Product Review – Gekko GX1 is a budget friendly hybrid timepiece with features of fitness

Product Review – Gekko GX1 is a budget friendly hybrid timepiece with features of fitness

As the world has transitioned itself from  traditional analogue watches to digital smart watches; a young Indian start-up Sanzar Futureteq Private Limited has taken the leap to propel itself into a leading local player in the segment. Truly it is a “Make in India” initiative.

The company’s first launch is the innovative Gekko GX1 – Hybrid Activity Smart Watch. As the name implies, the watch is the hybrid of an analogue watch and a digital smart watch that caters to a wide consumer base of the tech savvy young generation. It incorporates an analogue LED screen display, provides fitness statistics via a companion app and has notifying capabilities of a smart watch.

The Gekko GX1 comes with a host of features that would appeal to individuals who appreciate a trendy, yet rugged watch. The battery is where the GX1 truly stands out, as it requires no charging and lasts a whole year when compared to digital smart watches.

The watch comes in four colours – Slate Grey, Desert Brown, Army Green and Electric Blue. We got to review the Slate Grey colour variant. At  first glance it is light, quite a comfortable strap which is easy to wear on wrist. The smartness is in terms of performance and its value for money. The best technology always comes at a certain price tag.

The Gekko GX1 is well recommended for  consumers who like to keep track of their fitness and activity levels. There are many fitness and activity features like Pedometer, Calories Burnt, Sedentary Reminder, Sleep Monitor, Barometer & Altitude Measure, UV Index & Temperature to provide consumers with all the fitness information they may need. Moreover, the watch sits comfortably on the wrist and does not feel bulky, which is great for a watch that also acts as a fitness device.

Key features of the Gekko GX1 –  Hybrid Smartwatch

• Pocket friendly pricing: This hybrid smart watch is priced at MRP of Rs. 2,995 /-; a more accessible price point when compared to other hybrid smart watches available in the market. However, the watch comes at a special offer price of Rs 2,499 on Amazon.in as of today’s rate.
• Watch Design: The fast-paced lifestyle of the target audience was intrinsic to the design of the Gekko GX1 watch. The screen features a toughened glass dial, which is scratch resistant and has great strength.

The watch scores very high on its aesthetics and provides the wearer a sense of machismo, whilst the sturdy design of the watch can endure any bumps and knocks that may find its way.

• Sleep & Calorie Monitor: The Gekko GX1 watch tracks the duration and quality of sleep. It also tracks the wearer’s sleep trends via the smartphone app to help improve sleep habits.

Additionally, it also monitors the number of steps taken and daily calories burnt, to provide the wearer’s fitness trends.

• Altitude, UV Index, Temperature, Barometer Pressure: With the help of the watch, data such as altitude, UV index, temperature and barometric pressure can be easily accessed. All this data is ready to view on the watch to provide essential outdoor information required for such activities.
• App Notifications:Receive phone calls, WhatsApp, SMS, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and several other notification alerts on the Gekko GX1 watch.
• Remote Camera: Taking pictures is made easy, as the watch acts as a remote control for picture-clicking via the user’s smartphone camera.
• Battery Life:The GX1 comes with a coin battery that lasts for up to one year and is easily available at any local store or online.
• Warranty:The GX1 comes with a one year local warranty that offers a direct replacement of the product in case of manufacturing defects.

Design – As soon as you  pull out the watch from the box, the design becomes evident. It has decent rubber straps which feels durable and a stainless steel plate in the rear. Coming to the front, you get an LED-backlit display with a diameter of 1.1-inch. The watch has four buttons on it. The left side has buttons for turning on light and mode selection whereas the other side has buttons for Start and Reset.

The Gekko GX1 weighs just 80 grams which is neither too light nor too heavy. The watch is amazing to wear, as it looks stylish and feels substantial. Before getting my hands on it, I thought it would look like a cheap knock-off of a G-Shock, but it gladly was not. Honestly, I am not a core part of the watch’s target audience, which is individuals who want to track their fitness achievements; however I can also use it for its basic watch features, thus showing the watch’s versatility.

Salient Features –

• Sleek Design, Sturdy built
• Fitness features
  • Pedometer
  • Calories Burnt
  • Sedentary Reminder
  • Sleep Monitor
  • Barometer and Altitude Measure
  • UV Index
  • Temperature
• Calls and App notifications
• Camera Remote Control
• Pocket friendly price
• Water Resistance IP68
• Hassle free non-stop working for a year (good enough) without any need for charging, as it is quite cumbersome in case of a smart watch to charge it to use it further.

The best thing about Gekko GX1 is its battery life. As it does not require any sort of external charging and it relies on a button cell that lasts for up to one year. This is something unheard of in the smart watches world.

Review Rating Chart

About FunDo Pro

Sanzar also brings a smartphone app named FunDo Pro which is available on both Android and iOS. The app interface is simple and it shows  metrics like step-count, calories burnt, etc. It also features a sports mode, to help track and provide a more detailed report on user’s daily walks and runs. What could be the most used feature by many is the sleep tracking functionality. Sadly, the sleep tracking feature on it watch is another gimmick and it doesn’t work properly.

FunDo Pro is an app for people who are willing to exercise and pay attention to the quality of life. It can be used with wristbands and watches to record user movement and sleep parameters, so that users can master the movement state. The app will use the device administrator privilege, the phone lock screen function will be used in the sports mode page, SMS and call log permission will be used to push the SMS and call information to the bracelet and watch in real time.

The Gekko GX1 also comes with an IP68 rating which lets the watch resist interference  from dust, water splashes & rain water, and Bluetooth 4.0 for connectivity.

Verdict

As a general hybrid timepiece, this is a great feature-packed product loaded with fitness features which  wears quite comfortably  on the wrist. One needs to forget the charging nuisance which is the case of any smart watch due to the GX1’s one year battery life. The Gekko GX1 comes at a budget friendly price of just Rs 2,995 and is worth a buy at its price.

Future Outlook

As the company endeavours to enhance people’s lives by providing innovative, bold and easy to use smart wearable products, which have a compelling safety, health and wellness, use case. An array of smart wearables in the fitness segment is being planned keeping the company’s product ethos in mind. Moreover, an innovative take on children’s GPS smart watches is also being planned by Sanzar Futureteq for launch in the future. Thus varying consumer segments will have unique product offerings, courtesy of Gekko.