Letsfit ID215G Smartwatch Review (MSRP 79.99)

     Photo 1 includes an image of my wrist with two smartwatches that look very similar. One of them has an MSRP of $79.99 and the other one is over $300.00. Feature for feature they are not equal but I was very surprised by how much Letsfit was able to include in the ID215G at such a low price. If cost does enter into your purchase decision, this might be a smartwatch that you will want to consider. Before you consider purchasing this watch to use with an old smartphone, you need to check that your smartphone meets the minimum requirements which is IOS 9.0, Android 4.4, and Bluetooth 4.2. The VeryFitPro app looks the same on an iPhone or Android phone. See photo 3.

Reasons to Drool
     This smartwatch will work with your Android or iPhone.  Like all other smartwatches it has an app that you download from the Apple or Google Play stores. You can use the touch screen to change the watch face design. Photo 1 also shows you the three watch face choices that are available. Like its much more expensive competition this watch is always counting your steps and sending health information it gathers to the app on your smartphone. When you are ready to exercise you can use the touch screen to scroll through the different watch modes to select the best one to track your workout. The screens you can select include outdoor and indoor running, walking, and also outdoor cycling and swimming. The second photo grouping shows you some of the watch app choices. This watch has a 5ATM under pressure water resistance rating which means it is ok to wear when swimming; not ok for diving. It has a very interesting screen for hiking that can help you find your way back to your starting place. See photo 2. The watch’s LCD screen uses pixel memory, like an e-reader, and this allowed the ID215G to run on my wrist 24hrs a day for 10 days straight on a single charge. This probably would have been 15 days if I didn’t have it on when sleeping recording and charting my sleep patterns each night. The company indicates that how long it will run on a single charge will drop to about 20 hours if you turn on the watch’s GPS mode for outdoor exercising and hiking.

Not so Cool
     A few times during Android phone testing the watch’s VeryFitPro app provided the message that the “Bluetooth connection may be abnormal and should be reset in phone settings”. It is important to note the message “may be a problem” was warning about a problem that didn’t exist. I checked each time and found that the Bluetooth connection between the watch and phone was working properly. This message was not received on the iPhone. However, once after the iPhone was shut off and then turned back on the watch didn’t auto reconnect.  To solve the problem I did the unbind and then the rebind suggested in the help section. I later determined that the reconnection would have taken place if I just waited a few minutes or just shut Bluetooth and then turned it back on.

     The screen is a JDI color reflective LCD. This is a new type of memory-in-pixel (MIP) screen where still images are held in pixel memory and therefore the entire screen draws very little power to operate. Because of the reflective nature of the screen it is very easy to see in bright sunlight. However, in my opinion, even after I raised its brightness setting as high as possible, indoors I would have liked it to be at least ten percent brighter then it was. I found that you need to supply your own charging block to attach to the watch’s charging cradle and the watch display can be pressed to ignore a phone call but not answer one. Dick Tracey style phone calls were beyond what they could do at such a low price. 
Providing Resources on New & Emerging Tech for Technology Literacy
Alan J. Pierce EdD
          
pierceaj@techtoday.us
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