# Review - GW01 Smartwatch - Quality Construction, Bargain Price



## HoustonReal (Dec 29, 2013)

*GW01 - Gearbest.com $55.38 w/Free Shipping

*For my second Gearbest review, the company sent me one of their newest smartwatches, the *GW01*. When sold on a leather band, they list it as a *Ulefone GW01*, but drop that branding when it is sold on a Milanese loop strap. From what I can gather, Ulefone produces these models specifically for Gearbest and their other affiliated websites, but does not brand them of sell them through other channels.

*NOMOS-style default screen










*I requested the silver version on a Milanese loop, stainless steel strap. This model also is available in black and rose gold. The watch features a 45mm, 316L stainless case and sapphire crystal. The finish is surprisingly good, with brushed sides and a polished crown& inner bezel surface. While the case seems a bit large, the whole watch weighs only 54 grams, making it very comfortable to wear all day. The GW01 is rated IP53 for dust and water protection,meaning it can handle sweat or a light rain and a fair amount of dust. The battery is a relatively small 310mAh, but the Mediatek MTK2502 SoC is very frugal and allows about two days of use on a single charge.

Unlike many wearables, the GW01 has standard 22mm lugs that can handle a variety of leather straps or straight bracelets. The lugs are close to the case body, and curved end links are not possible. The Milanese loop strap compensated for the relatively straight lug design, conforming to my wrist. The strap is fairly flexible and quite comfortable, even during August in Texas.

While well constructed, this smartwatch isn't comparable to an Android Wear or Apple watch. Its capabilities are mostly limited to the built-in apps, with only 1MB of room left for additional apps and watch faces. Its price is also not comparable,being one third to one eighth the price of more capable smartwatches.

The apps work well and provide limited notifications from your smartphones applications. Calls can be made and received through the GW01's speaker and microphone, and dialed through one of the included applications. The sound quality is acceptable for a telephone conversation, but the watch offers no noise canceling for the microphone. Bluetooth music playback is also offered, but the speaker really isn't designed for much dynamic range. The watch can also remotely view and control the shutter of your smartphone's camera.

The back of the watch contains an LED sensor package that can detect heart rate and body temperature. Heart rate can be measured as a one time pulse reading or as a continual ECG display with beat traces. The language seems to come set from the factory,and all temperature readings are Celsius. The watch face includes asensor to monitor UV levels, which might have some value during overcast or cloudy days. *










*There are also a number of activity apps, like a pedometer, a sleep monitor, a sedentary alarm and a health index. A calendar, a calculator and a stopwatch application round out the useful functions. Apps can be displayed four per screen, or in a rotary format.

The GW01 comes in a heavy cardboard box. While offering descent protection during shipping,it's not something that I would display on my dresser. Included is a magnetic cup/cradle, USB charger. The micro USB cord is only about 12 inches long, but it can be easily replaced for a longer version. I don't have any problems, since it sit securely on top of my desktop PC, plugged into one of the front USB ports. *

Gearbest currently offers the GW01 for $55.38 on Milanese loop or for $49.99 on leather.

*Although it is possible to load additional watch faces onto the GW01, finding them can be a little difficult. The only source I've found so far was a developer forum. So far the apps are limited to three hands and not date, and a limited set of digital faces. Date, day, battery, pedometer and other features found on some of the stock faces are not possible without more information from either Mediatek of the manufacturer. I've helped develop some WUS friendly alternatives, providing the graphics while another member compiled the .vxp app. My watch now has the option of Flieger,Orange Mako, Tudor Snowflake Sub, Seiko MM Tuna and Huawei Roman-style faces. I may add a KonTiki face in the near future.*






































*Despite its limitations, I'm surprisingly happy with the GW01 Smartwatch. It's been getting a considerable amount of wrist time, and I love playing around with all the apps and faces. It doesn't offer all the functionality of an Apple or Android watch, but for under $60 it does represent a good value.*

Main Features:
*- Bluetooth 4.0: Controlling music player, including MP3, MP4 and AVI format; Phone SMS synchronize and push information
- Bidirectional anti-lost, convenient to find watch or phone
- Real time heart rate monitoring, with ECG, getting high accuracy data 
- Siri, messages, remote camera, sleeping monitoring, alarm clock, calender, phone call remind, sedentary remind, etc.
- UV and body temperature monitoring function, providing practical information
- Supporting Android 4.3 / iOS 7.0 and above system*

Specification:

Hardware
Built-in chip typeMTK2502Bluetooth versionBluetooth 4.0RAM64MBROM128MBWaterproofYesIP ratingLife Waterproof



Functions
Bluetooth callingCall log sync,Dialing,Phone call reminder,PhonebookMessagingMessage reminderHealth trackerHeart rate monitor,Pedometer,Sedentary reminder,Sleep monitorRemote control functionRemote CameraNotificationYesNotification typeFacebook,Twitter,Wechat,WhatsAppAnti-lostYesFind phoneYesGroups of alarm1Alert typeRing,VibrationLocking screen5Other functionAlarm,Calender,Siri,Stopwatch,Voice recorder

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Screen
ScreenIPSScreen resolution240 x 240Screen size1.3 inchOperating modeTouch Screen



Battery
Type of batteryPolymer BatteryBattery Capacty310mAhCharging timeAbout 3hoursStandby timeAbout 5 Days



General
PeopleMale table



Dial and Band
Shape of the dialRoundCase materialStainless SteelBand materialStainless Steel



Features
Compatible OSAndroid,IOSCompatabilityAndroid 4.3 / iOS 7.0 and above systemLanguageArabic,English,French,Italian,Portuguese,Russian,S implified Chinese,Spanish,Traditional ChineseAvailable colorBlack,Gold,Silver



Weight and Size
Dial size4.5 x 4.5 x 1.33 cm / 1.77 x 1.77 x 0.52 inchesBand size27.5 x 2.1 cm / 10.83 x 0.83 inchesProduct size (L x W x H)27.50 x 4.50 x 1.33 cm / 10.83 x 1.77 x 0.52 inchesPackage size (L x W x H)9.00 x 9.00 x 7.60 cm / 3.54 x 3.54 x 2.99 inchesProduct weight0.054 kgPackage weight0.190 kg



Package Contents
Package Contents1 x Smart Watch, 1 x Charging Cable, 1 x Charging Base, 1 x Chinese and English User Manual


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