Sunday, March 27, 2022

My Newest Toy

Over a year ago I decided to dip my toe into the smart watch waters to see if such a watch would add some value to my life, so I bought an inexpensive smart watch off Amazon.  The watch itself wasn't of much use without the accompanying (free) app, which I downloaded and used.  I found that I liked keeping track of my steps, seeing how much time I spent in different modes of sleep, and monitoring my heart rate.  That watch told me that I was ready to jump in, that I needed something more substantial.

So I bought a Fitbit Blaze from someone off the NextDoor app.  I genuinely enjoyed that watch and its accompanying app.  Turns out the watch was a little more independent of the app than my first one was, but you still could only set the watch time by synching it with a phone running the app.  In genuinely enjoyed the Fitbit Blaze and its robust app, but the battery worked less and less well over time.  Eventually it would hold a charge for only a day or so.

Yesterday I found someone on NextDoor selling a brand new Samsung Galaxy Fit.  She'd received it for Christmas but didn't like or want it.  We agreed on a price and I picked it up last night.  This is probably the last such smart watch I'll need for quite some time, as it holds a charge for days and has apps that are reasonably user friendly.

This morning I put the first watch and the Fitbit Blaze on NextDoor, offering each of them for $20.  Within an hour I was getting messages asking about the Blaze, and within a couple hours I'd already sold it.  Yes, I was upfront about its inability to hold a charge for more than a day, but the buyer needs the watch only temporarily and liked the size, look, and functionality of the Blaze.  And of course, the price was right.

No one is asking about the other watch.  It's a no-name import from China, but it works fine and is waterproof.  Its app isn't as "professional looking" as the Fitbit and Samsung apps are, but it is quite functionable.  And I still have the user manual for this watch, making setup quite easy.

Fortunately, I am selling it because I no longer need it rather than because I need the money, so I can afford to keep it for sale for as long as it takes to find a buyer.  This is the ideal watch for someone!

The Galaxy Fit I now have is like that first watch in that pretty much all setup is done via an app, which is certainly not a problem.  It's small, lightweight, does everything I need it to, looks good--in other words, it's the ideal watch for me.  I hope to enjoy it for many years.

2 comments:

Steve USMA '85 said...

I've had a series of Garmin watches over the years and loved them all. Currently on a Fenix 5 and it is the best of the various I've had. Each time I've replaced (which really isn't that often) one it has been for the battery issue you describe. The batteries just don't last forever.

Hope you get good service out of yours.

Darren said...

I'm loving it so far!