By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
The smartwatch segment of wearable computing is starting to explode. While everyone seems to agree that a smartwatch should have a touchscreen, a variety of apps, and the ability to change watchfaces at will, there are some manufacturers who are bucking the trend.
Take for example Martian, who makes a line of Passport watches that it says are smartwatches and which do interface with iPhones and Androids.
The Martian watch looks very much like a fashionista's timepiece Big bold bezel, an actual mechanical watchface with an analog quartz movement. It also features a tiny one-line display as well as an 96 x 16 pixel graphic OLED indicator.
This certainly doesn't look or feel like an uber-geek's smartwatch. The Martian watch could easily be regarded as a fashion accessory to top off a fitted Ed Hardy shirt, leather jacket, designer jeans and pointy boots.
At first glance, it is easy to miss the Martian's special functions and features. Indeed, the 'smartness' of this watch is quite subtle and maybe that's the point of their design. To give users some the functionality of connected device without making it overtly nerdy.
The built-in microphone allows for actually taking and responding to calls. As in you can speak into the watch to talk to someone you're on the line with. While the low volume is understandable given such a small speaker, it is an interesting use of the watch.
You can also enable voice commands and toggle your iPhone's Siri from the watch and give it any command accepted by the personal assistant. Now, your mileage may vary as ambient noise does factor into this.
So while it may be seen as some as lacking in functionality, the Martian Passport might be the smartwatch for users who don't want to look like they're using a smartwatch, but who want to interact with their phones for voice, notifications, alerts and for making and receiving calls on their wrist.
Good thing about the Martian is that is compatible with iOS and Android out of the box. Battery life is pretty good with 7 days of standby time and 2 hours of talktime.
The pricing does give me pause. The Martian Passport retails for around $299 which is a hard sell for a quasi-smartwatch. You also have to like the looks of it because you're stuck with that design forever. I personally feel it is too thick and chunky for the functionality it offers but that might actually appeal to some users.
Rating: 3 out of 5