I have a confession: I love watches… I know, it’s an illness that needs to be addressed, but I can’t help it. So, when I saw the Indiegogo campaign for Matrix PowerWatch, I was giddy with excitement. This watch was advertised to be powered through the wearer’s body heat, and would never have to be charged.
Delay with Delivery .. But thats par for Crowdfunding campaigns
Now, there’s something that you need to know if you’re going to back one of the Indiegogo campaigns: in my experience, the “estimated delivery date” will probably not be the real date of delivery. I became a backer of the PowerWatch X campaign in late September 2017. The estimated delivery was October 2017. My PowerWatch X was delivered October 2018.
The PowerWatch X came with a manual, and a thermal charger in a beautiful box. The instructions to get it started were easy: just install the app, put in your vitals (height, weight, etc.) pair the watch through Bluetooth and then put it on. Voila! Done in a matter of a few minutes.
Installation Easy
The watch is very basic: time, step counter, calories burned, stopwatch and running mode. When paired with a phone, it notifies you of incoming calls and messages. The app tracks step, calories, distance walked, and sleep. Alarm and personal targets (distance, steps, calories) can be set through the app.
A few days after I received it, the watch stopped working. I thought that it was because I was not active enough to keep the battery powered up. I charged it using the thermal recharger and tried to get it started using the app. It didn’t pair, so, I contacted the help desk. Basically, the instructions were to re-install the app and pair the watch again. This seemed to work for a month or so. Other than the app needed to be manually updated, the watch seemed to be working well for 2 months.
My Activity Watch is not so Active?
But all good things must come to an end: During the last month my watch has stopped working three times by itself (as it did when I initially received it). I mean a blank screen… nothing, nada, zip! Each time, the watch needed to be “recharged” on the thermal unit, then re-paired with the app (which needed to be removed, and then re-installed on my device). To say that this is a pain, would be an obvious statement, so I won’t. (Just in case you’re wondering, it’s not due a lack of activity, as I am walking about an hour a day and work out 3 times a week.)
After each of these episodes, I contacted the help desk… which was of no help (other than to tell me to go through the above mentioned process). To say that I’m disappointed would be pretty accurate.
After many emails back and forth, they asked me to send them the watch so they could “study” it and promised that they would send me a working watch after this was completed. When I requested a refund, they said that it was past the Refund period (14 days after you’ve received the watch).
Bottom line: One Year Delay in Delivery, 3 Months Use and Its Dead
For those of you who are considering buying a Matrix PowerWatch X , I would advise you to think about your purchase very carefully, as the product I’ve received has not consistently and reliably worked. The PowerWatch X is the “high-end” first generations of this Smart Watch.
- Dimensions: 10.2 x 1.8 x 0.5 inches
- Weight: 14.7 ounces
- Batteries: 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included)
- Water resistant up to 200 meters / 660 feet
- Sync data to your iOS or Android Device
- Runs off Body Heat – Doesn’t need to be placed on a wireless charging pad like the Apple Watch 3
- Easy to Start
- Face of the watch can be changed to 3 variations through the app
- A very short refund period (14 days after you’ve received it)
- Watch does not sync consistently
- Watch stops working when app is in need of update
- Bulky and large watch face (does not come in a “women’s version”) and thick wrist band
- Expensive (“basic” PowerWatch $199 US, Black Ops Power Watch $239 US, PowerWatch X $279 US)
- Basic metrics tracked (time, steps, calories)
- Alarm can only be set through the app
- Unreliable over the long term, as the watch turns itself off despite an active lifestyle.
- If you don’t live in the US, there are customs and duties to be paid if ordering through the Matrix website (about $50 CDN)
Leanne Clare is an occasional guest writer for the New Gizmo Blog. She is passionate about Sports and Wearables Technology.
