Android Watch Suggestions with EUC World

[Elliot_Mess]

Hey riders. I know there are a lot of threads on this but I was hoping to get a few specific opinions from y'all and not wade through a bunch of threads. 

While learning to ride the biggest need I have is to be able to check speed, battery, change songs, and read time quickly and safely. The phone is not safe for me and takes concentration off the road for too long. 

I just downloaded the EUC World app. I have an older Motorola Z2 Play (planning to upgrade to S10 later this year)

Looking to get a decent and cheaper <$200 smartwatch with EUC World connectivity.

I'd prefer a more active style. No metal bands for me.

Anyone have a watch they love or at least one that gets the job done for less than $200?

Samsung, FItBit, etc.

Cheers everyone and stay safe during this crazy time!

 

[Seba]

15 minutes ago, Elliot_Mess said:

I just downloaded the EUC World app. I have an older Motorola Z2 Play (planning to upgrade to S10 later this year)

Looking to get a decent and cheaper <$200 smartwatch with EUC World connectivity.

I think you should start with Pebble watch. It will give you most important, instant readouts like speed, battery level, temperature and time. More, it will also give you vibration alarms (like overspeed, overtemperature, overcurrent etc.) and one customizable action (on button press). Pebble is cheap, simple, and have monochrome display that offers great readability in right sun. Battery also last very long.

Of course you can also go for any Wear OS watch. It will cost more and will provide more features, but also will drain watch battery faster. Samsung watch support will be available very soon, with "pros" and "cons" similar to Wear OS watch app.

[travsformation]

1 hour ago, Seba said:

More, it will also give you vibration alarms (like overspeed, overtemperature, overcurrent etc.) and one customizable action (on button press)

Does this also apply to the Pebble classic? I just got one and can't figure out which button it is...

[EUC Custom Power-Pads]

1 hour ago, Seba said:

Samsung watch support will be available very soon, with "pros" and "cons" similar to Wear OS watch app.

We will not accept this! 

 

[Seba]

57 minutes ago, buell47 said:

We will not accept this! 

Haha  The only problem is that OLED display is power-hungry, regardless if this is Wear OS, Tizen or any other device. This is why Pebble with its simple RTOS and STN LCD monochrome display wins in terms of runtime on single charge. But there is good news - I plan to implement most possible power-saving mode that won't sacrifice responsiveness.

[Seba]

1 hour ago, travsformation said:

Does this also apply to the Pebble classic? I just got one and can't figure out which button it is...

Of course - right center button.

[EUC Custom Power-Pads]

3 minutes ago, Seba said:

Haha  The only problem is that OLED display is power-hungry, regardless if this is Wear OS, Tizen or any other device. This is why Pebble with its simple RTOS and STN LCD monochrome display wins in terms of runtime on single charge. But there is good news - I plan to implement most possible power-saving mode that won't sacrifice responsiveness.

If my battery is empty, I can charge the Galaxy Watch on a break with my Samsung Smartphone with "Wireless PowerShare", so it's not a problem at all if this is the only bad thing. 😊

[Unventor]

6 minutes ago, buell47 said:

If my battery is empty, I can charge the Galaxy Watch on a break with my Samsung Smartphone with "Wireless PowerShare", so it's not a problem at all if this is the only bad thing. 😊

Or just pull out USB charge dock and connect it an EUC USB port, if you are so lucky to have this.

Otherwise a power bank in a backpack do not add much extra weight. 

[WI_Hedgehog]

2 hours ago, Seba said:

I think you should start with Pebble watch.

The Pebble Watch is discontinued. Is that an issue?

I've seen the $50 watch mentioned in other threads from a while ago, but is it still a wise choice?

[EUC Custom Power-Pads]

13 minutes ago, Unventor said:

Or just pull out USB charge dock and connect it an EUC USB port, if you are so lucky to have this.

Otherwise a power bank in a backpack do not add much extra weight. 

Galaxy Watch has no charging port 😅

Of course I could take a USB cable and the docking station with me, but that's additional stuff. 

Edited April 2, 2020 by buell47

[Unventor]

Well my charge dock is same size as the watch. But with a use cable. 

[travsformation]

4 hours ago, WI_Hedgehog said:

The Pebble Watch is discontinued. Is that an issue?

I've seen the $50 watch mentioned in other threads from a while ago, but is it still a wise choice?

It's a bit outdated, but still usable, great battery life and a very good option for an EUC stats watch. I just received mine a few days ago, bought it on ebay for €22.50 

[.....]

I use this Lemfo to do what you ask. Its a little finicky but it does decent enough for me. I dont carry a phone nor install sim cards, so it HAD to be android standalone. I think I paid around $135-150 for it, but opted for more storage for more music. It cuts in and out a little bit from music thru the wheel when i raise my arm. I am thinking bluetooth is a little weak. Maybe not the best option for the $$, but its an option. I hear good things about 'pebble' for this kind of stuff. Is the pebble full droid or just another remote control for a phone? I had a smartwatch that was NOT full droid and found it useless w/o a phone. Im a minimalist, so buying 2 devices to do ONE thing, makes my head hurt.  You can see how I use eucw and the lemfo in my 1hr long vid across the neighborhood.  At any rate, this has ALL been covered before. You MAY want to get used to wading thru tons of posts, as new threads of the same thing, only aggravate your original complaint.

[Stillhart]

I did a quick search on Amazon for "wear os watch" and this came up.  $75 on sale, colors are fine, does everything I could want.  Seems like a solid pickup.  I'd grab one but I gotta wait a week or two before buying all my EUC stuff. 

[.....]

55 minutes ago, Stillhart said:

I did a quick search on Amazon for "wear os watch" and this came up.  $75 on sale, colors are fine, does everything I could want.  Seems like a solid pickup.  I'd grab one but I gotta wait a week or two before buying all my EUC stuff. 

I had one JUST like it. It was nice, but i learned that it wouldnt do much, without a companion device to power it. It arrived promptly, looked really nice and they accepted the return very easily. I bought it directly from fossil (i abhor amazon). Just be aware that 'wear os' is not the same as android. You probably already know this, I didnt...

Edited April 3, 2020 by ShanesPlanet

[PennBruce]

Plus one on the Pebble Time.  It has a screen that you can read in sunlight even with sunglasses.  $63.95, new on eBay. 

@Seba has a video on setting up the Pebble Time.

I started with a Mobvoi Ticwatch.  Nice watch but useless in sunlight.

Bruce

[travsformation]

There are different approaches to this, depending on what you want. Here's my experience, for in case it's of use to anyone:

(If you can't be bothered with my lengthy History of my Smartwatch Conundrum rambling, scroll straight down to Enter the Pebble)

I originally wanted a WearOS watch that could do everything, from daily use (notification sync with my phone, fitness tracking, Android Pay and whatnot) to EUC World, Google Maps and Komoot. And I wanted good battery life too. (The same way I wanted a powerhouse of a laptop that wasn't too big, wasn't too thick, and didn't overheat)

After doing a little research, I came to the conclusion there was no ultimate solution. At that time, @Seba had started to actively develop WheelLog into what has now become EUC World, and had just implemented voice messages, so I instead of betting on the all-in-one smartwatch solution, I bought an in-helmet headset to get periodic riding stats without having to take my phone out of my pocket, and an entry-level smartwatch (Amazfit Bip, with GPS) to track my tours without draining my phone's battery. Voice messages worked well, as I'd get get my riding stats (speed, avg speed, distance, etc.) every few minutes (On-demand voice messages via Flic button or watch hadn't yet been implemented), and as I tracked my tours with the watch, I'd get real-time GPS-based speed, and tour-tracking was pretty accurate. But exporting to gpx files turned out to be a royal pain requiring a paid alternative to the Amazfit's Mi Fit app. But it worked well enough, and I was able to export my tours and import them to relive, Google Earth, Strava, etc.

But then Seba went and improved on euc.world, and the ability to see wheel data graphs for my tours, as well as being able to upload pictures, share my tours, add my last public tour to my signature, etc., made tracking tours with my watch feel terribly lacking, so I eventually ended up using the smartwatch just for step counting and sleep tracking (useful for insomniacs), and resorted to the EUC World app for tour-tracking and live data.

Since then, Seba has implemented and expanded on what I like to call Quick Actions---the ability to trigger certain actions (request a voice message, trigger the wheel's horn, turn the headlight on/off, etc), which has made live EUC data much more user-friendly, as I can set the interval to 15' so it doesn't annoy me too often, but request a voice message (I have it set to current speed, avg. speed in motion and distance) at any time via my Flic button. This makes having a smartwatch much less of a necessity.

But tour-tracking---constant GPS and data usage---was just still an issue with the ever-dwindling battery life on my Samsung Galaxy S7.  When I finally decided to upgrade my phone (Huawei P30 Pro), with its whopping 2-day`battery life (a 4h tour, with live map view on and Spotify using data in the background, doesn't even chip 1/3 off my battery life), this ceased to be an issue, so now it's EUC World all the way for me. Especially with all the improvements it's seen in the past months, with the ability to export gpx files, connect to Relive, upload pictures after a tour, etc.

AND, even more importantly, use of mobile data and battery drain have been considerably reduced over the past few releases thanks to the option of logging CSV files with GPS data and having them automatically uploaded to euc.world and converted into tours. All of these features make EUC World extremely appealing (for tour tracking, safety, etc.), and smartwatches less essential for getting live stats.

But I can still see the use of a smartwatch: I don't always want an audio to get an instantaneous speed reading. And since I like to monitor speed, avg. speed in motion, distance, battery life & temperature, it can be kind of tedious to get the whole run-down when I request an audio message just for one stat, be it speed or temperature. Which is where a smartwatch really comes in handy...

From here on, it comes down to personal preference. Some might want a fully-fledged WearOS or Tizen watch. I've been weighing my options for at least 3 months, and finally decided against it. The battery life just doesn't cut it for me, I have enough devices to worry about charging (Phone, Bluetooth earbuds, in-helmet headset, action camera, etc.), I don't need another gadget that I have to worry about charging every day or two. And with the screen always on for using with EUC World, while touring, most of the watches out there would struggle to keep up with several-hour tours on the max. brightness required for visibility in Spain's mostly sunny climate (supposing the screen were even legible at all, especially when wearing sunglasses). You can always ride with the display off and switch it on to get your stats, but that press of a button somehow defeats the point for me.

And then there's a convenience issue that you don't really think of until you encounter it: using the same watch for EUC touring and daily use is more of a hassle than one might initially imagine. Your watch is comfortably strapped around your wrist with the stock strap or nice leather after-market band you bought for it. You decide to go for a ride, and since you're safety-conscious (unless you're @ShanesPlanet ), you reach for your wrist guards, to realize you're going to have to take your watch off before putting them on. You do so, only to discover that a) the straps aren't long enough to fit over your wrist guards, b) they just barely reach, but the watch sits very awkwardly on your wrist, c) it doesn't get along well with your jacket cuff, and therefore d) You're going to have to come up with a better system.

In my case, after trying several different approaches, I decided it was still too tedious and came to the conclusion that it's better to have a dedicated watch for EUC World. And because of the reasons mentioned above, a top-of-the-line, all-singing, all-dancing Fossil, Samsung or Ticwatch felt like overkill (and too expensive) for an EUC-only wrist-gauge. Not to mention the risk of watch-planting and destroying a watch that costs more than many smartphones.

 

Enter the Pebble. The Pebble Time (color e-ink display) would have been my watch of choice, but they're hard to come by, at least a decently priced one. So a week ago I received my Pebble Classic, which I ordered on ebay and paid 22.50€ for. The user I bought it from has quite a few on sale (Classic & Steel), which he refurbishes: new battery, new zebra screen-connector, regeneration of the rubber seal so it remains waterproof (if anyone's interested, look for the user a.n.d.r.u if you're in Europe; shipping to the US might be a bit costly). I've removed the straps, velcroed it to my wrist guard, et voilà, a cheap wrist gauge, perfect for EUC World. It may be a bit spartan with its B&W e-ink screen, but the battery life is good, sunlight visibility is excellent so far, it gives me the basic information I need at a glance (speed, temperature and battery), it conveniently lives on my wrist-guard full-time, so it's a hassle-free operation, vibrates when I get a speed, current or temp. alarm, the right-middle button can be configured to perform the Quick Action of my choice, and if I break it, it's not a big deal. I haven't tested it extensively yet, with the lockdown and all, but so far, it seems like it's going to suit my needs perfectly. I also think it's a great first choice for anyone who wants to try out the smartwatch connectivity with EUC World but doesn't want to spend a lot.

Below is my setup. I've kept the top watch-band pin in and attached a little strap to it; the other end is tied to the wrist guard for in case the velcro comes unfastened, so I don't accidentally lose the watch, and has a quick-release for whenever I want to take it off of the wrist guard (for charging, etc):

 

Very pleased so far. And Seba's great tutorial made setting it up with EUC World a breeze

Edited April 3, 2020 by travsformation

[.....]

does it work by itself, or did you HAVE to have a phone to set it up? Can it download the eucw app on its own or can you sync it to a desktop computer to install the apps? At that price point, if it can run eucw out of the box with ONLY needing to go online via wifi for app install, it looks to be the ticket for sure! Does the gps on it seem to be solid? My lemfo seems to get around 6-10hrs of wifi/bt/gps with screen on bright for EUCW. My fossill was useless out of the box, as it required a phone and a qc(?) reader to even get it to operate other than built in fitness BS. I have been known to wear safety gear at times. Ive yet to ride my euc naked, that counts....

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by ShanesPlanet

[PennBruce]

8 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

does it work by itself,......

If you're asking about the Pebble Time it does require a cell phone to run the EUC app and provide GPS. You need to have both devices.

I think your solution with the Lemfo is the only device that functions as a standalone.

Bruce

[.....]

damn, bubble popped, courtesy of PennBruce..  my ebay account and pocket, thanks you for the info...

[travsformation]

19 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

I have been known to wear safety gear at times. Ive yet to ride my euc naked, that counts...

@Hunka Hunka Burning Love has set the bar then...

[Stillhart]

@travsformation thanks for the thorough post.  You touched on pretty much all my concerns.  When I'm ready to buy, I'll be looking into my options but I like your line of thinking. 

[travsformation]

3 hours ago, Stillhart said:

@travsformation thanks for the thorough post.  You touched on pretty much all my concerns.  When I'm ready to buy, I'll be looking into my options but I like your line of thinking. 

Glad it was helpful. I sometimes wonder if anyone actually reads these rambling of mine...

[Elliot_Mess]

Holy responses Batman!

Haha thanks everyone I really appreciate chiming in on my new thread. I do realize I'm contributing to the problem of thread black holes. 

Looks like the Pebble is the way to go for cheap easy solution. Off to eBay!

Thanks for all the knowledge. This forum and community rocks.

[Seba]

1. Pebble WheelLog companion app that is also compatible with EUC World (running on Pebble Classic):

2. EUC World companion app for Android Wear / Wear OS (running on TicWatch Pro):

3. EUC World companion app for Samsung Gear (running on Samsung Gear 46 mm):

 

PLEASE NOTE - Samsung Gear companion app is currently in final development stage and will be rolled out with upcoming EUC World update (to be released this month). Each app is a companion app, so it will need "master" phone app to work.