With its classic looks and a 30-day battery life, the Vector Luna is well on its way to making a name for itself. I slipped this smartwatch on my wrist and saw if it can make you forget the Google Watch and the Apple Watch.
Vector Luna Smart Watch
Price:
from € 375,-
time display:
Analog
Waterproof:
up to 50 meters
Battery life:
30 days
Diameter:
44mm
Website:
www.vectorwatch.com
6 Score 60- Pros
- Appearance
- app
- Battery life
- Negatives
- Colors
- Difficult to adjust on wrist
The Vector Luna doesn't look like today's smartwatch: no sci-fi stuff, just a watch that also looks like a watch. That's a strong point, but haven't we seen that with other smartwatches, such as the Pebble Time Round, for example? Yes, but Vector does have a number of innovative gadgets that ensure that this smartwatch distinguishes itself enough. Also read: How to choose the best smartwatch for your wrist.
Appearance
So the very first thing I noticed is that it really looks like a watch, no innovative bracelets or displays. But despite (or because of) the lack of the sci-fi look, the Luna is still very stylish. You can also choose from different variants.
When I got the Vector Luna, I immediately ran into a problem. The watch strap was too big for me, so I had to adjust it. You would think you could easily do that yourself, but not so: I had to take it to the store. In addition, the watch itself is very thick: shirts and jackets get stuck behind it. So the Luna is beautiful, but can't be used as I would like.
Functions
You shouldn't expect the Luna to be some sort of cheaper Apple Watch or Google Watch with at least as many features as its more expensive competitors. The Vector Luna keeps it very basic, with the more important functions taking center stage. Think of receiving smartphone notifications, an alarm clock, an activity meter and calendar reminders.
Vector stands for peace in the digital world, but this did not work immediately. I simply turned it into a second smartphone and I advise you not to do this. In the end I limited myself to Facebook notifications and calls.
The system and design behind the notifications isn't the most brilliant. It's not surprising that it doesn't compare to the systems used by the competition: I don't think this is the approach of the Vector Luna either. But a little more ease of use would be nice, because I really ran into things now. The most frustrating part is not being able to scroll through your messages: you're presented with two or three lines and that's what you have to deal with.
The moment you receive a message or notification, it will spin like a ring on the screen. You have to hold the watch towards you to read the message. Very cool, because that way you automatically maintain your privacy. But sometimes the smartwatch didn't detect that I had my arm bent toward me, causing the message to spin endlessly. Fortunately, you can also press a button to read the message, so this solves that. What is difficult is that I often did not have enough time to read the message: the messages were much too short on screen.
That Vector is aimed at the businessman becomes immediately clear when we get started with the agenda. This works very nicely and is a lot better than the notifications. You can see at a glance what time you have an appointment and when you have free time. The times are shown on the side of the display.
The pedometer is also quite accurate: it registered about 30 steps less in one day than my pedometer on my Samsung Galaxy S5. Those 30 steps are of course nothing compared to the thousands of steps you take in one day, and the question is which of the two was right.
Screen and battery
I think there is an area for improvement with the screen. Do you remember the Nokia 3210? To put it simply: the screen reminds me of that. I personally think it's far from beautiful - but that could also be because I've been used to high-end Apple and Android devices in recent years.
But: the worse the screen, the longer the battery lasts. And that battery life, that's kind of what it's all about in the war between smartwatches. One focuses on a good screen and short battery life and the other, in this case Vector, does it the other way around. And the differences with the competition are large: where the Apple Watch lasts two days on a battery, the Vector Luna lasts no less than thirty days.
You pay a price for that: the screen is very dark and pixelated. This is easy to live with if a conscious choice has been made for this in the design, and that is clearly the case with the Luna. Because it is dark, the screen is sometimes difficult to read without an external light source.
The Vector app
The dedicated Vector app looks great, provides great clarity and is easy to use. There are several interfaces available for the Luna that you can easily access through this app and convert to the Watch Maker menu. You also have the activity menu, alarm menu and the settings menu.
Conclusion
The Vector Luna is not an innovative smartwatch with dozens of functions, but a stylish, basic look and highly functional smartwatch. Although certain functions do not work completely flawlessly, the Vector Luna is a nice gadget. provided you can keep the notifications in line and you don't find it important that the screen looks a bit outdated. The only question is whether this smartwatch is worth its price - which starts at 357 euros.
