Slowly over 2013 I’ve been more and more interested in smart watches but I have two major issues. #1 – most smart watches only seemed to be compatible with Android phones and #2 – none seemed feminine to me. For the past 45 days I’ve been using the Martian Victory watch – did it quash my issues? Let’s see:
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DESIGN | STYLE
Upon first glance the Martian Victory Watch looks like a typical Japanese analog quartz watch. It has a substantial steel case and clasp with anti-scratch crystal glass. My review unit was has a tan watch face with matching ribbed silicone band.
Upon further examination you’ll notice the LED screen on the bottom ½ of the watch and an indicator light located around the number 4. You probably won’t notice either of these until you sync it with your smart phone.
Along the right side of the watch you’ll find the knob to set the analog time, a mic and located under a port cover is a microUSB port, which blends into the watch unassumingly. Keep moving around and under the led screen invisible if you look straight onto the watch face – you’ll find a speaker. Keep moving up the left side you’ll find two metallic buttons one used to answer/end calls and the other to access the Menu.
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FEATURES
- Analog quartz watch with Japanese movement
- 2- Button Control – All the Bluetooth features can be accessed using just two buttons.
- Rechargeable Lithium-Polymer Battery – 2+ hours talk time, 7 days standby time and 2 years of analog watch time
- Noise-Cancellation Microphone
- Directional Personal Speaker
- 96 x 16 pixel graphic OLED display
- Bluetooth® 4.0 chip (classic Bluetooth and Bluetooth low energy)
- RGB LED light
- “Light Touch” Vibrating Motor
- 3-Axis Accelerometer
- Martian Leash – A vibration alert notifies you if you walk away from your phone
- Anti-scratch glass crystal
- Micro USB port – for recharging and firmware updates
Usability
When a call came in he number scrolls across the LED screen as do all the notifications, press the top button on the left to answer. The Gesture feature works well – I liked the fact that I can raise my hand straight up over my head and twist my wrist twice to reject a call and send straight to voicemail. It sounds more involved then it is it really took minimal effort. The call quality was flawless I could hear just fine and most people thought I was speaking straight from my phone – that’s always a good sign.
Voice commands with Siri worked fine, long pressing the top button on the left activated Siri on my iPhone 5S and it worked, as it should. I was able to get Tweets, Gmail emails and FB Messenger messages on my watch however my SMS was a struggle at times. I’m thankful that if you are actively using your watch you won’t get all the notifications because it’s assumed you have seen them.
The Martian Watch didn’t stream my messages in it’s entirety which is fine with me. It showed me just enough to know if I needed to respond immediately or something I could deal with later. I also loved how if I missed a message on my watch I could tap the screen (glass face) within a minute to show me the last message.
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Final Thoughts
I’m ecstatic to finally have a smart watch compatible with my iPhone and I love that it’s analog makes it look classy to me. Being able to talk and listen from my wrist makes this the perfect hands-free partner to your smartphone. I didn’t spend too much time testing the camera feature, but the time or two I used it to take timed pics came out ok.
You can purchase additional additional bands or you can buy direct or you can get a 22mm band from any watch shop/jewelry store to change of the look of your watch a bit.
Martian also comes in other models – the Passport and the G2G to suit different styles. The Martian Victory is available in Black/Black, Tan/Silver, White/Silver and Black/Silver for $299 on their site.
