Cookoo watch 2 does not turn on. Cuckoo wristwatch for smartphone - Cookoo Watch review. Cookoo Watch – the perfect smartwatch concept
ConnecteDevice LTD recently introduced the second generation of its smartwatches COOKOO watch 2. In Russia, the company's exclusive partner is Marvel Distribution. As part of the Laboratory, we have already tested several models from various manufacturers, including Pebble and Smart Zwatch. Yes, I myself have been using smart watches for almost a year, during which time I was able to understand not only the advantages and convenience, but also the existing problems.
And the main one is autonomy; most models are limited to 1-2 days of operation. The watch keeps company with the smartphone during overnight charging. This problem was partially solved in Pebble, but even there the period does not exceed a week under ideal conditions of use. The second issue is the design of smart watches; now the majority of models are reduced in size smartphone body, and the Apple iWatch will be the same. This cannot be called a minus, but the good old mechanics are still status and a plus for the owner’s karma. ConnecteDevice LTD was able to find a solution for these two issues. It is not surprising that the first generation of COOKOO watch on Kickstarter received significant support and a large number of orders. During this time, reviews and opinions of real owners were received, new technologies were developed, which were reflected in COOKOO watch 2. Today we will test them.
Video review of COOKOO watch 2
Availability of COOKOO watch 2
At the time of testing, the average cost of COOKOO watch 2, according to the Yandex.Market service, is 7,990 rubles. First generation:
Equipment
The watch is delivered in a stylish box, decorated in the shape of a house. In fact, it differs from the first generation only in the sticker on the body. This box is multi-piece and can later be used to store watches.
The kit does not include the usual wiring and charging kit for gadgets; the watch actually does not need these accessories. There are only heavy instructions for use.
Appearance
COOKOO watch 2 is available in two versions: the Sporty Chic collection and the Urban Explorer. The first comes with a silicone bracelet in the color of the case and a metal bezel, the second with a colored nylon bracelet. Both versions cost the same.
One of the main differences was the appearance of a digital display under the dial. Due to numerous requests, information on incoming calls and messages has been added.
In general, the watch is still able to notify about all events on the phone in the form of a sound alert and displaying an icon on the internal display.
Mineral protective glass is used and is scratch resistant. All attempts to leave some damage were unsuccessful.
We inherited the main advantages of the first generation, adding fresh notes. Instead of button labels, numbers appeared on the dial. The buttons are now painted in the color of the body. The control wheel for moving the arrows has been preserved.
The control wheel for moving the arrows has been preserved.
Mechanical hands with white coating and phosphorescent coating are responsible for displaying the time; they glow at night.
In the central part there is a monochrome backlit screen. As before, information on events is displayed in the form of icons. But a separate display has been added to display the time from a smartphone (you can make two time zones, one on the hands and the second from the screen, useful when traveling). This screen displays the caller's name for incoming calls.
The waterproof properties of the case have been improved; now with the COOKOO watch 2 you can dive to a depth of 100 meters. For everyday use, this allows you to keep the watch in the shower, while washing your hands and dishes.
Battery
The clock runs on two batteries. They are accessed through the back cover; there is a slot in which a coin fits perfectly. One of the batteries is responsible for the operation of the mechanical part, the second for the electronic filling. The battery life is more than 1 year; during use, we were not able to discharge them.
But there is no way to find out the exact amount of charge; the indication appears only when the watch is discharged.
Software
COOKOO watch 2 can work with Apple iOS and Google Android 4.3 and higher operating systems. We conduct tests on the Android system, judging by the reviews, there are no compatibility problems. It is worth understanding that the application is currently at the stage of debugging and catching bugs; at first there may be problems with communication support.
To activate the phone search, you need to hold down the two top buttons. After that, launch the application and find the device. After successful synchronization, no further connection configuration is required.
The application allows you to determine which types of alerts you want to display. You can also clear the list of notifications.
Among the interesting options, it is worth noting the launch of the camera and control of the camera using the COOKOO watch 2.
You can also activate device search. This is how you can find lost watches. By the way, the watch and smartphone start beeping when you leave the coverage area, this can be useful if the phone is stolen.
Results for COOKOO watch 2
COOKOO watch 2 is undoubtedly of interest; at the moment it is a unique approach to organizing smart watches. The watch is interesting due to its design, mechanical hands, waterproof case and long battery life. The only thing you should understand when purchasing this watch is that you won’t be able to install and launch applications from the watch screen, or view the text of incoming messages in detail; in this regard, they are limited only to event warnings. But not having to live near an outlet is more than worth it. COOKOO watch 2 receives the well-deserved "Gold" award..
Another version of what a smartwatch could be
The topic of smart watches is now at the peak of relevance. But manufacturers still cannot finally decide what a smartwatch is and what its functionality should be. We already noted this feature when we talked about Iconbit Callisto, which actually replaces a smartphone. Now we have to study a device that is at the other pole of functionality: if the Iconbit Callisto is first and foremost a smartphone, and only secondarily a watch, then the Cookoo Watch is the opposite: an almost traditional watch, which integrates some features typical of smartwatches .
Cookoo is another project (along with Pebble) that came to life thanks to Kickstarter. True, its success was not so resounding, and the further development of the project was replete with various problems. As a matter of fact, the Cookoo project was launched back in 2012, and the released product became widespread in 2013, thus ahead of the fashion for smart watches. However, throughout 2013, manufacturers struggled with the shortcomings that abounded in the Cookoo software, and, as we will see, these shortcomings have not yet been completely eliminated. However, the project did not die: firstly, an Android application for working with watches was released, and secondly, the sales geography expanded. Today Cookoo can be bought not only in the West, but also in Russia (and in very large stores and retail chains).
Of course, to a large extent, the willingness of stores to distribute this still not very perfect product is explained by the sudden fashion for smart watches: today it is much easier to attract attention to your new product if you say that it is a smartwatch. It seems that today they are ready to sell anything under this sauce. Therefore, from time to time, when getting acquainted with products of this kind, a fear arises that “smart” capabilities are implemented only for show, to attract attention. However, even such examples are interesting for users and useful for the industry, since, as we have already noted, there is still no single standard describing what smartwatches should be able to do. So manufacturers are now like a novice chef trying to come up with a recipe for a dish, trying different combinations of the same ingredients and experimenting with their quantities. And users, press and experts play the role of tasters, tasting dishes and making their verdict on “what is missing in the soup.”
So, let's explore the features of the Cookoo Watch and compare it with other smartwatches.
Cookoo Watch Specifications
- Screen: non-touch, round, displays only outline monochrome notification icons
- Water and dust protection: yes
- Strap: removable
- Compatibility: smartphones based on iOS 7 / Android 4.3 (Samsung and HTC only)
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0 LE
- Sensors: no
- Cameras, Internet: no
- Microphone, speaker: no
- Notification alert: vibration, beep
- Battery: 225mAh (standard CR2032 coin cell battery)
- Dimensions: 44 (diameter) × 16.3 (thickness)
- Weight 72 g
For clarity, we decided to make a table with the characteristics of other smartwatches, including in it those parameters that are currently key when choosing a device of this type.
| Cookoo Watch | Samsung Gear 2 | Sony SmartWatch 2 | Pebble Steel | |
| Screen | non-touch, round, displays only outline monochrome notification icons | touch, color, Super AMOLED, 1.63″, 320×320 (278 ppi) | touch, color, 1.6″, 220×176 (176 ppi) |
non-touch, black and white, E-Paper, 1.26″, 144×168 (176 ppi) |
| Protection | waterproof (5 ATM) | yes (IP67) | yes (IP57) | yes (IPx7) |
| Strap | removable | removable | removable | removable |
| Camera | No | yes (2 MP) | No | No |
| Compatibility | Devices running iOS 7 / Android 4.3 (Samsung and HTC only) | Samsung devices running Android 4.3 or lower | Devices running Android 4.0 or lower | iOS and Android devices |
| Third party app support | No | There is | There is | There is |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 225 (standard CR2032 coin cell battery) | 300 | 110 | 140 |
| Dimensions* (mm) | ∅44×16.3 | 37×58×10 | 42×41×9 | 46×34×10.5 |
| Weight (g) | 75 | 68 | 46 | 56 |
*according to manufacturer information
Already from this table it is clear that comparing Cookoo with other watches is very problematic: the screen is completely different (both technologically and functionally), the battery, although of known capacity, is of a different form factor and is consumed much more slowly. This parameter, as well as water resistance (with the watch you can swim in the pool) and compatibility with both iOS and Android (albeit with a very limited number of devices) are among the key advantages of the Cookoo watch.
Among the shortcomings, we note the enormous thickness (competitors have one and a half times less) and weight (here the difference is not so great, but still noticeable). In addition, the inability to work with third-party applications is striking. However, this is only a small part of the functional limitations. We'll talk about the rest during the process of testing the device.
Equipment
The clock comes in a box shaped like a wall clock with a cuckoo - this is a play on the name of the device (Cookoo, that is, cuckoo). The main material of the box is transparent hard plastic.
Inside is the watch itself, mounted on a form that holds it, as well as a set of leaflets and user manuals placed in a pocket on the inside of the box.
Note that the packaging as a whole is not very convenient and not very practical: it is difficult to store, since it takes up a lot of space due to its dimensions and non-standard shape.
There is no need to talk about the packaging as such: apart from the above-mentioned leaflets, there is, in fact, nothing else here. Note that the text of the user manual (there is also a Russian version) is very sparse and lacks details. This gives hope that the watch will be as easy to learn and intuitive (at least in terms of basic functions) as the products of the famous company that set the fashion for very short manuals, but alas, this turns out not to be the case.
It's also worth noting that there's no charger here: the Cookoo runs on a coin cell battery, like a regular watch, and once it runs out you just buy a new one.
Design
The Cookoo watch looks like a completely typical wristwatch: with hands (yes, real physical hands!), a washer button for adjusting the time, and a silicone strap with a standard fastening.
The case is quite bulky - it is more suitable for a large male hand. Metal, glass, quite thick... The watch is not elegant. However, this is a matter of taste.
There are different colors: blue, white, black, pink and light green options are available for order on the manufacturer’s website (the latter is marked Limited Edition and is sold for double the price). Interestingly, both the black and white versions have a blue button (its presence on the blue version is quite understandable). On the pink version this button is pink, and on the green version it is green. On the one hand, having such a color accent on the black and white versions seems like an interesting solution. But on the other hand, it’s hard for me to imagine a watch with a cheerful bright blue button under a suit or white shirt.
On the manufacturer’s website you can buy straps separately (black, white, blue and pink), but this option is not available in Russian retail.
In general, the appearance of the watch, in our opinion, is aimed at young people. Although for hipsters with iPhones, Cookoo is also not guaranteed to be suitable: they are too massive and not “glamorous” enough.
The watch case has a round shape, which sets the Cookoo apart from other smartwatches (although a Motorola model based on Android Wear will hit the market this year, and there the screen will also be round). The entire front side is occupied by a screen covered with glass. The screen is surrounded by a polished metal rim. The names of the buttons are engraved on the bezel, but it is not easy to see them - you have to look closely, bringing the screen close to your eyes and turning the watch so that the light falls correctly.
The buttons are located two on the right and left: these are Light, Connect, Command and Mode. Their functionality will be discussed below. The pressure is quite light, soft, springy.
The battery compartment is opened by unscrewing the round cap, which can be done with a coin.
The strap is soft and fits the hand quite nicely. There are enough holes to fix the watch even on the thinnest hand. However, we repeat, the watch does not look very organic on small hands.
Screen
It is useless to talk about the Cookoo Watch screen in our usual terminology: there is no concept of “resolution”, image diagonal, etc. More precisely, if you wish, you can try to determine all these parameters, but in the case of Cookoo it will simply be useless. Let's just try to describe what it is and how it displays information.
So, under the glass we see a physical scale with divisions drawn on it, corresponding to the clock. They are pointed to by completely real hands (hour, minute and second). And inside the scale with divisions (and a little deeper) we see an empty black space, in the center of which arrows are fixed. And it is on this black space that contour icons appear, meaning different notifications. These icons can either appear static or flash.
Icons have a fixed location, that is, they do not move around the screen. There are seven of them in total. 12 o'clock - the inscription Cookoo, meaning that the watch is connected to a smartphone, below - Music; 2 hours - Calendar, 4 hours - Messages, 6 hours - Battery, 8 hours - Letters, 10 hours - phone call.
That, in fact, is all that the watch screen can show. The pictograms are not very contrasting, but in principle they are always noticeable - except, perhaps, in complete darkness. But for complete darkness, you can turn on the backlight by pressing the Light button. The backlight is quite pale and gives a blue tint.
Pairing with a smartphone
The Cookoo watch can be used just as a watch, without any smartphone. The arrows move on their own :) But if you still want to get “smart” functionality, you will have to install the Cookoo Life application on your smartphone. The application prompts you to create an account in the ConnecteDevice service. Moreover, this is also a mandatory step. After registration, you can add other services - mail, Facebook and Twitter.
When the watch is connected to a smartphone, we see a blue house icon on the start screen. When not connected - white-transparent. This house also floats across the screen. Honestly, it's hard to imagine a less functional use of screen space.
By clicking on the house, we can click Connect (if the watch is not yet connected) and Disconnect (if the watch is connected). By clicking on the round button below, we get to the notification menu. Notifications received on the watch are displayed here (the question is: why, if these notifications are already on the smartphone?). In the upper right corner there is a notification settings button, where we can choose what type of notifications we want to receive.
Under the notifications with “levers” there is a menu that, theoretically, allows you to configure actions for different durations of pressing the blue button. However, we never managed to do this. For example, this is what is shown when you click on the line “2 - 4s”. Only two options, the first of which is already used when pressing from 0 to 2 seconds, and the second is “Not assigned”. The same goes for “4 - 6s”.
The button with the gear icon in the upper left corner opens General Settings (see the first two screenshots).
The last button on the general notification screen that we haven’t talked about yet is the one with the camera icon (in the lower left corner). Its purpose is very simple: you can press it, the camera on the smartphone will start, and by pressing the button on the watch a photo will be taken. It can be convenient when you need to film either yourself alone or yourself in the company of people.
In general, the functionality of the application is very poor, but despite this, the interface is completely unintuitive, illogical, inconvenient, and even devoid of aesthetics (red, green, blue, black, orange - and all this in one space!). Horrible, in general.
The Android app's interface isn't much better overall, although its overall appearance seems a little more polished.
However, in terms of functionality it is no richer than the iOS application.
Functionality of Cookoo Watch
A general idea of the functionality of Cookoo Watch could be obtained from the above. Let's add just a few points to this.
First of all, we note that not all notifications arrive and not always. Let's say, despite the fact that my email was listed in the application, and the setting to receive notifications about new emails was active, I never received a notification about a new email! As an experiment, I also added a spare email that supports push, but it’s still useless.
The second point: notifications, unlike other smartwatches, do not tell you what exactly is written, for example, in a message. You only receive information about the fact that a new message has been received. This makes Cookoo watches fundamentally less functional than the same Pebble.
The third point: using the watch you cannot react to a notification in any way. Let's say, if you get a call, you can't press a button on your watch and start a conversation (unlike, again, other smartwatches).
Frankly, all this casts doubt on the need for this kind of notification in principle. Is it perhaps in order not to miss any events? Relatively speaking, if you are afraid that you will not feel the vibration of your phone in your pocket, then yes, Cookoo Watch can be useful. But some notifications are too annoying. For example, if your smartphone battery is running low, the battery icon on the watch screen will blink endlessly and periodically beep. Yes, yes, OK, I know that my smartphone battery is running low! Don't tell me about this all the time!
A nice feature is music playback control. A short press on the Command button - pause, a short press again - Play, a long press should switch the track to the next one, but for me it stopped playback altogether and opened a list of all the tracks on the album. Needless to say, all this only works with the main music app (in the case of the iPhone, it's Music). Let's say, if you have an alternative player installed (for example, Yandex.Music) - alas.
Outside the music application, the same button allows you to activate the Find My Phone function (the phone will cuckoo - but there’s a problem here too: the sound is too quiet, you definitely can’t hear it from another room!) or check in on Facebook.
In general, the functionality is poor, and most importantly, it is implemented very clumsily. Starting from the fact that it is very difficult to remember which buttons are on the watch and how to press them, to all sorts of minor shortcomings in specific tasks (although undelivered notifications are not a minor flaw at all, but the most critical one).
Autonomous operation
This is where the Cookoo watch seems to have its strongest (and perhaps only) clear advantage: it should last about the same battery life (well, maybe a little less) than a regular watch. In any case, this is tens (if not hundreds) times better than the smartwatches we tested previously. However, it is impossible to say anything for sure, if only because the watch does not display information about the remaining charge of its battery, and, of course, it was not possible to discharge it during testing.
conclusions
Well, before us is another experiment in the field of wearable electronics, based on a very promising idea. Instead of transferring the smartphone to the watch, equip the traditional watch with some capabilities for interacting with the smartphone. Of course, even with an ideal implementation, one would have to admit that the “smart” functions here, after all, rather serve as a showy bait rather than something truly useful. This is understandable: either we have a screen with arrows, a battery that lasts for many months, and notifications only in the form of flashing icons, or we have full text notifications, but the screen is completely digital and the battery runs out in a week at most.
I would like to believe that these two extremes will gradually move closer together, but it is too early to talk about this now. One way or another, we emphasize that we evaluate the idea of Cookoo Watch positively. But its implementation is negative. Moreover, it’s especially disappointing that in a year and a half the manufacturer was unable to fix most of the problems (although they should have released a new version of the product in such a period!). Yes, we made an application for Android, but only for a very limited number of devices.
From the most pressing thing, where it would be necessary to start improving the device first: a different appearance of the watch (it should make an impression, arouse at least someone a passionate desire to own the device!); the buttons should be different, memorable even to the touch, and the functionality between them should be better distributed; an application for a smartphone should be so simple and at the same time functional that the user does not even have questions (considering that the functionality of the device itself is, in general, quite small, this is a completely solvable task).
And most importantly: the product must have a clear audience. Who is this watch for? For serious businessmen who don't want to wear any plastic Pebble (although Pebble has already released a serious metal version)? Or for hipsters? Or for tech geeks? Or for girls who have a smartphone in their purse, and they don’t always hear it, so they need to receive notifications on their watch, but are too lazy to deal with all sorts of Pebble-Samsung-Sony? These are all possible directions. But the current product will not meet the expectations of any of these categories.
P.S. Already when the article was written, the Kairos company would release a watch that would combine the advantages of mechanical and smart watches: notifications (with full text) would be displayed on a transparent OLED screen, under which a standard clock mechanism with hands is located. Of course, the product has not yet been released, but judging by the description and video, this is exactly the optimal embodiment of the idea that Cookoo Watch put forward, but could not adequately implement. However, Kairos Smartwatch will be significantly more expensive than Cookoo.
Two years ago, several projects to create the first smartwatches with iOS support appeared on Kickstarter. Two campaigns became super successful - a real “smart” accessory and a regular watch with a convenient notification system. During this time, the wearable electronics market has changed a lot - many other solutions have appeared, and major players like Google with the Android Wear system and Apple with their Apple Watch were not long in coming. Is there still a place for accessories like the COOKOO watch? Let's look into this together with the second version of the popular CONNECTEDEVICE watch.
Short video review of COOKOO Watch 2
COOKOO watch 2 is the second version of the famous alert watch. Improved, slightly modified, but not fundamentally new. Let me remind you that this device looks like an ordinary men's watch that connects to the iPhone via Bluetooth and displays notifications about incoming messages, calendar events, and others on its miniature screen.
As before, the watch is sold in a cute plastic box in the shape of a bird feeder. Inside are the accessory itself, thick paper instructions and... that's it. No wires, power supplies or inductive charges - the owner of COOKOO watch 2 does not need all these items. Let's take them out of the box and take a good look at them before turning them on.
I received a watch from one of the two new series - Urban Explorer. Their strap is made of durable nylon in three different colors (blue, green and purple), and the case itself is made of brushed metal and plastic. The second series is called Sporty Chic and resembles the first version of the “cuckoo” - the same case, only with a shiny edging and a rubber strap.
Based on the experience of using the first watches of this company, the mineral protective glass is as strong as a stone. Two small scratches versus several severe abrasions on the screen of my Pebble.
In a word, the new product is not much different from its progenitor, and this is more good than bad. COOKOO watch is still a compromise for those who are not ready to exchange their regular watch for such an unusual accessory as the Pebble. Even the labels for the “Mode”, “Connect” and other functional buttons have disappeared from the body of the new watch; now instead of them there are numbers along the dial.
A little about the basic clock controls. On both sides of the accessory there are two buttons that activate various functions in COOKOO watch 2. We will talk about them in the section about the official application for iOS a little lower. The buttons are made of plastic and are more comfortable than in the first version - the buttons are more massive and the response is softer. On the right side there is a control wheel designed to move the arrows. Nowadays it is fashionable to call it “crown”.
Actually, what’s new in COOKOO watch 2 other than minor changes in design? Take a closer look - at the top of the dial there is a miniature display that displays the current time and date in standby mode. During an incoming call, the inscription changes to the name of the caller. Insanely convenient, since on a regular COOKOO watch at this moment the icon for an incoming call simply blinks. By the way, support for Cyrillic characters is still in question.
The presence of an additional display is not the main reason that COOKOO watch 2 is quite massive. There are, as before, two batteries that never run out. Yes, this is the only “smart” accessory in my memory that does not require recharging. One battery is used here to operate the main clock mechanism, the other is used to operate the electronics, including the Bluetooth module. I have owned the original cuckoos for over a year now and they are still functioning well.
COOKOO watch 2 is waterproof and with this indicator everything is a little better than last year’s version. This figure here is 10 ATM, that is, you can swim and dive in them at a depth of up to 100 meters, but you cannot scuba dive. With my first watch from CONNECTEDEVICE, I also actively dived and swam in the Black Sea, although it has a water resistance level of 5 ATM.
This is an old application [Download from App Store], COOKOO watch 2 also works with it
In previous CONNECTEDEVICE watches, I complained about the official application for connecting the watch to the iPhone via Bluetooth 4.0. It worked through a stump, the accessory constantly “fell off”, which over time began to infuriate me. In this regard, the well-known Pebble worked much more promisingly and kept the connection stable.
A new CONNECTED WATCH program was released for COOKOO watch 2 [Download from the App Store], but it was clearly made by the developers of last year’s utility. The application again maintains an unstable connection, the watch sometimes connects and disconnects as it pleases and seems to live its own life. There is hope that the application will still be updated to work perfectly, since the last update on October 10 of this year turned out to be serious. There is support for iOS 8 and two time zones, the ability to remotely update the COOKOO watch 2 firmware and an improved camera interface in the program.
As before, to connect the iPhone to the watch you need to hold down the top two buttons. COOKOO watch 2 will beep and vibrate as a confirmation, after which it can be fully used. There is no need to make any additional settings. You can only go into the program and activate/deactivate alerts about various events, which will be displayed on the smartwatch screen in the form of small icons.
Among the new features of the Connected application, I will also note the ability to view notification statistics for the day/week/all time. This will help you decide which messages distract you more than others and draw the appropriate conclusions.
COOKOO watch 2 turned out to be interesting, but once again a little unfinished. They are good in all aspects - design, water resistance, and declared functionality, but the developers of the official application in this company are wiping their pants in the office instead of working normally. In the next update of the program they promise to add full support for iPhone 6/6 Plus and, hopefully, the stability of the watch-iPhone connection will increase. At the same time, they are still the only “smart” watches on the market that:
1) no need to charge;
2) which are similar to ordinary men's watches;
3) which can withstand a wide variety of conditions of use.
