2015 could be the year of wearable technology, particularly with more manufacturers entering the market with new smartwatches. However, most of the wearable tech still feels like a novelty, a cool piece of technology that really doesn't fit into our everyday world.
However, the Martian Notifier watch, which we received a demo model of, bucks the trend by being much simpler, focusing solely on just giving us our notifications, alerting us of new emails, social media messages and calendar events. But most importantly, at just $129, this is the smartwatch for the masses, an affordable piece of wearable tech that we can actually use.
The first thing you'll notice about the Martian Notifier watch is that it doesn't look like a standard smartwatch. This is a good thing as most smartwatches aren't all that fashionable, and are often bulky and unattractive. The Martian Notifier looks like a watch, right down to the roman numerals and clock face that tells you the time. The display is only a small portion of the screen at the bottom, making this a nice looking watch.
However, as this is a piece of technology and not just a watch, you'll notice that if you have a small wrist, this thing is huge and a little unwieldy to wear, particularly for women. Let's face it, though, smartwatches, in general, are completely missing the female market because of their sizes. As technology improves and gives us smaller components for these things, hopefully we can assume that someone will eventually jump on making smaller smartwatches for those of us with smaller wrists.
With that being said, though, the watch still looks nice. The wristband is comfortable, made of a flexible rubber that has indentations in it that almost makes it seem like it's made of links. And even better, you can purchase a new band in a variety of colors for just $20, making this an accessory that can go with just about everything.
The analog watch face shows you the regular time, but you can also display world time and weather. You can even set hourly reminders.
But what about the "smart" part of the watch? The Martian Notifier does exactly what it's name says: it notifies. Once you connect the watch to your smartphone (it works with both iOS and Android) via Bluetooth and download the Martian Notifier app, you can set which apps send notifications to the watch. Those notifications come to you with a vibration, which you can customize, like Morse code, making each app notification different.
When you're ready to see what's going on, the small display at the bottom of the watch's face gives you your information in scrolling text. If you miss a notification, just tap the screen five minutes later and you can see it again.
Although the Martian Notifier does not have a speaker or microphone, you can still use the watch to send voice commands to your phone. However, if you're using Siri or Google Now regularly, this is probably one of the few functions of the watch you won't really need.
The Martian Notifier also has some additional features, ones that come in handy. You can use one of the watch's buttons to trigger your phone to take a photo, making selfies a little easier to control. You can even set a three-second delay before the camera takes a photo.
If you lose your phone, the locate phone feature could also prove useful. If while wearing the watch, you wander out of range from your phone, the watch alerts you.
The Martian notifier charges via USB, but unfortunately, it requires a proprietary micro-USB plug (which comes with the watch). The port is unobtrusive, covered with a small panel that melds seamlessly into the watch when not in use. A single charge lasts nearly a week, but because of the watch's design, even if the smart part of the watch is out of juice, you can still use the analog clock face for telling time.
The Martian Notifier watch is a good smartwatch to break into the wearable technology trend, especially with its features being so useful and the watch itself being so stylish. And at just $129, it makes for an affordable and practical purchase.
You can learn more about the Martian Notifier and order one for yourself by visiting the company's website.
[Photo Credit: Martian Watches]
