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 Swatch Midsize Black Paparazzi Smart Watch #SUHB100 By: Swatch Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 8 More Information Not so great  On: 2008-01-12I have had great luck with another Smart Watch, the Abacas Black Leather watch, so was hoping for more of the same with the Swatch Smart Watch. Most gadgets come in mens sizes only, so I bought this watch with the hope it would be smaller, as it was advertised "Midsized." So the first disappointment was that it was just as big, maybe bigger, than my Abacas. The real problem is the attachment for the recharger. Two small wires were bent and rebent as I tried to use it, and a small plastic piece broke off after the first couple days. The chargeing mechanism needs a redesign. I sent it back. Lots of fun, but a little sweaty sometimes.  On: 2007-08-23This watch is a lot of fun for a technotoy geek like me. I cant think of any more content Id want on my wrist. If youre considering this watch, then youve likely already learned about all of the neat content available on it. No need to get into that here. Strengths: Info visibility, durability, buttons have a soft "click" when pressed, rechargeable battery, ability to sync with Outlook calendar. Opportunities for improvement: The watch is a bit bulky. Its no hockey puck, but its pretty much impossible to button a long-sleeved shirt cuff around it. The crystal scratches easily. Its a good idea to leave the clingy plastic protector on as long as tolerable. The band is made of rubber, which makes for a sweaty wrist if the wearer is at all active. The band is a bit stiff, which means that it doesnt always lay on the wrist as youd expect a watch to lay. Ive had a couple of times when the watch has "frozen" some time during re-charge. This was easily remedied by pressing a combination of buttons as outlined in the owners manual. In spite of the needs for improvement, I would buy this watch again. Its a solid entry level piece. a watch that extends far beyond your wrist!  On: 2007-05-31Ive had this watch over a month now, and continue to find out new cool things about it. First off, it feels natural and lighter than it looks. Easier to charge than a cell phone, and over a week between needing charges. Besides built-in functions, it lets you download & change its face (dozens available), receive multiple news feeds from your choice of subjects, weather (local & other spots you pick), stocks, quotes, history trivia, receive messages, and more than Ive chosen (like sports). Surprisingly easy to read, and I keep finding new places to use it (usually to kill time: waiting in lines, or at restaurants, microwaving lunch, etc.), after all, its always with me. Way cool! LOVE IT! Best gift I ever bought. On: 2007-01-12I bought this watch for my teenage son as a replacement for another "smart" watch I had bought him 2 years ago. It is much more dependable and does not re-set constantly as the first watch did. My son loves the look of this watch, and it is water-resistant, which is handy for when it rains. We did not pay extra for the email/text message capability, but it has that if anyone is interested. (My son has a cell phone, so he receives text messages via that instead. ) He does use the sports updates (constantly!) to keep up with his sports teams, and he loves the different watch faces that can be downloaded to the watch. For those who follow the stock market, I understand that stock prices can also be included in the messages sent to the watch. Whenver anything happens in the world that is important (or less important, sometimes), a newsflash update is sent to his watch. My son is always the first to know...LOL. The price is wonderful, and the fact that it came with one year free subscription made it a "keeper" in my opinion. My son loves it, and my other son wants one too! I will be buying another one soon! Bulky!  On: 2006-10-21This watch is extremely bulky, and the wristband does not have enough holes to fit my (admittedly slender) wrist properly. I would recommend avoiding this particular model unless you have muscular forearms. Great Idea - Poor Execution and Function  On: 2006-09-27Good Backlight is nice green. Bad Battery life is poor, you must recharge at least weekly. Stock quotes limited, just 15 of only the largest companies, Rubber watch band difficult to thread through clasp. Most time displays (faces) annoying and useless. Unable to delete useless built in time faces from list. Worst Watch frequently loses all content, requiring logging into MSN to re initiate all content. One of the better MSN Direct SPOT watches I've tried out On: 2006-09-22The first SPOT watch I purchased was the Abacus AU4004 (identical to the Fossil FX3005). Even though I only used the free service (which includes several news headlines, daily weather forecast and limited financial market information), I was hooked. However, several factors limited my enjoyment of the watch: -Size of the watch face -Comfort of the watch band -Navigational buttons The size of the watch face was larger than a typical watch and much thicker, making it difficult to wear long sleeve button shirts that could button over the watch. The watch band itself was very stiff and had a strange clasp. The navigational buttons seem "hard" and gave me a little finger pain if I pressed them too much while using the watch. However, for $40, these can only be considered minor problems. I moved on to the Swatch Paparazzi because it was an unbeatable deal: for $60, youre getting the watch plus a years worth of MSN Direct service (which normally costs $40/year). In effect, youre getting the watch for $20! My experience with the Swatch Paparazzi was much improved over the experience I had with my previous SPOT watch. Even though the band is stiff, it is still much more comfortable to wear. The face of the watch is bigger than the Abacus/Fossil, and is almost as thick, but for some reason doesnt seem as obtrusive (I can easily button long sleeve shirts over it). The buttons are made of plastic as opposed to the metal buttons of my previous model, and I found the plastic buttons to be a huge improvement in navigational functions. Appearance-wise, the Swatch Paparazzi appears closer to a regular watch than other SPOT offerings do. Having purchased a Suunto N3i recently, widely touted as the best SPOT watch available due to its slim size, I can honestly say I prefer the Swatch Paparazzi. Even though the latter is thicker, it somehow seems comparable to the N3i in terms of size and comfort. The screen on the Paparazzi is the best of all three SPOT watches I own, and it has the best buttons of the three by far (very soft, tactile and no finger pain!). The Paparazzi would have benefitted from having a softer watch band like the N3i, but the band it currently has is far from uncomfortable and much better than the band on the Abacus/Fossil model. If youre looking for a watch that could help you pass the time while waiting on a line, whether it be by giving you news headlines, the weather, stock info, movie times, etc, I would highly recommend the Swatch Paparazzi as a comfortable, easy-to-use, affordable SPOT watch. Also, if youre like me and get tired of looking at the same watch face all the time, youll really enjoy the many "watch faces" that are available for you to choose from to bring variety to your wrist and keep your watch from ever being dull. In terms of value, no other SPOT watch gives you as much bang for your buck. I would have given this watch 5 stars if it was a little bit less thick and if the band was a little bit more comfortable. If you want more information on MSNDirects services and the watches that are available, make sure to look up their website. For great reviews and additional information about all of the SPOT models out there, make sure to do a web search for the Spotstop website. One of the better MSN Direct SPOT watches I've tried out On: 2006-09-21The first SPOT watch I purchased was the Abacus AU4004 (identical to the Fossil FX3005). Even though I only used the free service (which includes several news headlines, daily weather forecast and limited financial market information), I was hooked. However, several factors limited my enjoyment of the watch: -Size of the watch face -Comfort of the watch band -Navigational buttons The size of the watch face was larger than a typical watch and much thicker, making it difficult to wear long sleeve button shirts that could button over the watch. The watch band itself was very stiff and had a strange clasp. The navigational buttons seem "hard" and gave me a little finger pain if I pressed them too much while using the watch. However, for $40, these can only be considered minor problems. I moved on to the Swatch Paparazzi because it was an unbeatable deal: for $60, youre getting the watch plus a years worth of MSN Direct service (which normally costs $40/year). In effect, youre getting the watch for $20! My experience with the Swatch Paparazzi was much improved over the experience I had with my previous SPOT watch. Even though the band is stiff, it is still much more comfortable to wear. The face of the watch is bigger than the Abacus/Fossil, and is almost as thick, but for some reason doesnt seem as obtrusive (I can easily button long sleeve shirts over it). The buttons are made of plastic as opposed to the metal buttons of my previous model, and I found the plastic buttons to be a huge improvement in navigational functions. Appearance-wise, the Swatch Paparazzi appears closer to a regular watch than other SPOT offerings do. Having purchased a Suunto N3i recently, widely touted as the best SPOT watch available due to its slim size, I can honestly say I prefer the Swatch Paparazzi. Even though the latter is thicker, it somehow seems comparable to the N3i in terms of size and comfort. The screen on the Paparazzi is the best of all three SPOT watches I own, and it has the best buttons of the three by far (very soft, tactile and no finger pain!). The Paparazzi would have benefitted from having a softer watch band like the N3i, but the band it currently has is far from uncomfortable and much better than the band on the Abacus/Fossil model. If youre looking for a watch that could help you pass the time while waiting on a line, whether it be by giving you news headlines, the weather, stock info, movie times, etc, I would highly recommend the Swatch Paparazzi as a comfortable, easy-to-use, affordable SPOT watch. Also, if youre like me and get tired of looking at the same watch face all the time, youll really enjoy the many "watch faces" that are available for you to choose from to bring variety to your wrist and keep your watch from ever being dull. In terms of value, no other SPOT watch gives you as much bang for your buck. I would have given this watch 5 stars if it was a little bit less thick and if the band was a little bit more comfortable. If you want more information on MSNDirects services and the watches that are available, make sure to look up their website. For great reviews and additional information about all of the SPOT models out there, make sure to do a web search for the Spotstop website. Good watch On: 2006-08-26I like the indiglo of the watch. I dont like that you have to recharge the watch every 4-7 days. |