It's the journey not the destination

Friday, 25 September 2020

Review: Targets: A Vietnam War Novel

Targets: A Vietnam War Novel by Don McQuinn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I did get to the end but was a struggle, just wasnt engaging

View all my reviews

Thursday, 24 September 2020

Huami Amazfit X : 1 week on

It is difficult to remember how things used to be, back in the dark ages, before the internet and before online support capabilities.

Welcome Huami Amazfit.

It took 5 elapsed days to get a response from Amazfit, indeed, 1 response direct from feedback from the Zepp app which has led to two support sites (one where the request I raised appears to be a ticket and another where I can raise tickets but they are not the same thing), and another via Indiegogo which is entirely separate but only results in an "email us" function which I already know is unresponsive.

3 days on from getting a response I am now sitting awaiting developers, I have tracked enough data it seems that they can work but I am desperately hoping for any useful response, even an indication that something might get done.

I have found that the support site has an RMA returns option so that might happen soon - 8 days so far and feeling very unsupported.

The campaign comments roll on, I finally have a tracking number for the device delivered a week earlier but quite a number of people are still waiting any information at all, meanwhile it seems some people have fully working devices but a decent number have the same GPS issue and there is a great degree of dissatisfaction.

The Huami staff are finally posting a small amount on the comments but fundamentally saying "please stop our support is overwhelmed" and no wonder.

I am quite surprised that Indiegogo isn't involved yet because having a major technology manufacturer making a mess of a product on their watch must be a concern for the reputation of their service provision especially with the public relations mess the Amazfit is creating for itself.

Closed Issues :

- Amazfit X : Auto detection of activities - it seems that 10 minutes is a normal time to wake up and start collecting data but two hours of cycling isn't detected... just doesnt work but there is an on / off selection on the watch.

What is still an issue :

- Amazfit X : GPS does not work, sometimes it gets a lock when not being worn but cannot maintain it (2 open tickets, #252878 and #2977, raised on the campaign and via Zepp Feedback) - this is the one that matters, the rest would make the device better, this would make the device worth wearing (worth paying for, oh hang on I already did that).

- Amazfit X : Whatps app messages get batched up to a summary count far too quickly (raised via Zepp Feedback)

- Amazfit X : The schedule function is manual entry and does not sync with google calendary (outlook etc) (raised via Zepp Feebdack and Ticket #253401)

- Amafix X / Zepp : workouts generate random data - 1 walk of 194 steps showed as a slow walk and 4 calories burned, the other 7,800 steps in the day burned the other 5 calories I used, seems a little off to me. (raised via Zep feedback)

- Amazfit X : Regular SP02 sample not just manual (ia feebdack)

- Amafixfix : Where to view GPS plotted route on the watch (was suggested as available by support on ticket #252878 although I wonder if they mean "can you see the GPS lock working")

- Zepp : how do I export my data (raised via the campaign, Zepp feedback and a ticket, #253403)

- Zepp : how can I configure the app to remove the adverts from the main screen (raised via Zepp feedback)

- Zepp : how can I configure the app to hide all the features that are not relevant to my device (raised via Zepp feedback)

- Zepp : the sleep tracking on the watch is poor, would be good to integrate with Sleep As Android

Friday, 18 September 2020

Huami Amazfit X

I have a new smartwatch, the Amazfit X. I was an early backer on Indiegogo and this was my first experience of the platform.

Delivery has been a little fraught, it's running late and the vendor is providing no news but people are receiving their watches in dribs and drabs. The latest update is that I will get an update in a week or so, I would much rather the promised tracking number followed by a delivery.

So imagine my surprise on receiving a package yesterday that I had no idea I was expecting..... Yes the Amazfit X.

Great looking device and some nice, if a little large, packaging that can be used as a stand (not quite a night stand in it's own right but it's trying!

There are plenty of pictures on line.

Instructions, no none of those, I did eventually find a manual buried in the packaging but it says nothing, you have to find the app under your own steam and remember how the reviewers said to display the screen because without that it is a random fumble around. Pairing is fun because the watch will do nothing until paired but only keeps the display on for 5 seconds initially without interaction, so getting a QR code in focus and scanned in 5 seconds takes a couple of tries.

Anyway, the app is very much the same as other similar devices - I have a Mi Band 3 and that app was abandoned very early (try Notify & Fitness as a replacement, awful interface but brilliant content) but had improved by the time my dad got his Mi Band 4.

Are there issues? Yes, which is why I am writing this post because it appears that Amazfit support is quite slow and at the moment there are some basic issues that impact the viability of the product and a couple of niggles so I thought I would make a list here for my own record... Including when I raised the issue with Amazfit via their desired feedback route in the app :

17th Sep : Open : Can I export my data?

17th Sep : Open : WhatsApp notifications get batched into a count rather than individual notifications very quickly so have to refer the phone too often.

18th Sep : Open : Workouts - showstopper for me. The GPS did not work at all on a 1 mile walk. Further, auto pause is excellent, auto un-pause isn't so my 1 mile walk recorded only 0.49 miles.

18th Sep : Closed : The end of workout says that app will have details of the workout.... I could not find that and have asked where it is but about an hour later noticed that the home page on the app had updated and there it was and also confirming the GPS failure and un-pause failure.

18th Sep : Open : There is a schedule function but it is manually entering items so have asked how to Sync with Google Calendar / MS Outlook or the Apple equivalent.

I expect lots of niggles to show up but showstoppers like the GPS not working are a real concern and by next week I expect to figure out if this has to go back or not.

Edit : the app definitely does not update until manually updated and I have now tried two more workouts, one walking and one cycling. The latter follows some sitting in the back garden where I can say that sometimes a GPS signal is picked up when the watch is not on my wrist but when on my wrist almost never gets a signal. I started the search for GPS for the workout while I got my trainers in, helmet, gloves, lights, started the mi band 3 workout, waited a bit, just hopeless but the cycling did pick up a few hundred metres, dropped the signal, picked up for long enough to generate a dot on the map and then nothing. My mi band 3 showed a 5.6 mile route with a clear map, GPS via my phone no problem.

Absolutely no response from Amazfit although during the day the "email us" option has been removed from the site. The warranty information is disappointing be ause it relies on going back to the seller who in this case is Amazfit who appear unresponsive.

Several hours later, the device is excellent, I can live with WhatsApp issue but the GPS not working really hamstrings the smartwatch features.