s comfortable and doesn’t wackle much.

The LCD screen has a decent amount of pixels, bringing sharp and clear screens of information. The glass is rather impressively scratch resistant, as I already had the watch for 2 months I barely see any scratch at all after daily use.

The charging port lid is fastened to the frame of the clock by rubber, making it flexible and easy to take on and off. Just have to mention that the clock is claimed to be water resistant, but according to the material it’s made of, the missing sealing around the charging port and the gap between the function key and the frame, it seems to be questionable. So, be careful dipping it in water 

Features and applications

Clock interface (home screen) with different clock variations (can download more through the official app), and following apps in the app drawer:

Phonebook, Dialer, Call Logs, Messaging, Remote notifier (it forwards the notifcations from the phone to your clock), Find my device, Alarm, Calendar, Bt Music remote control, Remote capture, BT connection settings, File manager, Pedometer, sleep monitor, UI theme settings, sedentary reminder, Heart rate checker, Real time heart rate sensor, sound recorder, Stopwatch, Calculator, settings (clock, sound, vibration, brightness, functions), Camera, Image Viewer.

(I can expand information about the various applications if wanted.)

Features such as waking up the screen when you angle the arm correctly, vibrating and/or sound notifications, strong brightness, pedometer and heart rate sensor makes this a somewhat useful watch. And you won’t believe how useful the calculator is when you suddenly need it.

Also, you can make it sync data collected to your phone, and here android requires an application (Fundo Wear) – I’m not sure about Iphone at the moment. The sedentary reminder is awesome if you’re sitting still for longer periods of time. It reminds you simply to move when it detects you are stationary for a while.

Camera quality is ‘ok-‘ because the resolution is at 0.3 megapixels. But, if we look at the positive things with it, it takes good pictures compared to many similar priced watches. It’s simple, but works.

Heart rate sensor is a bit weak, so sometimes I have to press it against my skin a bit to make it detect anything, but that’s a minor thing only and doesn’t affect my overall experience with it 

Pros and cons:

Pros:

Lightweight

Responsive

Battery that lasts through two or more days consecutively

Ability to push notifications from the phone and read a bit of contents

The shape and feel

Charges fast

The GUI

Cons

Speaker quality on loud levels

Camera Quality

It hangs up at some whatsapp notifications (weird)

Personal opinions and do I recommend it?

Well, I wrote the review in a bit personal manner. I stated my opinion along the way, but let me just sum it all in here. I’ve never had a smart watch before now; this is the first one I had. So whatever my opinion is, take that in consideration.

Personally I had much lower expectations to this watch. I didn’t even expect it to function when it came to the camera, notifications and the vibration really got me. How chill isn’t it to just walk with friends, the phone is muted and the only thing you feel is this awesome vibration on your wrist? I don’t even have to pick up my phone from my pocket or anything, just lift my arm.

Yeh I liked it, it impressed me positively in many ways. If you don’t want to waste much money on a Samsung-branded one or similar, or if you just want to experience having a smartwatch, I highly recommend something like the Haier Iron V1.

Price to performance/features: good.

My dice will show: 5 of 6 (considered the price).

Pictures

Attached :)

Thanks for reading!

Simen