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An MP3 Watch For Geeks
This watch, which looks like an elegant (but not gaudy) analogue watch, has an MP3 player built in. The finish is scratch-resistant galvanised steel-grey and black plastic. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it isn’t cheap trash (it’s made in China!)—it’s rather ruggedly built.
The rubber strap looks stiff and uncomfortable, but once you wear it, it is not that bad. The watch looks rather large. The strap makes it look like an alien contraption, thanks to the embedded USB connector which is to be pulled off to connect it to the PC. The dial is eerie, with hands and hour marks that emit a calm green glow in the dark. Indicator LEDs below the hour marks glow when the MP3 player is turned on, and make the watch look even more surreal.
The device gets instantly recognised as a removable drive, so you can also use it to carry your data. Transfer speeds are slow—it takes 110 seconds to transfer 100 MB, so it takes around 9 minutes to fill it up. Getting used to the controls is a little frustrating at the start, but you can quickly get the hang of it. The absence of any sort of display is sorely missed, but things are made a little uncomplicated by the LEDs.
MP3 playback is above par, and the bundled earphones do an excellent job of complementing the player. There are four very effective preset equaliser settings. The fade-in and fade-out effects are there by default, though these often clip a couple of seconds of the start of the first song being played. The earphones are rather large, and may be uncomfortable for some—and thanks to the 2.5 mm jack, you can’t connect your favourite headphones, either. It also has a voice recorder with an inbuilt microphone, which made us feel like Johnny Sokko commanding the Giant Robot—it adds plenty of nerd value.
MP3 playback lasts a little over 5 hours, which is fair—and the watch and player have separate batteries, so you can tell time even after the music stops. 512 MB is just OK for an MP3 player, but may seem less if you have a voracious appetite for audio; there is also a 1 GB version available. Bundled along is a longer cable to connect it to the USB port and software that lets you upgrade its firmware. It costs Rs 4,125—a bit high, since there is no video or even FM Radio.
| Rating |
| Features : 3.5 |
| Performance : 4 |
| Ease of Use : 3.5 |
| Value for Money : 3.5 |
| Overall : 3.5 |
Specifications
Capacity: 512 MB; Audio: MP3 (32 Kbps - 320 Kbps), WMA (5 Kbps - 256 Kbps); Voice recording: ADPCM; Interface: USB Full Speed 12 Mbps
Contact : Bridge One Technologies
Phone : 91-40-23550794
E-mail : m.barathwaj@gmail.com
Web site : www.aigo.com
Price : Rs 4,125
