My excitement for a Google watch died after getting one. I soon learned that the apps and features I wanted weren't supported, mainly Google maps transit with the watch. Also when I travel to places like Japan, I'd love to tap my watch I instead of carrying around a train pass (suica/pasmo). But Google wallet only lets you do that for Japanese accounts
I didn't really care about about the health related apps, but I continued to use it for meeting reminders. When my watch died one day and I forgot to recharge it...I left it on my desk for like a year. I just found it and I'm considering using it again...but to what end?
Are there any interesting apps being made that I could try? Idk what I'm looking for but nothing health or workout related.
Related
I don't know about anyone else but I used Google Latitude a LOT. My wife and I tracked each other to know where we were to start dinner, that we landed safely on business trips, etc. So when we were told that it was going away and that we had to use Google+, it just smelled fishy. Why would I want to use TWO map apps one one was working perfectly fine (see friends and traffic all at once)?
Well, now it is clear that Google decided to cash in with Google Maps Coordinate. For the low, low price of $20/person/month, you can have all the functionality of Latitude back again!
I know that Google is a business, but Christ, this is ridiculous. Does Coordinate do ANYTHING that Latitude DIDN'T do already? I can't wait until someone creates a custom app that puts Google+ friends on a Google Maps layer.
Yea, I'm in the same boat as you. The wife and I just recently switchted to android, from being long time iPhone users. We both liked and used Latitude a lot (well for the 2 months that we had it)
I didn't know about them having a paid service, not that I would ever pay for that. That's just as dumb as what the carrier wants to charge for a similar feature.
You could try Glympse.
http://www.glympse.com/get_glympse
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.glympse.android.glympse
ShadowLea said:
You could try Glympse.
http://www.glympse.com/get_glympse
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.glympse.android.glympse
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link. Glympse appears to have a lot of features that latitude never had and I will check it out. However, it doesn't have (by design) automatic, persistent location updating that can be displayed on Google maps like latitude had for free or coordinates has for $240/person/year.
I actually signed up to speak with a Google sales rep for coordinates and asked him point blank how coordinates was any different than latitude. He feigned ignorance that latitude was even a thing which is probably his sales team's marching orders. Sad.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using xda premium
Hi all,
I walked into a local restaurant/bar the other lunchtime. My phone was in my pocket the whole time. I didnt use Google to get there or anything like that. Yet when I next looked at my phone, Google was asking me to write a review on the place I'd just been in. I had only been in there 30 seconds for them to tell me they were not yet open.
I'm thinking, what the hell!
How cant I turn this invasion of my privacy off? As far as I am aware, I turn off anything like this. I dont have apps forwarding me notifications, etc. I'm very much a phone is there for calls/texts and useful when I need to look something up.
Thanks,
Mr_Moo
I don't think google is keeping tabs on you man .is this restaurant near the place you live or something ? Because google often asks about a certain place/or ask a review about nearby(google gets your location based on your search results or by GPS when loaction acces is turned on)places that's visible on the google map so that the google maps app can be more helpful for tourists or something .
For eg my friend who lives nearby added his home's location on google maps and later I was asked if this was a florist (because he named his home "flower"). Think it was a coincidence that google asked for a review just when you entered the restaurant.
I don't live anywhere near the place.
Similar happened today. I took a photo near a garden centre and android asked me if I wanted to add it to Google's photos of their review part of the website. Geo tagging is OFF. What is going on?
This is invasion of privacy
Mr_Moo said:
I don't live anywhere near the place.
Similar happened today. I took a photo near a garden centre and android asked me if I wanted to add it to Google's photos of their review part of the website. Geo tagging is OFF. What is going on?
This is invasion of privacy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never happend to me twice
In Google maps ->settings ->1)turn Google location modeoff
2)notifications-check off unwanted notifications.
If you use Google my business app then you have turn it off there as well.
Ah, there was loads of options on there! Disabled most, thank you. I'm sure this will alleviate the issue =)
IT DID IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What's going on!?!
Mr_Moo said:
IT DID IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What's going on!?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to this link and log in to your Google account that's linked to your phone. Unckeck all checkmarks and turn everything on the website off.
Its pretty stupid that in S health are so many sports to choose from, but in the watch you have almost only excercizes that are strange to do with a gps tracking watch, pilates or other funny things that watch will not calculate correctly.
I mean where the f... is alpine skiing programm or snowbording or rollerskating, football etc. there is only cykling, running and walking to use gps with.
Why i cant synchronise my sports that i choose in S health app with S health app in the watch, i dont need pilates pushaps and the rest of this kind.
Anybody knows how to use the watch with skiing etc?
polson said:
Its pretty stupid that in S health are so many sports to choose from, but in the watch you have almost only excercizes that are strange to do with a gps tracking watch, pilates or other funny things that watch will not calculate correctly.
I mean where the f... is alpine skiing programm or snowbording or rollerskating, football etc. there is only cykling, running and walking to use gps with.
Why i cant synchronise my sports that i choose in S health app with S health app in the watch, i dont need pilates pushaps and the rest of this kind.
Anybody knows how to use the watch with skiing etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I am very curious as well. It frustrates the hell out of me that I can't use S Health for all activities I do and there are many useless ones instead. Anybody can help? How logical to me. Obviously not for Samsung.
You cant even start activity in the phone and see it on the watch, just like in android smartwatches on endemondo etc.
I will not wait until sombody will write an sports app, specially that i dont want 3rd party app and nowbody knows if there will be any first party sports app other than shealth with pilates, joga, pushups and other...
Because of that I have returned gear to the shop.
For notifications and watchfaces I dont need gear s3 with GPS. Also in my country there is no lte frontier version and no samsung pay.
I think i will buy Huawei Watch and use endemondo or other activity app connected to my phone.
I miss alpine skiing in the S-Health app on the S3 as well. But I hope that Samsung will add these activities in the nearer future. For the meantime I have installed Rossignol Ski Pursuit. I wll see next week, how it works in real life.
I have found Ski pursuit too, but what with other sports, i dont belive Samsung will add more in watch S health, couse gear fit 2 with GPS is almoust 6 months old and yet dont have many sports too...
I have had Fenix 3, wasnt afraid to use it everywhere, but gear s3 with that delicate bezel on slalom ski.
I will buy Huawei now, for superb price.
I will come back to gear s3 if samsung will add different sports and more first party apps
Hello, all!
I was given a Gear S2 for Christmas today! Very polished, and nice UI. Also the battery life has been quite acceptable, with constant use and tinkering all day.
It was actually a completely unexpected gift... I'd been thinking of getting a smartwatch of some kind, and was looking to probably get one next year. As such, I hadn't researched them any.
My ideas of what I could do with a smartwatch, was basically using it as, of course, a watch, in addition to the functions of Google Now (reminders, music control, navigation, etc., as an extension of my phone).
Unfortunately, this nice little piece of technology seems to be 100% devoid of anything Google-related (and that is the eco-system I like, am familiar with, and have been using).
Is there any workaround to get Google Now working on it? I've got the "Wearable Widgets" app, and that allows me to call on Google Now when the phone's screen is on, or if it's plugged in. Also, I've been unable to find out an easy way to use navigation on the watch.
Any ideas if these things are possible? If I can get it working the way I imagine, that would be ideal over trying to get an exchange.
Not to familiar with the whole tizen eco system, but reading your post is making me think that you should go for another watch.
You said, that your '"home" are google services. There may be workarounds possible, but you will always have to deal with these.
I would really consider to exchange it if possible
S-voice is a weak point of the Gear S2, and there's no way I know of to replace it with google now voice recognition. There are nav apps, both the Samsung-supported Here we go and some 3rd party ones that optionally use google maps data like Gear Navigator. If you make sure to check Google and Google plus apps in the list of notifications, you can get cards and related info from google sent to your watch. And the music controls on the watch allow you to control most music apps on the phone (google music, spotify, podcast apps, etc.); you have to set the app on the watch to play music on the phone, instead of tracks stored on the watch. So there's a lot you can do, but it's true that if you want seamless integration with the google universe, android wear will deliver much more.
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-gear-s2/599771-list-apps-work-gear-s2-please-add-here.html
ElectroPulse said:
Hello, all!
I was given a Gear S2 for Christmas today! Very polished, and nice UI. Also the battery life has been quite acceptable, with constant use and tinkering all day.
It was actually a completely unexpected gift... I'd been thinking of getting a smartwatch of some kind, and was looking to probably get one next year. As such, I hadn't researched them any.
My ideas of what I could do with a smartwatch, was basically using it as, of course, a watch, in addition to the functions of Google Now (reminders, music control, navigation, etc., as an extension of my phone).
Unfortunately, this nice little piece of technology seems to be 100% devoid of anything Google-related (and that is the eco-system I like, am familiar with, and have been using).
Is there any workaround to get Google Now working on it? I've got the "Wearable Widgets" app, and that allows me to call on Google Now when the phone's screen is on, or if it's plugged in. Also, I've been unable to find out an easy way to use navigation on the watch.
Any ideas if these things are possible? If I can get it working the way I imagine, that would be ideal over trying to get an exchange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What phone are you pairing it with.
So I initially bought this watch on release and unfortunately had to return it due to massively overspending that month. I only had time to have a quick play with it but I loved the screen and the look (Classic) and am now really tempted to repurchase.
One thing I did note at launch was that the selection of apps was pretty woeful, basically everything was a watchface and there wasn't even Spotify, Uber etc. at least not in the UK app store. Has this situation changed at all? Is there any way of seeing a list of current available apps?
Secondly, one of my main reasons for buying would be tracking distance, pace and calories for runs using the watch as a standalone - can anyone tell me how reliable this is and if it works well?
I will post here what I have already said elsewhere on the Gear S forums, because it's relevant to your question,
People complain about there being more watch faces and not enough apps on the Galaxy Store...
well firstly there are hundreds of apps on the store! but just how much do you expect to be doing on your watch? I mean essentially it's for time and date function, relaying of notifications, messaging, call taking/making, health tracking, weather, news and navigation. All these functions are covered out of the box.
So what are you expecting? Microsoft Office? Minecraft? Photoshop? Hello... it's a watch!! and considering that you will be looking at the time more than anything else on the watch, having a huge choice of watch faces is not only a GOOD thing, it's essential!
Now I have downloaded various apps:
Voice Memo
Guardian News
Speedometer
Gear Navigator
Calculator
Cooking Timer
Xenozu (YouTube videos)
Spotify
Gear Browser
Flashlight Premium
Brrr (disconnect warning)
Yelp
Stopwatch
Timer
Hangman
And you know what? I hardly use any of them! So I wouldn't worry about the app situation.
Also, Spotify is available in the UK
and S-Health will track your performance and upload to your Samsung account, so it will sync with your phone(s) when reconnected.