Surprise!
It seems that before the Christmas season is out, almost every Silicon Valley Company
will debut a smartwatch or Fitness Tracker.
Microsoft
, to their credit did the US$199 Microsoft Band that,
albeit basic, is a potential contender against the Apple Watch as explained in
my blog article
entitled “US$199
Microsoft Band - Fitness Tracker with Microsoft Health Apps and Windows Phone
Executive Perks with Cortana Voice Commands”.
Now
here comes HP (Hewlett Packard) throwing their hat into the ring with the
US$349 MB Chronowing smartwatch as reported in the article “HP
smartwatch is light on features, but looks like a normal watch”, published
October 31, 2014 By Mike Flacy, DigitalTrends.
Designed
by American fashion designer Michael Bastian, its more Nautica, Tag Heuer or
Gucci than futuristic based on its aesthetics alone. US$349 MB Chronowing
smartwatch is a limited edition smartwatch being sold on Gilt and is clearly
being aimed at the Nouveau Reich in
American Society!
The
chronometer lookalike designed by famed American fashion designer Michael
Bastian does away with the geek couture for a simple Jack Daniels style Black
and White interface reminiscent of the US$249 Pebble Steel as detailed in my Geezam blog article entitled “US$249
Pebble Steel rocks James Bond Playboy joie de vivre on your Wrist”.
US$349 MB Chronowing
smartwatch - HP's smartwatch focuses on the Notification Basics
Like
the US$249 Pebble Steel, the MB Chronowing is really more of a Notifications Tracker
as can be seen from the watch face layout below.
Unlike
the US$249 Pebble Steel, it has no support for Apps, as the Notification
services are baked into the smartwatch as noted in the article “HP's
MB Chronowing smartwatch is more watch than gadget”, published October 31,
2014 02:02 pm By Dan Seifert, The Verge.
At
this point I’ll refrain from calling it a smartwatch and revert back to calling
a wristwatch!
It’s
made with 44mm circular face made of Stainless Steel Casing that sports three
(3) interchangeable straps:
1.
Leather
2.
Nylon
3.
Rubber
Apparently
Metal isn't so cool right now for wristwatches. If you really wanna go all out
though, there’s a US$649 version that sports an alligator skin band and an
unscratchable Sapphire Screen display. Waterproof up to 50 meters or 5 atm,
the US$349 MB Chronowing is literally begging to be a Fitness Tracker
for swimmers or even skydivers. Too bad it isn’t a Fitness Tracker, as that's
the next upgrade that this Notification Tracker, if there is gonna be one, need
to get to be competitive.
A
Digital Clock does tie in the upper left hand corner of the watch face with the
rest of the screen and is dedicated to receiving the usual slew of real-time Notifications:
1.
Calendar Alerts
2.
Date
3.
Emails
4.
Missed Calls
5.
Sports Scores
6.
Stock Price ticker
7.
Text messages
The
MB Chronowing wristwatch has three (3) buttons for its basic functions:
1.
Handling screen backlight
2.
Controlling Music
3.
Accessing Menus
Yes,
controlling Music as the MB Chronowing wristwatch is Bluetooth enabled, making
streaming Music to a Bluetooth enabled speaker, headphone or mobile headphone a
trend that's blogworthy and which I'd predicted some time ago as state in my Geezam blog article entitled “Apple
patents Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds as Wireless Bluetooth Speakers take Flight”.
US$349 MB Chronowing
smartwatch weeklong Battery Life - The Overpriced Notification Tracker caters
to a Luxury Market
The
US$349 MB Chronowing wristwatch’s battery life is exactly one week, which is
kinda bad as it’s not a smartwatch but has a smartwatch’s battery life for the
extra perk of a monochome LCD screen.
If
you decide to purchase this baby, rest assured that it’s compatible with the
Apple iPhone iOS as well as Google Android smartphone version 4.3 of their OS.
Good to note no support is mentioned for Windows Phone or Blackberry
smartphones, who along with Apple iPhone users are more like to buy on the
basis of style rather than functionality.
With
those caveats snuck into my article on the sly, it's clear I'm not so sold on
the price. Aside from the alligator Strap with Sapphire screen version, which I
think should really be US$349, even on the Website Gilt, where it is one of the
most expensive wristwatches in its class.
I'm
not so sure that the US$349 MB Chronowing, which does only Notifications with a
monochome LCD screen that has no Fitness Tracker and can't download Apps should
in all good conscience be sold for US$349 let alone US$649 just for including a
dead reptile and the crystalline Oxide of aluminum as the faceplate. Even if it is a limited Edition smartwatch!
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