MetaWatch FRAME MW3005 Smartwatch For iPhone And Android - Black/Stainless Steel (Renewed)

There have not been a lot of good reviews on second tier smart watches. I took a chance on this product and liked it, but there is no way that this can compare with an Apple Watch or other first tier products. However, in it's own right, it is a good product with some significant down sides.Let me start by letting you know what I was looking for. I did not need a mini computer on my wrist. I needed something to remind me when my next meeting was and let me know when important e-mails have been delivered. I purchased this product at the $40 price point and will rate it as a <$100 smart watch. If i were to have paid MSRP ($230) this would be a 1-2 star product. Also note, the product might not be supported for their new flagship product the M1. I connected this to an iPhone 5C and updated the firm ware from 1.5.1 to 1.5.5. I have been using the watch for 3 or 4 days.Hardware:the watch is heavy and it not obnoxiously large on the wrist. The buttons feel flimsy, but I have not had any issues with them. I will update the review if there is an issue. The leather band feels rubbery, but looks good and is comfortable. The screen is the biggest down side. While resolution is not a problem, the screen was designed with a mirror like look to it causing all sorts of weird reflections. I often finding myself readjusting my wrist just to see the screen. This is one of the 2 items that prevented me from giving this a 5 star review. Last but not least, the vibration motor is weak. I spent an afternoon driving and missed 1/2 of the notifications as i didn't feel them over the wheel vibrations of a 2010 Town and Country!Firmware Update:This item shipped without the most current firmware update. This is not a big deal, but the confusion on updating the firmware was a problem. The directions are hidden in the website, it required an update to the charger before i could update the watch, and all of the files are hosted on DropBox. Very unprofessional.Software:First things first, the watch did exactly what i needed it to do, alert me about incoming meetings and e-mails. It did so with Apple's native email and calendar app, as well as the third party email apps such as GMail and Microsoft Office. That being said, if you don't update the FirmWare on the watch, you can only see the last alert. If you do update the FirmWare, you can only see the last 4 alerts. You can not see the whole message if it is longer then a few lines and you can not respond in any way shape or fashion. While this might be an issue for some, please see the price point and you should agree it is acceptable. What is not acceptable is the few applications on the watch are poorly designed and/or do not work. For example, the weather application does a great job of updating and even though I have no clue where it is getting the weather data, is always current for the location. However, the weather can be displayed in a quarter, half, and whole screen. Each one gives a 1/2 picture of what you want to know. The quarter screen shows the sky condition (Sunny, raining etc) the current temp and the foretasted high and low. While you would expect the half screen to show you that and more, it does not give you any current weather, just the forecast of today and tomorrow. But the full screen will have it all right? NOPE! it has the SAME information as the quarter screen plus visibility and humidity. It also has the time and date at the very top. Let's talk sports. This was the biggest disappointment. I tested this with the baseball and hockey applications. My expectation is that the score information would have no less than a 2 minute lag. Nope. Both hockey and basketball showed 0-0 for the entire game. Disappointing and the second of the two reasons i dropped it to a 4 start product. Sports scores are simple. The software should be able to handle this with no issues.Connectivity:There have been some comments on reviews about connectivity issues. Paired with a iPhone 5c I have experienced no connectivity issues. The watch will vibrate when dropping the signal, if you walk away from your phone like i often do.Verdict: Simply put, if you want a good looking watch to display alerts from your phone on your wrist, buy. If you want this thing to do much more, open up your wallet because you are going to have to spend a few hundred bucks to make that dream come true.The rest of this review is on the off chance that someone from Meta were to read this...Honestly, you have a good product that is advertised so horribly I can see why you were not on my radar (I found you looking at Pebble watches). First things first, own who you are. You are a second tier smart watch. There is no shame in it! You will not be able to beat out 1st tier watches such as the Apple watch and Galaxy Gear. That being said, advertising your watch with some hotshot guy in a old convertible with a good looking blond don't cut it. Those guys are wearing the Apple Watch. Don't believe me? Ask Labron James who just bought a bunch of them for his team. BTW, he sells Galaxy Gear.So if you are not a Tier 1 seller, be a great Tier 2 seller, like Pebble. You have a competitive product. Fix the application issues, improve the vibration motor, and get rid of that blasted mirror like watch face and you have the every-man's smart watch. At the right price point, that is a product you can sell en mass! Build a few female models too, they are about 50% of the population and a huge market. Also, don't hang your original supporters out to dry by not keeping the older product line updated. Even Apple supports their products back 3 or 4 generations. After that, expect your clients to upgrade :)

My refurbished MetaWatch Frame arrived in like-new condition and works flawlessly. If you are only concerned with getting basic information at a glance this is a stylish and affordable option. I found the notifications setup easy and although the number of widgets is limited they satisfied my requirements. The vibration is not amazing, but it is strong enough to have cut down on me missing notifications by a good amount.

A nice smart watch for the money. It is no Apple Watch, but is a high quality device and comfortable to wear. The leather strap is top notch. Apps are limited and the watch face can be difficult to read in some lighting conditions. Battery life is 5-6 days.

Great watch for techies !! Just the way I wanted to have my notifications and alerts it does all that. The only thing I saw is my iPhone 5S battery was draining down fast but now it is ok. This Smart watch for 40 bucks is a steal - get it while you can as this is an open source watch where is a possibility of lot more in the future. I short it does what I wanted and had a 5 day battery life which is cool. The Meta Watch App for iPhone may need some improvements and tuning from a battery usage perspective. Hoping for much more for the Meta watch iPhone community going forward.Display might be an issue but I guess I am getting used to it.

This is a nice smart watch but the functions are limited and there is not much in the way of development going on for it any more. I had to downgrade the manager software and use 2 third party apps to get the notifications I want.

I've been using this watch for a month and while I wish it had a few more customizations or apps, I'm happy with it. It would be nice if it could show more than just today in the weather forecast, but for what it is and what I paid I can't complain.

This watch is useless, battery life is limited and the functions buttons do not respond consisently. I gave it two stars because I like the design.

Hard to see screen in many light situations. Notifications hard to feel. Ended up with a Pebble.