Text and Photos by Corey Herscu
Another day, another connected watch.
Pardon my cynicism, but it has become impossible to stay interested in every new project that makes its way into my inbox, solely because ever since Pebble disrupted an industry by creating that nortorious personal wrist-bound gadget (of the same name), everyone from your mother and sister to your neighbor and weird uncle Harry have all taken a stab at creating a ‘connected’ watch. All -- aside from a standout few – have failed to win hearts and take names.
Of course, when I point out those ‘standout few’ I am referring to Pebble, LG, and the forthcoming Apple watch. All have impressed and proven that they offer features that make them worth the few hundred-dollar investment they command. One company, however, that I didn’t mention is Irvine, California-based Martian Watches.
Known for their previously reviewed Passport model, just-released Voice Command watches, and aforementioned Notifier, Martian Watches stand-out by being stylish watches first, connected device second.
In terms of the Notifier, what I loved the most about it was how simple and elegant it actually is. As a watch lover, I wasn’t cognizant of how essential owning a clean black watch is until I actually had one and started using it regularly. Using the Roman numeral XII to signify 12 and subtle silver rivets to detail each multiple of five going forth, it’s clean and effective whether dressed up or down.
Then comes the real fun: when the LCD at the bottom of the screen is turned on and subsequently connected; it then becomes the little personal assistant designed to add a touch of convenience to your day.
Using a free downloadable Android or iOS app (sorry BlackBerry and Windows users), you’re able to control, at the touch of a button (pun intended), what notifications come to your watch, such as: calls, texts or hangouts, BBM, tweets, emails, weather and more.
Now you must be wondering, with notifications comes battery drain, so how is the battery life on the technology half of the Notifier?
I easily got five days of ‘connected’ usage without needing to worry about recharging. However, when the Notifier finally died one afternoon on, it magically transformed into this clean black watch that I could continue wearing for the rest of the day without my OCD getting the better of me because the battery was dead.
The only real caveat I found is that Martian watches, though still using microUSB to charge, required a custom charger where the physical USB port is longer than a standard (to fit into the charging slot) microUSB. So if you happen to forget – or lose – the provided cable, you’re SOL when it comes to recharging.
All in all, months later, I still swear by this thing and for $129 you can’t really go wrong. Learn more here